The most important thing to understand when it comes to drought-proofing a crop is that crops need less moisture when they have ample, balanced fertility. I always like to relate this to human nutrition. What does your doctor always tell you? Eat a well-balanced diet and take your vitamins. It’s exactly the same with crops, but it actually goes one step further. For plants to bring in “food”, they typically have to also bring in water. Nutrients like nitrogen and potassium will go in with water, so if your plant is short on any one nutrient it brings in more water even if it doesn’t need the water. In other words, you make your crop a water waster if you don’t have ample, balanced

We all know the top few inches of soil dry out faster than soil that is 6, 12, or 24 inches deep. While plants can often get moisture from deep in the soil when the weather is dry, what good does that do if there is no plant food there? One of the biggest advantages we see with strip-till is deep placement of nutrients. In dry years when the only moisture is down deep, having fertility at that same level is extremely beneficial.

Dad always used to say, “We lose an inch of rain every time we till.” Whether or not that’s exactly true, I can’t tell you. I think it depends a lot on temperature, humidity, and a number of other factors, but regardless, tillage does reduce soil moisture, so minimizing tillage in dry years is helpful.

For each 1% increase in soil organic matter, the soil can hold about 4% more water. While you can’t increase organic matter overnight, it is a reasonable goal to increase soil organic matter by 2 points during the years you manage your farm – say 20 or 30 years. Would having soil that could hold 8% more water be more valuable for our next generation of farmers? You bet.

In order for roots to get deeper in the soil to find moisture in a dry year, they can’t run into impenetrable layers. Compaction is a killer, so use deep tillage and/or deep-rooted crops to break up any hardpans. Also, having great drainage (often meaning properly-tiled fields) means less chance for soil compaction not only because soils will be excessively wet less often, but also because elements that are bad for soil structure like excess magnesium and sodium will be flushed out of the soil when drainage is great. Having an adequate level of calcium (65% to 75%) in the soil also means better soil porosity and less compaction.

If weeds are robbing soil moisture, that’s terrible for your crops. If insects, diseases, or weeds are putting stress on your crops, that means the effects of drought will be far worse. Keep pests out of your fields and you will have better crops, whether it’s dry or wet this year.

Drought tolerance. That’s all I need to say.

The sooner your soil is completely shaded by the crop, the more moisture you will be able to preserve in your soil. Plus, you’ll have better weed control.

On our farm in 2021, we’re projecting an average corn planting population of around 32,000, but we will be as low as 18,000 plants per acre in our really light, non-irrigated soils. Don’t be afraid to make massive population cuts if the soil simply can’t handle high populations. Some people think we’re crazy to range our corn populations from 38,000 down to 18,000, but it pays. Some degree of cutting planting population can be done in all crops in non-irrigated soils where you are worried about insufficient moisture to raise a great crop.