Saline soil conditions exist in several large and numerous small areas in the central Red River Valley of North Dakota. Surface drainage may help to improve some of these soils. A permanent solution requires improvement of internal drainage to flush the salts from the soil. Extensive research has been initiated to develop soil management and drainage practices that will alleviate the saline condition and improve crop production.

THE RANGE AREA is so vast and its sound use in livestock production so important that it is vital to determine best management practices under the climatic extremes of the Plains.

Soil-management problems on rangelands are similar to those of dry-farming, but the practices involved in solving them are somewhat different. Conservation of moisture is the main problem. All management efforts should be geared to the most effective use of the precipitation available.

George Rogler and Howard Haas, of the Northern Great Plains Field Station, studied range production as related to soil moisture and precipitation. They found a highly significant correlation (coefficient of 0.74) between the amount of fall soil moisture in the surface 6 feet and the native forage production the following season. This type of information is of value in forecasting range production. They also found a high correlation between the April July precipitation and the yield the same season, but the highest correlation was found when the soil moisture plus the April July rainfall was related to production.

Good grazing management can improve or maintain most native ranges. Because native range is a natural product of soil, climate, and vegetative factors, its management involves an understanding of those factors and an adjustment of grazing to fit them.

Conservation grazing is an effective method of restoring or maintaining the range. It allows the more important range forage plants to increase their density and vigor. The general recommendation is "take half and leave half."

Frank Rauzi, of the Department of Agriculture, made extensive studies of the ability of rangeland to absorb and store precipitation. He used a mobile rainfall applicator to compare water intake of good and poor range conditions on several hundred sites in the northern and central Great Plains. The rate of water intake was greatly influenced by soil characteristics, vegetal cover, and the intensity of past and present range use.

The rate of water intake was consistently higher on the good range sites with greater vegetal cover than that of the poor range sites. He learned, however, that the difference due to range condition was greater in soils of medium texture than in the very fine clays or the coarse sands. The water intake on the silt loams was 228 percent higher on the good range sites than on the poor sites. The greatest opportunity for improving water intake by good management therefore exists in the soils of medium texture. Greater water infiltration is important for the increase of available moisture supply for forage production. Greater water intake also reduces runoff, erosion, flooding, and siltation.

Numerous attempts have been made to increase water intake and improve native range. These include range pitting, contour furrowing, contour plowing, and chiseling.

Oscar Barnes, working at Archer, Wyo., found that pitting of short-grass range increased water intake, increased grazing capacity by one-third, and resulted in an average yearly increase of 9 pounds of lamb an acre over a 10- year period. Even with the heavier stocking rate, the pitted pastures had 70 percent more carryover perennial grass than did the untreated pastures.

The pitting and thinning brought about an increase in western wheat-grass and other desirable species at the expense of the blue gramagrass. This change in plant composition persisted after 10 years of grazing.

The use of vegetative barriers of coarse, unpalatable plants to catch and hold snow appears to have potentialities in areas where blowing is a problem. These barriers, properly placed, can be used to distribute snow for added moisture on rangelands and in stock water dams.

Water spreading has been used to a limited degree on range and pasturelands in an effort to conserve water for increased production of forage. Water spreading is a simple form of flood irrigation accomplished by diverting runoff from normal channels and spreading the flow over adjacent flood plains or valley floors. It is used most effectively on relatively smooth, gently sloping plains with a grade of less than 1 percent. Many systems of dams, dikes, and ditches have been tried in water spreading, but the system usually is so constructed that the operation is automatic. It must be constructed so as to take care of storms of high intensity. Favorable sites available for water spreading are limited, but where it has been practiced, water spreading has made it possible to increase the livestock numbers 5 to 10 times and has reduced flood hazards and erosion losses.

Drought, overstocking, overgrazing, rodents, and other causes have depleted the range in many places. Plowing and overextension of cultivation have harmed other range areas. Depleted ranges and abandoned cultivated fields often can be improved by reseeding.

Ralph Williams, at the Montana Branch Station at Moccasin, reported that wheat-stubble land seeded to crested wheatgrass produced earlier grazing, a longer grazing season, higher carrying capacity, and 2.5 times more feed an acre than the native range. Good stands of crested wheatgrass remained after 15 years of grazing.

An efficient method of using seeded pastures is to graze it in combination with native range. Cool-season grasses, such as crested wheat, can be grazed 2 to 3 weeks earlier than native range and can be grazed at a high intensity for 2 to 3 months during the spring. Grazing on the native range can be deferred consequently.

Correct grazing management is essential to the maintenance of seeded range as well as the native range. Production in the moister areas is increased by including a legume such as Ladak alfalfa in the seeding mixtures with grass. Applications of nitrogen have increased yields of crested wheatgrass at the field stations at Mandan and Newell, S. Dak. These practices have not been used generally in the Northern Great Plains, however.

Many attempts have been made to seed high-producing legumes and grasses in native rangeland, but the results mostly have not been satisfactory.

Clarence Becker, of the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station, developed a range seeder that is especially adapted for seeding in native range. It tills a strip 18 inches wide and leaves 22 inches of undisturbed native range between the tilled rows. He made large field plantings of one-half pound of Ladak alfalfa and 2.2 pounds of crested wheatgrass with 20 pounds of nitrogen an acre. The renovating effect of the seeder eliminated the competition for the seedlings and stimulated the growth of western wheat-grass in the untilled strips. An excellent stand of alfalfa and crested wheatgrass was established at the end of the season.

Research by George Rogler at Mandan indicated that nitrogen fertilizer can raise the production of a depleted native range as well as that of a range in good condition. Nitrogen fertilization of selected areas to get better distribution of livestock grazing of the range has shown promise.

THE SANDHILLS have low-lying sand dunes, which are erosive when not covered with vegetation. All soil-management practices here must be geared to a grassland economy. The precipitation-15 to 22 inches is absorbed so fast by the sandy soil that little runs off. In the numerous basins and valleys among the hills the water table often rises to the surface and forms marshes and lakes. Ranchers in the Sandhills have weathered severe droughts better than ranchers elsewhere partly because of the relatively stable water supply.

Many of the valleys and basins have "wet meadows," which are used mainly for hay. Their yields can be increased by phosphorus and nitrogen fertilization. The quality of the hay can be increased by earlier harvesting, a practice many ranchers have adopted.

The greatest possibilities for improvement in soil management appear to lie in increased production of the wet meadows and the immediately surrounding areas, according to Harold Rhoades, of the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. It is possible that by pumping water from the lakes, marshes, and wet meadows, some of the upland areas could be irrigated.

FUTURE TRENDS in soil use and management in the Northern Great Plains will involve local adjustments in the type of agriculture to fit climatic extremes and improvements in management of water and conservation of soil moisture. In the drier parts of' the Plains, that would necessitate a shift toward a grazing economy with larger units and, where possible, an integration of cropland farming and ranching.

Improved water management through irrigation projects, the development of many small watersheds and reservoirs, and improved water-spreading techniques on rangeland offer opportunities for improved and sustained agricultural production. To make the most effective use of this water, increased emphasis on soil and water conservation research will be essential.

The potentialities from improved moisture conservation and efficiency present a challenge. Many improvements have been made in methods of summer fallowing and residue management from the standpoint of erosion control and conservation. This and stripcropping, strip fallowing, and other practices have made great strides toward stabilizing the dry-farming economy. No great advance has been made in the moisture conservation aspect of fallowing since 1915, however. Only 15 to 25 percent of the rainfall during the fallow period is conserved and stored as soil moisture for subsequent crops. If the moisture storage could be increased even 10 to 20 percent, crop yields would be substantially increased and production would be stabilized greatly. Basic research is needed for a better understanding of soil moisture movement and evaporation.

Chemicals to control weeds are good possibilities for improving conservation of moisture under both crop and fallow conditions.

There are great potentialities for improvement of crops in the Northern Great Plains through improved plant nutrition. A large part of this improvement will depend on the wise use of commercial fertilizers.

The present use of fertilizer is but a small fraction of that which could be used with profit to farmers of the area.