You may have to drill for water. No guarantee it will always rain.
Reminds me of the equations in our engineering textbooks about whether it paid to buy crop insurance and install irrigation systems to stave off disaster for the one in ten to one times in 15 it was vitally needed. You added up the losses from the disaster and they came to less than the crop insurance and PV of the systems. Now that looks OK on paper, but it assumes the farmer will invest in, and never pilfer from, a disaster fund of just about equal magnitude. Not likely. And the disaster is just that. I wipes him out and he may lose the land, or have to start all over again at the bank. And if you were the bank would you loan him money if he was so shortsighted?
How much further ahead is the prudent and cautious farmer? I saw farmers with irrigation in Ontario with rich corn crops beside ones who had dry brown fields more than once in the past 20 years. If you stay in business, you have to stay ahead. And in general, there will be non disaster seasons that are a bit dry that you can supplementary water in order to increase revenue, if you are careful not to overwater.
I still say it is better to put some away the better to avoid almost dying once, than to save the money every year and head toward certain disaster eventually. Spend it on a fund, or put the money in insurance and equipment. And if you really want to save money, try foregoing pesticide, herbecide and fertilizer and try rotating crops. And sell you foods in your own organic co-op. Has to beat agrictultural cartels that are designed to keep prices low to promote political objectives.
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