Need dryland farming info

[nvtashak]

I really need some more dryland farming info. (County ag ext. office stuff is not organically oriented.) Most of the books seem to have been published in the 30's and 40's, and are not available through my county library system.
About zone 6, midhigh desert elevation c. 4300', stony alkiline soil (sand) has been amended last five years by my composting and adding neighbor's composted horse manure. Few if any worms.
Greens grow well and overwinter under frost netting, and are still producing. Getting ready to do more cool season planting like radishes, peas, snow peas, lettuce, more greens.
For warm weather crops like tomatoes, melon, squash etc. I usually do shallow basin planting.
Planning on covercroppin half or more of garden plots this winter.
Windy afternoons, often dust storms in summer.
Have put in some fruit (apple, prune plum, Asian pear, Manchurian apricot, peaches) trees--hope to be getting some fruit this fall or next (frequent late spring killing frosts, though).
Just approved by CertifiedNaturallyGrown; this year I will have about half of my total one acre in production, weather permitting.
Advice/info appreciated--especially any still-in-print/recent books, and any websites. Really need to learn more about dryland farming.
Thanks.

[kabuti]

How much rainfall do you get during the summer months? Around here you can only grow dryland if you plant wheat, barley, oats etc in the fall as there is not enough moist during the summer. over towards the coast they used to grow fruit or almonds dryland years ago, not as hot as here I guess in the San Juaoquin Valley zone 9. you might want to mulch heavy after the soil gets good & wet & use windbreaks.

[nvtashak]

Kabuti, we're a low rainfall area, c. 9-11" a year, sometimes l-2" of that may be in the summer months, sometimes none. Most of our moisture comes from snow in winter and spring, though the first year I moved here we had c. 1-3" snow three consecutive days at end of June.
By the way, what is in pig feed? Saw your mention of that in your sowing seed post, and wondering if it is anything my ducks or hen could safely eat, and also wondering why it is good fertilizer, and if it would draw mice.
Thanks.