GREAT article. I'm doing a couple of things as suggested. First, I'm ordering my seed NOW! That way I have it handy as soon as conditions look right, and sometimes the right conditions don't hit the forecast until just a day or two ahead of time. Second, I've learned the hard way not to till my thin soils. Just three weeks without rain will wipe out those type of plots, as soil moisture evaporation is incredible fast in thin, turned soils. I will be broadcasting seed, then mowing, then spraying before germination. The thatch produced by mowing will hold moisture much longer. Third, although I will be planting my primary crops in mid-August, I won't add cereal grains until late September. Planted in August, cereal grains will grow too tall and "stemmy" by deer season.
Someday I will drop the big bucks and buy a seed drill! That is the best way to reduce soil moisture loss.