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Region 3 Region 3, the Fl int Hills Region, consists of a six-county area in the northern part of the Kansas FI int Hills in eastern Kansas. The City of Manhattan is near the middle of this region. Region 3 is primarily an agricultural area devoted to cattle raising and small grain farming. It also contains a large mil itary installation and a state university. The six counties in the region had a total population of 126,700 people in 1965. The major cities are experiencing steady population gains, and the rural population has stabil ized in most places. The region's population increased about 15 percent during the 25 years ending 1965. This increase has been in two counties, Geary and Riley, which contain Junction City and Manhattan. As the number of farms has decreased, the average size of farms has increased. The average size was 300 acres in 1940, and had increased to 525 acreS by 1964. The main agricultural activity in the Flint Hills Region is the pasturing and feeding of beef cattle. Over half of the area remains in grass. Much of the region's industry is oriented toward agriculture and natural resources production. The principal natural resources are petroleum products, I imestone, and sand and gravel. Other resources such as coal, gypsum, aluminum, and clays are not of sufficient quality to warrant large scale development at the present time. The economic activity forecast anticipates the domination of cattle in the agricultural sector and shows the influence of a state university and a mil itary complex. The area's population is forecast to increase from 126,700 persons in 1965 to 273,600 persons by 2020. The region is expected to have approximately 5.7 percent of the total state population after the turn of the century. Agricultural employment will decl ine, but significant increases in employment will be experienced in contract construction and in several service type industries. The influence of the state university is demonstrated in the forecast of the employment in government. For example, in 1965 the number of persons employed in government was 21 percent of the region's total employment, and this wil \ increase to 35 percent by the end of the forecast period. The influence of the livestock industry is evident in the fact that 54 percent of the total agri- cultural output of $99 mill ion in 1965 was attributed to this industry. This share may increase to 60 percent of the $309 mill ion output in agriculture by the end of the forecast period. Manufacturing output wi] I increase from $4\ mill ion in 1965 to nearly $288 mill ion by 2020. Water requirements in this region are expected to increase from 58,000 acre-feet withdrawn in 1965 to 173,500 acre-feet by the year 2020. Significant increases are expected in irrigation which will account for 54 percent of the forecast by the year 2020. In 1965, irrigation accounted for only 32 percent of the water withdrawn. 38.