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<br />. <br /> <br />I. <br />I <br />, <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />G1G:2 <br /> <br />PART IX - -AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY <br /> <br />Detailed studies were made to measure the effects that supple- <br />mental irrigation would have on the agricultural economw of the area. <br />The purpose of the studies was to estimate the payment capacity and <br />irrigation benefits from increased production due to the use of <br />supplemental irrigation water. In making the studies, such basic <br />factors as climate, extent and suitability of land resources, size <br />of farms, land use, crop yieldS, and price levels of commodities <br />bought and sold by farmers were taken into account. <br /> <br />METHOD OF ANALYSIS <br /> <br />The economic changes that will result from the use of supplemental <br />water on existing irrigated farms were measured by the farm budget <br />method of analysis. Separate sets of budgets were prepared for esti- <br />mating payment capacity and irrigation benefits. Each set consists of <br />one budget to represent the "without" project condition and a second <br />budget to represent the "with" project condition. The "without" farm <br />budget for the payment capacity analysis established the.basis for <br />determination of an e~uitable allowance for return to labor and manage- <br />ment used in the "with" farm budget from which payment capacity was <br />deri ved. <br /> <br />Data for making agricultural economic studies were obtained from <br />primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained from farm <br />interviews, county records, and land classification records. Secondary <br />data were selected from appropriate publications of agricultural colleges <br />and State and Federal agencies. The size and type of the representative <br />farm and the land use were developed from the primary data, while the <br />crop yields and livestock production were developed from primary and <br />secondary sources. Agricultural prices used in all farm budgets were <br />U. S. projected indexes of 250 for prices received and 265 for prices <br />paid (1910-1914 ~ 100). <br /> <br />PRESENT AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY <br /> <br />The Narrows Unit is within a semiarid region which must rely on <br />irrigation for sustained production of nearly all agricultural crops. <br />The only crops of economic significance grown without irrigation are <br />winter wheat and native grasses. The principal irrigated crops are <br />corn, alfalfa, sugar beets, and dry beans. Native forage, alfalfa, <br />crop aftermath, and corn for silage are fed to livestock mainly an <br />the farms where they are produced. Sugar beets, dry beans, and wheat <br />are the major cash crops. Alfalfa and corn harvested for grain are <br /> <br />71 <br />