Laserfiche WebLink
<br />co <br />c...., <br />~ <br />....{ <br /> <br />A comparison of the value of farm products sold by source and value of crops <br />harvested can be made from table 25, alsoo The greatest spread in value of <br />farm products sold and gross value of crops harvested occurred in 1959 <br />followed by 1949 and 1954. Gross value of crops harve.sted exceeded gross value <br />of farm products sold in 1944. Feeding crops to livestock was unprofitable <br />that year. Likewise, gross value of farm products sold in 1954 did not exceed <br />gross value of crops harvested in sufficient amount to give a fair value for <br />range permits, irrigated pasture, and field residue if other feeds and labor <br />were priced at market value. In 1954 and 1944 value of fruits sold were at <br />their highest for the four census years, while in 1949 and 1959 they were at <br />fueir lowest. Value of livestock and livestock products sold, other than <br />poultry and poultry products and dairy products, was the opposite. Relative <br />prices received for fruit in relation to prices received for livestock were <br />high ~uring 1954 and 1944 and low during 1949 and 1959. Farmers producing <br />both had less risk of failure than those producing either one alone. Fruit <br />sales have amounted to about 43 percent of gross farm sales in the four census <br />years while livestock and livestock products sales have accounted for about <br />42 percent. <br /> <br />Value per acre of crops harvested was highest in 1954 and lowest in 19490 <br />Crop acreage harvested was highest in 1944 and lowest in 1954. <br /> <br />Total farms decreased from 1,123 in 1944 to 815 in 1959, while average size <br />of farms increased from 170 acres to 273 acres. Value of land and buildings <br />per farm increased from $6,956 in 1944 to $27,113 in 1959, and irrigated <br />acreage per farm increased from 52 acres to 67 acres. Proportion of irrigated <br />faTlllS to all farms has a.verag"€d about ,96 percent ,but proportion of tenancy <br />has decrea!red from 17 percent i,n 1944 to 8 percent in 1959. <br /> <br />Markets and Transportation <br /> <br />Fruit is the most important agricultural product shipped from the North <br />Fork subbaSin. Apples and peaches move by truck to New Mexico, Oklahoma, <br />and western Texas. Only the better grades are shipped that far because <br />they can stand the cost of shipping and arrive in more salable condition. <br />Several fruit processing plants are located throughout the fruit area where <br />clea.ning, grading, packaging, and storage facilities prepare the fruit for <br />shipment. Fruits of this area are unusually high in quality because of the <br />rigid grading. <br /> <br />Sale of beef calves rates next in importance to fruit in agricultural products <br />sold. Most of the calves are trucked to market. A few are wintered in the <br />area a~d sold the next spring and still others are sold to feeders in western <br />Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. Some calves are sold through the local livestock <br />auctions before being shipped further away. Rail and highway transportation <br />is adequate for the marketing of agricultural products from the area. <br /> <br />Relationship Between Irrigated Lands and Rangelands <br /> <br />Most of the cattle and sheep ranchers are dependent upon national forest lands <br />and national land reserve for their dry range. Practically all ranchers with <br />grazing permits have the same number of beef cows for their breeding herd as <br /> <br />~ 65 - <br />