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<br />0[;,; i 02 <br /> <br />nth aonditton nee.nitate. a .hart uatur11l& orc'D, and that 1t <br />be ha.rnated in the Tery .horteat t1..- po.db1.. Tbil 18 ..peoially true <br />in the produotion ot potatoes and .ugar beet., o1:herri.8 'the orop would <br />f..re818 in the ground. Under 8uob condition a. the.., farming operations <br />are highly meohanized, IlDd meohanization requirea a large amount of 1n- <br />TO.t.d capital. <br /> <br />Because of the.8 oonditiona, oli1rate, .011a and other related <br />factors, tanning operations haTe frequently d.....lo084 into what would <br />appear to be lar~-.oal. individual farming. It is well reoophed <br />throughout the Se.n Luh Valley that under present day prioes and labor <br />oOllta, a farmer operating a l~ol". traot, ,mo.. prinoipal eash crop 11 <br />either potatoes or Englbh pea., require. U\ investment in equipment of <br />115,000 to 118,000. Iu addition, the labor oost. in harvesting the o&ah <br />orOP' are high. Only alightly more equlpmoJl't 11 required tor a 320-.0re <br />traot. Talke with the farmers and busineulDlIn throughout the area indi- <br />cate that. tanoer oan operate a '2~ore traot with an equ1'PJ111tot 10""88t- <br />..nt ot about 120.000. Suooeuful tarming in the Valley OMDot be <br />....hualhed or planned on a s_l1 traot. It 18 not an area whioh oan be <br />farmed and provide an income suffioient to _8t normal living atandarda <br />with an inveatmBnt ot only a tew hundred doUan 1n equip:mlnt. Equipment <br />ooata per aore beoome increasingly hi~er .a the .ile of the traot. <br />deorease, and the farmer's total gross inoome deorease. "rogr...iT8ly <br />&s his aoreage 'beoomlla s.ller. Through \nten.e indirldual efrort, and <br />following the most progres.ive methode whioh oan be developed for the <br />produotion of orops in this area of high altitude, operators ot marked <br />abUity are required. with largtt Ind1.,..idual 1nT8stn!lut. in 0&'011:&1. <br />improvements suoh as land le....eltnc. and in meohanized equipment a8 ~ll <br />.s faoilities for handlin, and .torlng the orops after they are produoed. <br /> <br />6. Under the plan de....eloped for the San Luis Valley Projeot. the <br />exoes. 1&nd provisions of the Reolamation Law would prObably fail tor <br />the following reasonsl <br /> <br />7irst. An '!Oxoeu land owner would haTe the prh1lece of obli- <br />gating hie landa tor the payment of the tixed......cre-toot ohar", tor .tar <br />88"i08 or not. It his lands did. not have an urESnt need tor Bup~lemeDtal <br />....ter he m1~t prefer to retain his exoe.. holdings and to receive indireot <br />benefite whioh will aocrue in the way ot a re"Plenished ground _ter sU"Pply, <br />return flow, and in addition if he 'ft" using pumps, in the deoreased <br />head under which he would have to pump, and th8 deorea.. in cost ot pumplD& <br />by rea.on ot oheaper power, 1I8de available by the projeot. <br /> <br />S8COnd1 Sinoe the projeot i. .et up on the basi. of furnilh1uI <br />a supple~ntal water supply. Juoh exoes. land own8r could so use his <br />prbary ...ter supply so that the supplemental water furnished by the <br />projeot WQuld not I.ctually be ueUid upon lDJre than 160 acre., and thus the <br /> <br />-5- <br />