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, , f ( , [;.~ t .. 1945 My mother was one of the local schoolteachers when my dad met her. She returned to the profession she loved when I was about eight. My mother loved teaching ~o much ,that eventually' she left the state to continue teaching when the local school policy required that she retire at 65. COMING OF AGE By the time I graduated from high school two of my older brothers had gone off to college, earned PhD's in chemistry and left Nevada. My sister became a journalist in another state. Another brother knew that what he wanted was to be a dairyman. I went off to a good job at an Army ordinance plant about 80 miles from home. It was a secure job and good pay, but I quickly knew that such a life was not for me. I wanted to be back in the outdoors. We left the leased property when I was about 15 and returned to the original 80- acre homestead. My dad now had a tractor and a field levelling business. I left the eight to five job. The family homestead was available and I decided I wanted to lease it. I began to farm for myself at the ripe age of 18. Uncle Sam called me and I went off to the Korean Conflict when I was 21. I wasn't gone long before I knew that I wanted to return to Nevada to own my own place and farm. My mom wrote me about an opportunity to purchase 40 acres that were being opened to cultivation by the government. I told her to buy the property for me. I began sending $100 of my $125 monthly income back home. Payday was gambling day for many who served with me in Korea. Others took big rolls of money with them when they went for R&R in Japan. I just kept sending my money home. By the time I left the service, I had purchased 40 acres, I had over $2,000 saved, and I was eligible for the GI Bill. I headed for college. While in school, I took on the challenge of getting my land into production. I got 22 acres cleared and levelled. Farming in Nevada requires a water supply. When I bought the property, it came with only 13 acres of water rights. I applied to the irrigation district for 9 acres more, but I could only get 8 acres. So, I began my life as a farmer with 21 acres that I could put into alfalfa. I bought a Ford tractor for $1500. I planted and the wind blew the newly levelled soil away. That happened two years in a row. I planted windbreaks to protect the soil. Finally, in the third year I had a successful crop. I married a local woman I met at college where she was my piano accompanist. I finished my degree in three years in agriculture and animal physiology. My wife finished in math. Degrees in hand, we returned home to farm and raise a family. My situation, however, illustrates why we are being pushed to think about getting out of farming, and why most of our sons and daughters do not want anything to do with farming for a living. BUILDING THE DREAM Over a period of 30 years. I made four separate land purchases for a total of 153 acres. Of that acreage, I was able to secure water rights for only 57 acres. The 96 non-water righted acres cannot be farmed. We paid what was asked for our water rights. We did everything conscientious people could do to secure the rights. In the Newlands Project, the water is supposed to be ours as long as we use the water beneficially and pay our share of.the operation and maintenance costs for the project each year. We've done that. Yet, because of changing water policy, we face the potential loss of half of our water with no compensation. . Water policy is in transition allover the West as the population in urban centers explodes and we grapple with degradation of wildlife and ecosystems. There is a price associated with changing policies and with reallocation of water to expanding uses and changing priorities. It often seems, though, that society is asking people like me and my rural neighbors to bear a disproportionate share of the cost of these changes. Appendix II contains a table that summarizes the building of our farm and its 365