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<br /> <br />a <br /> <br />~ <br />, .") <br />~ <br />--J <br /> <br />and Gila Subregions are well suited to production of these crops. The <br />cotton acreage also was projected to increase substantially. The acreage <br />of feed grains was projected to decline. <br /> <br />There is' an abundance of land suitable for irrigated crop production. <br />Therefore, if water and other requirements to place the land in produc- <br />tion can be economically obtained, the projected increase in harvested <br />irrigated acreage is feasible. <br /> <br />A wide range of livestock and livestock products are produced in <br />the Region. The sheep, hog, and poultry enterprises, however, are rela- <br />tively small. The three major enterprises are range, feedlot, and dairy. <br /> <br />The number of range cattle is projected to increase throughout the <br />projection time frame. Range cows are projected to increase 23 percent. <br />Table 1.1. To meet the OBE-ERS projected regional increase for red meat <br />production, cattle and calves marketed from finishing feedlots in the <br />Region would have to increase very sharply--from 631,400 in 1965 to <br />3,383,300 in 2020, a 5.4-fold increase. The number of cattle fattened in <br />the Region has been increasing very rapidly in recent years, but the pro- <br />jection is substantially above the trend, particularly in 1980. It does <br />not appear feasible for the Region to meet the projection. <br /> <br />With the'OBE-ERS projections, the number of milk cows in the Region <br />is expected to increase only about 7 percent by 2020. Milk production <br />is projected to show a greater increase but the major part of the added <br />requirement will be satisfied by the projected increase in production per <br />cow. <br /> <br />In the base year, 1965, the Region was a net exporter of feed grains <br />but with OBE-ERS projections substantial imports will be required in each <br />of the projection years, net imports of feed grains required in 2020 <br />amounting to over 2 million tons. Hay exports are projected to increase <br />from the base year level of 350 thousand tons to 575 thousand tons in <br />2020. <br /> <br />With theiOBE-ERS projections, food imports are expected to increase <br />sharply. Table 1.1. Red meat import requirements will increase from <br />65 million pounds in 1965 to 666 million pounds in 2020, a tenfold in- <br />crease. Net import requirements for each of the other items will increase <br />more than 4 times during the 1965-2020 period. <br /> <br />The modified OBE-ERS projections were developed on the basis of <br />modifications ,in the OBE-ERS projections made by the four Basin States, <br />and by the Minerals, Power, and Economics Work Groups, with a view to <br />making the projections more consistent with regional trends and antici- <br />pated conditions. Modified OBE-ERS projections related to the OBE-ERS <br />projections ate summarized in table 1.2. <br /> <br />vi <br /> <br />- <br />