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<br />.....- . <br /> <br />OOlG6~ <br /> <br />Gross crop values on the Eastern Slope have been computed for the <br /> <br />12-year period 1930-1941 on the basis of average crop prices received <br /> <br />by fermers from 1939 through 1944. Dry-land gross crop ve,lues in the <br /> <br />project area range u:p to $3.81 per acre'., During the seme period and <br /> <br />using the seme average crop prices, the msan gross crop values on the <br /> <br />irrigated farms in the Arkansas Vallsy were $37.50 per acre with a total <br />valus of $12,075,000. In order to support the increased national demands <br /> <br />for truck and high value crops, the productive capacity of lends capable <br /> <br />of producing those crops should be increased wherever possible. In the <br /> <br />Arkansas Valley in Colorado over 300,000 acres of ine.dequetely irrigated <br /> <br />lend if furnished supplemental water could be converted to the produc- <br /> <br />tion of the specialized food crape SO urgently needsd in the United <br />States end all parts of the world. A study of the effect of supplemental <br /> <br />water on existing irrigation systems coneervatively shows that the aver- <br /> <br />age yearly gross crop value would be increased to $51.80 per acre or <br /> <br />$16,695,000 with the Initial Development end that the livestock industry <br /> <br />wo~d be greatly snlargsd. <br /> <br />Total gross agricultural values for livestock and crops emounted <br /> <br />to $17,532,000 on irrigatsd and nonirrigated lend in the Arkansas Vallsy <br /> <br />counties where irrigation agricuJ.ture predominatss. Average gross orop <br /> <br />values were len in the Western Slope diversion area, becBC.se the rugged <br /> <br />topography of the area, the high altitude, and the short growing season <br />limits agricultural production to livestock feBu end a very few culti- <br /> <br />vated crops. However, below Glenwood Springs in the Colorado River <br /> <br />Basin the production of fruit and truck crops, in addition to grain <br /> <br />and livestock, adds considerably to the value of agricultural products. <br /> <br />16 <br />