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<br />The characteristically stable level of pro- <br /> <br /> <br />duction and economic conditions in this irrigated area is <br /> <br /> <br />il]~strated in the record of assistance required by <br /> <br /> <br />Nebraska farmers here and elsewhere in the State during <br /> <br /> <br />the terrible drouth years. In 1936, the State dropped from <br /> <br /> <br />3d to 18th place in the production of com, from 2d to 5th <br /> <br /> <br />place in wheat, from 2d to 7th place in alfalfa, and <br /> <br /> <br />similarly in the production of other commodities. By <br /> <br /> <br />January 1937, one of every six Nebraska farm families re- <br /> <br /> <br />ceived federal grants for relief under the Rural <br /> <br /> <br />Rehabilitation Program. In contrast with this record <br /> <br /> <br />of poverty and distress throughout the State, only one in <br /> <br /> <br />twenty-five farm families receiv8d aid from this program <br /> <br /> <br />in Scotts Bluff COU:1ty. In this cwnty, iITigation rcduced <br /> <br /> <br />the relief bill by more than three-fourths. <br /> <br /> <br />On an acre basis, income payments to individuals <br /> <br /> <br />stemming frcm irrigated land are 40 times greater than fram <br /> <br /> <br />adjacent dry-land. Translated into tems of livelihood, <br /> <br /> <br />40 times as many people could live in an irrigated area as <br /> <br /> <br />could live in a dry-land area of equivalent size. The <br /> <br /> <br />primary reason for this pronounced difference is the inten- <br /> <br /> <br />sity of cultivation of the respective types of farming. <br /> <br /> <br />Requirements for machinery, fuel, seed, and labor call for a <br /> <br /> <br />virtual army of suppliers, mechanics, and technicians to keep <br /> <br /> <br />the iITigation farmer going. In contrast, dry-land farming <br /> <br /> <br />and ranchtng require a relatively negligible expense per acre <br /> <br />12 <br />