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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~ership. Number, and Size of Farms <br /> <br />A large proportion of the delineated area is in ranches many of <br />which are nonresident mmed. Nonresident land o,mership is also a common <br />feature of the irrigated lands. In 1950, the area contained 75 farms on <br />which irrigation was practiced. Farms on which irrigation is practiced <br />range in size from 60 to 1,280 acres, averaging about 160 acres per farm. <br />Inasmuch as all the cropland on these farms is seldom irrigatedl the acreage <br />of irrigated land per farm averages 133 acres. 221 <br /> <br />Approximately one-half of the irrigated lands are tenant-operated. <br /> <br />Project or Area Needs <br /> <br />Aside from the need for a dependable cash crop, the irrigated <br />lands in this area need a lr.lnd erosion defense to prevent accumulation from <br />adjoining cultivated areas and from soil blowing on the irrigated tracts <br />as well. The irrigated lands also need a considerable amount of smoothing <br />to obliterate the effect of previous ,dnd-blown accumulation. <br /> <br />Other needs of the area are: <br /> <br />1. Improved methods of well develonment and the installation <br />of equipment designed to do the job at the lowest cost. <br /> <br />2. Elimination of conveyance losses. <br /> <br />3. Improvement of soil management and irrigation practices. <br /> <br />4. An educational program to encourage the u.se of illlpraved <br /> <br />practices. <br /> <br />Project Economy <br /> <br />The developmont of irrigation has caused only a small acreage of <br />new land tc be brought under ctutivation. It has perhaps stimulated the <br />return to cultivation of some lands that were not ctutivated during the <br />"Dust Bowl" years. Gre.in sorghum, corn, forage sorghums, and some wheat <br />were the predominant crops in this area before irrigation. With one <br />exception, alfalfal they are still the crops of major dependence. <br /> <br />other crops such as popcorn, blackoyed p~,s, and potatoes have <br />been tried, but because of unsatisfactory market conditions they have not <br />l~en adapted as regular crops. <br /> <br />In the North Sedan area grain sorghums are the predominant and on <br />many farms the only irrigatod crop. Tho remainder of the irrigated land is <br />used to produce corn. <br /> <br />?:2/ Martin, Stephen D. "Irrigated Areas in Dallam County". Gp. eit. <br /> <br />25 <br />