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<br />~ <br /> <br />ECONOMIC FEATURES <br /> <br />The Florida project is a relatively young and undeveloped <br /> <br />area with wide potentialities. In common with most of the newly <br /> <br />; <br /> <br />settled area of the west, land has been cheap and farming operations <br /> <br />have been conducted on a relatively large scale with corresponding <br /> <br />laxity in management. The continued series of years of low water <br /> <br />supply has not only prevented normal development of a more intensive <br /> <br />type of agriculture but even reduced the irrigated area by one-fourth. <br /> <br />The result has been an increase in indebtedness followed by loss of <br /> <br />farms, an increase in the number of renters or a consolidation of <br /> <br />holdings under one management, and a general decline in community <br /> <br />morale. <br /> <br />Farm owners and operators are in general below middle age. <br /> <br />if%;:. <br />1t~ <br /> <br />They are good farmers, naturally alert, progressive and receptive to <br /> <br />new ideas but because of continued crop failures resulting from the <br /> <br />low water supply and unfavorable market prices they have become some- <br /> <br />what skeptical of new proposals and have became resigned to their pres- <br /> <br />ent condition. It is believed they will be quick to adapt themselves <br /> <br />to the new farming methods necessary with a full water supply. <br /> <br />Present Farming Practice <br /> <br />Number and Size of Farms. There are 171 farms exclusive <br /> <br />of Indian allotments, on the Project, ranging in size from 23 acres <br /> <br />to 3616 acres with an average size of 222 acres. The most common size <br /> <br />is 160 acres. The number in various size classifications is as fol- <br /> <br />lows: <br /> <br />21 <br />