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<br />,~ <br />(~ <br /> <br />red loam to r eo clay loam "nd is well drained, Near the mountains <br /> <br />on the north there are arcas of residual soil fro8 s!~le or sandstone, <br /> <br />which are generally shallower and not so well drained. The project <br /> <br />contains more uniform and better soil tOO.n is USl1iil for areas of sim- <br /> <br />ilar size in Western Colorado. <br /> <br />The frost-free season on Floric~a Mesa will average 135 d.ays, <br /> <br />Forag8 crops am! grain 0.1'<', thu staples, both bocause ,)f sCilrci ty of <br /> <br />water for lats ro" crQPs and because markets for cash crops IlQVO de~ <br /> <br />velopod beyond 10(;1,1 us" only within th'3 past Ie;, years. Added mar- <br /> <br />kats lVlve boen r("~ched through trucking tc N,-,\': Moxico, Arizona, and <br /> <br />tho Pacific South\!ost, OV8T lllodern roads d1ich have been built within <br /> <br />the last eight years, Iw,il facilities ~re poor. <br /> <br />"I" <br />;~t',' <br />-~-}i?, <br /> <br />A supplemental water supply viill probs,bly result in a de- <br /> <br />crease in area devoted to grccin and an increase in rOIl crops, par- <br /> <br />ticularly potatoes, and, i7 a factory is constructecl, sugar beets, <br /> <br />The proj ect are~~ would bo freed from an almost completE.' dependence <br /> <br />on staple crops, Yields of forage crops ilill bo considerably in- <br /> <br />creased. The incI't}llse in net income per acre, with supplemental <br /> <br />Vlater without deduction of proj0ct costs, is 0i3timo.ted at about $6.30 <br /> <br />per ncro for trw crops now grovm, and ,;8.22 pOl' acre if sugar beets <br /> <br />qrG introduced. Some inCr0aSG in dniryinG ~nQ hog raising m~y be <br /> <br />exp8ctEJ,cl with incrells"d pri!>duction of forngo cr::Jps. The 'cash crops <br /> <br />of greater value that ceuld thGn b8 prclQuced shuulcl adc'. at least three <br /> <br />timeS the cost ;,j' supplemental w::,ter t,cl thG avero.ge crop return. <br /> <br />There hre) about 170 farms on th2 proj ect, most ()f which Ilre <br /> <br />,)1' about 160 acres. A c0nsidoJro. ble n\lJTIber '-'1' the farmors rent I1ddi- <br /> <br />III <br />