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c\r .--j ~ ...-oj AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY The princi.pal use of water in the Gunnison River Basin is for irrigation of agricultural lands. Likewise, production of feed crops for livestock domi.natli's use of the irrigated agricultural land. General cash crops, speciaHz.!:d fruit, and some vegetable crops comprise lesser proportionate amounts oJ the irrigated acreage in the Basin. In general, water supply is plentiful for the irrigated acreage, although shortage of late-season water is common in many areas. The 1950 Census of Irrigation Showed 269,397 acres irrigated in 1949. This figure is consistent with the 1949 Census of Agriculture because it is the only year such reconciliation was made by the Bureau of the Census. Sources of agricultural production data consisted primarily of Annual Colorado Agricultural Statistics, the U. S. Census of Agriculture and Irrigation, Bureau of Reclamation Annual Uncompahgre reports, and farm interviews. Interpolations of county totals into subbasins and addition of subbasins to derive basin totals enabled comparable procedures to be used throughout the study. The composite approach made it possible to account for each part of the counties involved and each of the subbasins as they fit into the Basin as a whole. The Resource Base Annual data for crop acreages, production, and values were compiled for the 1943-60 period because satisfactory water-supply data were available for that period only. Averages for 1943-49 and 1950-56 show trends within the 1943-60 period (table 3). Hay of all kinds averaged about 44 percent of total irrigated land in 1943-60. Its gross value amounted to about 30 percent of the gross value of crops harvested. (Irrigated pasture was not conSidered part of crop- land harvested in determining gross crop values). Although fruit comprised only about 3.5 percent of the total irrigated acreage, its gross value was about the same as all hay for the 1943-60 period. Combined they accounted for about 60 percent of gross value of crops harves ted . Acreages of corn, dry beans, alfalfa hay, and sugar beets have remained fairly constant over the 1943-60 period. Acreages of small grains and fruit have decreased moderately but potato and vegetable acreages have decreased considerably. An increase in acreage of pastureland has about offset the decrease in cropland harvested. Average irrigated acreage of the Gunnison River Basin for the 1943-60 period has been estimated at 264,000 acres. Agricultural Production In addition to crops harvested, a great deal of feed is produced on irrigated pasture and on nonirrigated rangeland. Range livestock depend upon the range for 4 months of summer feed, upon irrigated pasture and - 17 -