American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1908-02-01
UTILIZATION OF LIMITED WATER
SUPPLIES ON OUR DRY FARMS
Paper Read Dry Farming Congress by Samuel Forer,
Chief Of Irrigation Investigations of the United
States Department Of Agriculture.

feel greatly honored in being per-
mittsd 10 Address. however briefly. the
members Of the Dry Farming congress
A. many Of you well know, my feeble
efforts in the past in seeking To pro-
mote the interests Of this western
country which we all love so well, has
been spent under the canal In eonnec-
tiou with water supplies and irrigation.
The purpose Of this congress Is TO devise
ways and means of developing the Ag-
ricultural resources Of these large areas
Of fertile land which lie above and be-
You'd the irrigation canal. But. al
though irrigation and dry farming differ
in many essential features yet there are
many reasons why western farmers who
follow thr~~ two methods of farming
shosaid be On friendly terms. In the
sirst place. they are neighbour. Therc
u, = q rule. only silver thread Of
water between the irrigated alfalfa
and the dry Land wheat. regret To
say that some Of the actions and utter
snces Of these two elAxses have not
always been ncighbo~iy. There has
been more OF less mud siinging and
dry y-ciai throwing across the canal.
Those who practice and believe IN irr'-
CATION have st times attempted To bcli,-
tic the possibilities Of the dry upland
ard 10 consider Il region suitable only
for grazing stock. On the other hand.
the dry farmer frequently declares ,ha,
irrigation water Is q nuisance and that
he would not use drop Of u II ditch
crossed the upper boundary Of his farm.
These arc extreme views and the sooner
We recognize ,he advantages OF both
kinds of agriculture the more rapid will
be our progress.
In that extensive territory which peo-
pie designate the Mountain States, the
soil OF the upper benches ls frcqosnt.y
be,,sr ard deeper than that Of the yAl-
leys. In my avn experience IN locating
canals have found to my deep rexrc,
tina, the best lard Is frequently above
the proposed canal Then too. under ia
vorabie conditions, this deep. fertile soil
which cannot he srti6etally ~aterca.
produces better quality Of grain. Its
extent is also much greater. No one
knows how much land can be irrigated
in the and and semi ard regions tn the
unitcd States. IL has been vsr,ously
cstimatssi all the way from s0. .opl, W0
TO 100. 000. OOo acres This much we do
know. that for every acre that - irri-
gated by the generations that will fol.
low us. there are likely To be several
acres Of equally fertile soil that must
be cultivated without irrig alton. II eul.
tivatssi at nil. Our children and child.
rcn's children may in time reclaim by
irrigation 10000. 600 acres, but these
descendants Of ours will still gaze just
"a we do on from one To two hundrcs'
million sores Of arabtc and irrigabls
lands for which no water can be Oh
taincd. Nothing that ! may say car
show more clearly the magnitude Of the
problem you men have undertaken. lr
your praiseworthy efforts to establish
happy and prosperous homes on what
II now the uncultivated and uninhabtec
uplands Of this western country. bring
you the greetings and best wishes oi
your neighbors and friends who toll
amidst the irrigated furrows.
No Lise e Oenaskatisa.
In this age Of diversified farming II
the west and Of the winter feeding oI
stock. il Is no longer possible To draw
any sharp line between the farmer anc
the stockman. The small farmer keep
stock and the large stockman grows al
falfa. For the same reason. no sharI
line of dcmarkation exists between the
irrigator and the dry farmer. The irri
gator has frequently a more or less cx
tensive tract above the canal which h,
cultivates without water. and the dr.,
farmer derives great deal Of prof
and satisfaction from the small trsc
which he irrigates. This is surely an
other reason why the dry farmers ant
irrigators should be on friendly terms
This brings me TO the subject that
would like to present in the briefes
possible time, viz, the use Of limite,
water supplies on dry farms. know
men will tell you that artificial supple
Of water arc not needed and to prov,
their statements they will point +
the rich valley lands that have bee,
converted into marshes, 10 the barrei
stretches rsadersd valueleas bv the ris'
Of alkal ard to the troubles and contro
we1ies which arise over the division
ard use Of water.
M~.t ~ Ahnas trc1shlns ara ~ u,,p a~s,,