The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1926-12-09
DEVELOPMENT AND SETTLE
MENT OF REC AIMED I AMPS
By G. L. Waller, Vice-President of Washington State
college ana an II Head e; q OF the Department
Of Civil Engineering

marketed, or whether they must
De hauled long distances which in
one instance may make a project
feasible. while in another. it might
not be feasible at all.
Assistance and care shon,d bo
given in the selection of agricul-
tural enterprises to be followed
and in giving direction to the hest
agricultural practices for the ON
terprlse selected. The farmer will
need assistance with plans and
ments.
we cannot expect the raw. un-
initiated settler, unacuuainted and
move his family to an IRRIGATED
farm, clear and grade the land
inexperienced in agriculture To
plat it, seed the right kind of cror,
Jay out and follow successful de-
velopment plan, and secure 100
per cent success.
In settling a project. the SET
Tiers qualifications are imnortant
One or more competent. exner-
fenced agricultural advisors shon1d
De placed on every project to as
SYST the farmer in working out his
schemes of agricultural develop-
ment and to whom the farmer NAV
go Tor technical information and
advice. He wants to know what TO
grow. where to. grow it. and when
and how to sell it after If has
been produced.
The first stage in the develop-
ment OF our irrigated projects has
Deen under the supervision of
skilled engineers and should con-
t!nue to be. Planning an irriga-
ton layout for a farm requires
engineering experience and ability.
coupled with practical knowledge
OF irrigation farming. The making
OF such plans, the building of per-
manent farm bitches and struc-
lures. grading and smoothing the
surface of fields, and the adoption
OF the most suitable means of APP
plying water pertain to engineer
ing rather than farming. and
should be as carefully planned and
supervised as the building of the
canal which conveys the necessary
water for the farmers use.
To the farmer inexperienced in
this kind of work must be added
the expenses of proper equipment
to clear the brush and move large
quantities of earth. This equip
ment, the major part of which is
used only for the one operation,
then becomes a dead loss. The
4 grading and clearing can be done
4 better and more economically by
someone trained and equipped to
do such work.
Settlers on irrigation projects
usually have limited means, and
will need to be financed while they
are bringing the land under Gull
tivation.
The farmer who is selected
should be one who is skilled and
who will fit into the development
lplan and who either has the mon
ey, or can get financial backing
to put his farm on a paying basis.
| He must build a house, and a
barn, must buy necessary machin-
cry, and fencing, and live stock.
i Development in the future as in
the past will be slow and success
built upon hardship if the settler
is left to shift for himself in fl
nancing, in the purchase of his
land, clearing his land, in his
choice of agricultural industries,
and community life.
Before a project is finally ap-
proved, it might be well to select
/ one or more representative areas
and make a complete study of inn
portant financial possibilities. The
value of the farms should be ap-
praised, without regard to owner
ship, so that the price may be
biased on productive value; and all
1.-THE farms in the project should, as
nearly as possible, be made equal
ly attractive.
/ The quality of the soil, the
amount of labor and expense re-
auired to prepare the land and to
distribute the water and the a
mount of water required are inn
portant factors in fixing a price
on farms. Land easily cleared and
graded. and which requires a min
imum number of irrigations and
light drainage should be appraised
higher than lands requiring heav-
| Ter grading. a more expensive dis
tributing system, and a greater
number of irrigations.
Cost of water rights should be
based on the producing. value of
the land, as well as upon the cost
of watering the land. The price OF
land and water right should be adj
iusted so that the average net
YEARLY returns per acre will be as
nearly equal as possible. After the
/ water is at the farm. it will cost
more to irrigate some lands than
/ others; lighter soils will require
more water and more frequent ir-
ripations than heavier lands. Some
! lands will lie better and some will
be more fertile than others. and
will thereby be less expensive to
water, and on account OF better
fertility. will require less water.
In fixing price on land and a
water right, proximity to railroads
and highways, navigable streams,
and trade centers must be consld-
cred. A choice farm should be ap-
q 4 <14v oyr