Show i anasti ana swi farmers learn value of overnight storage reservoirs for irrigation water installing overnight storage reservoirs and leveling uneven fields not only increase inci ease crop yields but also sties saves lavor time and water vater for farmer cooperators of the upper sevier escalante river luver and parla river and trib it barles soil conservation districts according to W earl rhinehart district conservation lot tor for the soil conservation service by storing and impounding water for a short length of 0 time overnight reservoirs augment the farmers fan ners water supply at any ady time oi on demand the lri irrigator gator can water hla his fields whenever lie he desires and nighttime night time irrigation Is no longer necessary nor does the farmer have hae to wor k a steady 24 hour grind in irrigating his fields it if he can rely icly on an overnight storage reservoir by drawing from both his regular flow and his reservoir the larger head of water makes it possible tor for him to lr ir brigate in fit a shorter number of hours nearly ill all overnight reservoirs will w III pay for themselves in from one to three years through increased production and saved labor and water mr air rhinehart says construction of reservoirs costs 26 25 to each in most cases although some of the larger ones cost more A spillway must be built for the surplus runoff run off ott that cannot be held in the reservoir or gates must be provided to divert the flow away from the reservoir when it Is full Allo another precaution Is to fence tile the land around the reservoir to keep livestock ih estock from muddying the waters voters according to the district conservationist tho the reservoir must have silt sill ticie nt depth and volume to store the ill e overnight 0 ver night flow or irrigation i water tie tho 1 s soil 0 11 on ane autti a and sides of the reservoir should be impervious pervious ni to prevent pi event seepage and loss of water concrete or clay lining also can be in stalled if not located on a live stream diversion ditches usual 1 ly are aie needed to direct runoff run lun off ott into the reservoir le construction of tile the reservoirs leseno irs can call bo be done by small or large laige equipment depending on oil the he size of the reservoir mr air rhinehart nhi says overnight storage reservoirs are aie sound investments in grfield county because they have hae definitely increased crop production product duct lon land leveling Is another proven provell way of oe improving the farm litigation irrigation system it lp pointed out it takes hurh more moie time to produce halt half a arop on oil poorly leveled land than it does to produce 1 a I good crop on a well plan ned uniformly level field leveling a field often doubles the value of tile the crop water spreads evenly only on ai level lee field leveling means the smoothing out of all high spots and hollows so that water distribution Is uniform and less water and time are needed tor irrigation every foot of 0 ground is just as wet as the next andi and it if properly pio perly applied no water Is wasted by soaking below the root loot zone every aery high piece of ground which aunders the proper flow of water Is eliminated uneven land makes too much water flow to some parts of the field and too tob little to others either situation is bad it if water vater ponds up in the low ow places the water logged soil becomes boggy and unproductive high points receiving inadequate water are barren bairen or produce short sickly looking plants grading a field Is 1 unwise unless thorough examination Is made of the soil and to a certain plan Is agreed upon to avoid taking all the topsoil from certain t areas leveling a field Is bound to remove much of the topsoil in some soine spots and deprive s some 0 tile parts of the field of the plant foods necessary for plant growth to grow good crops immediately inedia tely after leveling that food must be replaced placed le in tile the form of green manure stubble barnyard manure and other fertilizers tili in addition to land leveling good farm management maa gement and irrigation practices are necessary to produce the best results le mr rhinehart says tho the type tipe of equipment used on a leveling job depends on the size of the field the soil and the amount of dirt to be moved moed for some jobs dobsa a small leveler is good whereas ji v wheeled scraper with horses or a tractor or big graders and bulldozers are aie needed when large amounts of soil must be je moved leveling a field does not deou it level leel because ordinary tillage operations and the normal settling of soil after leveling tend to make the ground surface uneven to keep the surface flat the farmer should go in after each plowing and smooth the surface down again with a float A field can bo be made completely flat or it can be leveled in benches or steps usually a less expensive operation |