Show A agriculture grecu 0 it ure and livestock I 1 0 k foundations F a ons of great wealth M ve t qi 4 11 t post card picture A field of oats in the parowan carowan valley agriculture Is main ma industry in iron county notwithstanding its vast deposits of iron from which it derives its name and its great livestock interests which bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars annually still the cultivation of the soil and the production of agricultural crops has from the beginning been a basic industry in iron county large fertile valleys of deep soil big areas of which are with subterranean waters crystal streams flowing from the canyons and a climate which in ili ordinary seasons approaches the ideal are arc the chief contributing factors to this industry generally speaking there are arc three abre c big valleys in the county the paro wan or the valley of the little salt lake the cedar and escalante each of which are mentioned herewith PAROWAN VALLEY BY W W MITCHELL editor parowan carowan times the parowan carowan valley sometimes referred to as the valley of the little salt lake because it contains one of the remnants of old lake bonneville located in the east end of the county is about twenty six miles long with an average width of about six miles though it is much wider than that in the middle and narrower nari ower at each end it has a variety of soils from bench land down to a lake shore formation which makes it admirably adapted for a variety of crops for many years the three mountain streams which flow into it at parowan carowan Pa rowan para gonah and summit were depended upon as the only means of irrigation and as a result only a small area was rought brought b under cultivation but in comparatively recent years artesian water has been developed until now there is a larger area being iiri gated from that source than from the canyon streams and every indication is that that area will continue to grow moreover it is being demonstrated that large areas can be made productive with little or no irrigation A large area of the valley is proven alfalfa seed terri troy which requires irrigation only to start the 1 alfalfa I fal fa and then it produces year after year profitable yields of good quality seed without irrigation some fields have been abden producing for ten or twelve years without a drop of water being applied by irrigation on our bench lands along the south and east of the valley corn rye sudan grass and even potatoes have been produced in sufficient quantities with no irrigation to demonstrate the possibilities through the heart of the valley there is is a proven area of about four or five by twenty miles in which pump wells can be developed at a nominal cost and now new farms are constantly being made in this area vast areas of it are arc still in ili its virgin st state ite however and though practically all of it is privately owned much of of it can be purchased pui chased at a cost which makes it profitable to develop because of inadequate facilities in the past for marketing mai the crops of the section other than through livestock only the common forage and grain crops alfalfa wheat oats and barley have been produced to any appreciable preci able extent and with the advent of better transportation facilities we 4 A 0 v X fa j f kiy y tf 1 ya v s f M it courtey courtesy zion studio one of the services of the branch agricultural college has rendered to southern xetah has been to prove that underground water may be had for irrigation in ili cedar valley the above well flows a second foot of water and will irrigate over a hundred acres of land 11 avent overcome the habit of devoting practically all our energy to the production of these crops all of which are arc consumed locally and marketed through our livestock it has bas been demont demonstrated rated repeatedly however that small fruits berries a apples apricots plums peaches and a variety of vegetables of 1 a I quality not surpassed anywhere can be produced and it is not too much to predict that with the growing market on the west coast fruit growing and truck gardening will some day be important industries in this valley that more already been done in ili this direction is due largely to the fact that the production of livestock has offered a more attractive and heretofore more profitable means of gaining a livelihood the inhabitants of three communities Par parowan Pa rowan oNvan paragonah Para gonah nall and summit with a combined population of I 1 less than three thousand are arc struggling to develop this valley but to data they have hardly scratched atoned the bur face of is vast resources properly developed it should provide happiness and contentment for at least eight or ten en thousand people CEDAR VALLEY BY ARTHUR FIFE civil engineer state water commissioner on oil coal creek cedar valley runs north and south through the east cast central pait of iron county extending into washington county a few miles at dry creek it is bordered on the east by the ka narra cedar and summit mountains and on the west by the pine valley harmony and iron springs mountains the valley is about thirty miles long and from three to eight miles wide it extends from dry creek on oil the south to rush lake on oil the north there are arc better than one hundred and fifty square miles or one hundred thousand acres of leal ical valley land this area is divided into three classes irrigated land twenty two thousand cultivated but not irrigated ri three thousand seven hundred the remainder or about 75 per cent of the whole area still remains in the native condition and is used for grazing only the alea is supplied with water from the following streams upper ash creek harmony creek dry creek creek and walt hunter creek which furnish water for approximately five div e thousand acres creek which irrigates two thousand acres Quit chopa creek and enoch springs which reach two thousand acres coal cieck which covers an area of thirteen thousand acres the dry farm or non irrigated cultivated lands are located mostly in ill the Quit chopa Ka narra harmony and dry creek districts also alfalfa seed is being produced farther north in the valley without the application of water the native brush land is found seat scat feied the full length of the valley in those places where it has not undergone the metamorphic change of being cleared and cultivated the soil of this valley is able for its depth and fertility to the irrigated areas the water from the mountain streams carries natural fertilizing elements which keep the soil built up to a very high yield yielding inq capacity there are alfalfa fields producing heavily that have not liot been re seeded or planted to anything else since they were first broken up fifty years ago the amount or percentage or alkali land in the valley is almost negligible water supply the much repeated remark that water not land ib the 1 uniting limiting factor in our agricultural development is very significant coal creek discharges from twenty thousand to seventy thousand feet annually 1 the dis chaides from other streams are in proportion pio portion to the acreage irrigated A large percentage of the water reaches the valley during a few weeks in april may and june however the deep and fertile soil boil is particularly adapted to absorb a generous supply during the time the water is ia plentiful and retain much of it for late season growth an increased water supply and an increased efficiency in its application are arc the two methods open for pronounced future development gr gradually ad the irrigation companies are improving the irrigation canals and structures with a view of increasing the efficiency of the distributing system there is a very pronounced move on the part of irrigators to eliminate waste as much as pos possible bible in the application of the water to the land the knowledge of the intrinsic value of water and the adoption of business economy in ili the use of the water will be the future pressure which will demand efficient use of the I 1 water A few small storage reservoirs reservoirs may of water annually for the valley investigations v s igat ions of the feasibility of this p project are arc not completed yet underground water until very recently underground water as a source of water for arri irrigation has not been considered very promising due altogether to the imperfect investigations conducted along that line however there are arc now a few pump wells in the valley that hold out a real promise in this line tile the dixie power company now has lines in some parts of the valley and is ready to extend them when the demand justifies it their rates are arc very reasonable the flat rate of per H P per month for a five month irrigation season being equia equiv equivalent alent to less than one cent per kilowatt hour when the farmer installs an up to date pumping plant that can be operated continuously under these rates the cost of pumping including interest on investment depreciation repairs and attendance and power will be around per acre foot of water lifted twenty feet or per acre foot of water lifted forty feet feat one acre foot of water will give two sl six inch or three four inch irrigations to an acre of land if four or six six applications are arc made each year the cost fora twenty foot lift should bs be about per acre and for a forty foot lift about per acra these figures are based on an average plant pumping a second foot of wat katr r and operating 25 days each month for five months CROPS alfalfa A survey several year ago disclosed that ne nearly arly 80 per cent of the land under coal creek was planted to alfalfa this almost tells its own story agriculture is a 1 I cooperative enterprise with livestock winter feeding of cattle and sheep furnishes the ready market for the hay general fanning faiming is likewise beginning to join hands bands with dairy farming another means of marketing hay and grain the yield of alfalfa varies varies to some extent an estimated average places it at three tons por per acres yields as high as eight tons per acre per year ire are recorded prices range from to 1500 per ton depending on the supply alfalfa seed each year sees more interest in alfalfa seed growing it is a problem on which each farmer is boiking to determine just what pait of his farm should be growing seed the most ideal conditions call for a clay loam soil and subsoil with the waier water table from ten to fifteen feet below the ground surface capillarity supplies the plant roots with sf sufficient water from below to insure a regular but not a vigorous growth which condition is best for seed development A light surface irrigation early in the summer is well worth the effort it is estimated that 1000 acres of land aie used for alfalfa seed at present the average yield per acre is about 5 bushels yields on individual fields run as high as 12 or 13 bushels per acre registered and certified seed aiom ibes to be an ail important part of the alfalfa seed raising in the future already many acres are arc ready to be or have been planted to registered oi 01 pure line seed potatoes potato raising has been sadly neglected because of the demand for forage crops crop there is a real opportunity port unity for the potato farmer if he carefully selects a sandy loam soil and procures a water supply now that the railroad raili oad is here this type of farming should considerable sid erable attention southern california is a very permanent market for a standard product grain of all the giafis possible corn will be the most important from tile the standpoint of production in the tha future there are two reasons fol foi this little in addition to the natural precipitation is needed to mature a crop and it will be ba an important pait of dairy farming and hog raising A yield of 32 bushels pur per acre of wheat can be procured with the aid of one irrigation dry Farmin farming cr small grains and especially wheat are arc grown very s successfully in the dry faim districts mentioned previously sly ay iy when scientific dry farm methods ai abc e strictly complied with RATE OF EXPANSION the U S irrigation census of 1902 gave the irrigated area on k coal creel creek is as a little less than three thousand acres this figure is a little low but the total at that time was considerably under four thousand acres this shows an ail expansion of about four hundred per cent the largest part of which has taken place since 1915 expansion has been made on oil all the other streams in the valley but possibly not to such a marked extent as is on coal creek As is the case in any new agricultural section local capital is soon worked to the limit and new capital is needed for several years outside capital has played quite a part in transforming the sage blush land into cultivated fields interest in this direction is increasing especially is this noti noticeable cable in the districts suitable for alfalfa seed production the new capital is not of much benefit until it goes beyond the point of purchase pui chase and puts the land into a productive state more real dait farmers are needed the safest plan to avoid future misunderstanding is for prospective purchasers to carefully investigate all phases of the district buying it will anvill always be a good investment for buyers even of small parcels to make careful personal inspection in older to select what they want at a price which is reasonable the cedar city chamber of commerce invites inquiries of any nature be built to hold bold water for late season growth nav navajo ajo la lake 1 c a major pr project 0 is is under consideration with an idea of adding ten thousand acre feet rl regarding garding the resources of this part of the state ESCALANTE VALLEY by WILLIAM W BUTLER realtor cedar city member los angeles realty salt lake city utah state boards hanchett said something when he said remember every acre of your sage brush land in iron county has 40 worth of fertilizer on it put there by god almighty the reason we grow big crops the first year out of the sage brush the union I 1 pacific officials determined that the first move for thera them to make before advertising extensively the escalante valley was to have the soil analyzed as to fertility also to determine if alkaline salts were present in the soil in quantities detrimental to successful agriculture they investigated as to the fact of underlying pure water for irrigation in sufficient quantity at shallow depth experts in agriculture state officials fici als leading chemical and irrigation engineers all gave favorable reports as to conditions and potential future in the production of potatoes all kinds of grains garden truck and products from diversified farming generally especially was it emphasized that alfalfa raised for seed will probably be one of the main chops as the valley is developed this on account of sub irrigation possibilities so through operation cooperation co of the agricultural ri experts of the union pacific state officials land merchants and forward lookin looking men in this community the escalante tc valley especial ly near beryl is beginning to take on the appearance of progress new comers have built homes put down wells for irrigation cleared and leveled their lands fenced built roads and generally moved forward toward their goal of agricultural production upon a paying basis this progress has gone on steadily for the past three years the escalante valley comprises approximately acres of land with an estimated watershed of square miles it is one of the last virgin empires of the state of utah where water conditions climate and anad fertile soil entice the homo home seeker lying in the western end of iron and eaver beaver B counties it is traversed by the main line of the union pacific system between salt lake city and los angeles the soil of this valley is mostly of a sandy loam containing a high percentage of marl so |