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Show Annual Report Of Activities Of Soil Conservation District Released By Uintah Basin Officials A comprehensive report of the activities during 1955 of the Uintah Uin-tah Basin Soil Conservation District Dis-trict has been released by the following fol-lowing members of the board, who report a very active year: Harold Dudley, chairman, Randlett;, Ray S. Brown, vice-chairman,- Rt. 2 Roosevelt; Forrest Hancock, secretary sec-retary - treasurer, Myton; Marvin Smith, member, Vernal; W. C. Foy of Duchesne. They encourage the farmers in the Basin to take advantage ad-vantage of the services offered by the Soil Conservation Service. The board of supervisors meet the second Friday of each month at 8 p.m. in the office of the SCS at Roosevelt. Cooperative Attitude of People In The District Interest in the district's conservation conser-vation program is increasing among farmers, ranchers and irrigation irri-gation companies. Requests for assistance as-sistance in conservation planning as well as for technical assistance in installing conservation practices are increasing. Requests by irrigation companies compan-ies for engineering assistance were greater last spring than could be handled by district technicians. Some additional SCS engineering time was made available to the district, and some companies were able to secure the services of private pri-vate engineers, so all the companies com-panies were able to proceed on their projects. Considerable interest has been shown by farmers and ranchers in soil surveys and land use capability capabil-ity information. There has also been an increased interest in drainage. drain-age. Educational Activities A very successful educational program was carried on by the district. Fifty eight articles were published in one or more of the local newspapers, and 20 article's published in newspapers with statewide state-wide circulation. Conservation Conserva-tion films were shown to 20 groups at schools, civic clubs and other meetings. Ten conservation talks were presented over radio station KVEL. Six conservation talks were given in" civic clubs. Thirty meetings were held with irrigation company officials or other irrigation groups. Twenty-four Twenty-four neighborhood group meetings were held with groups of district cooperators. Conservation material was distributed to all of the churches in the district for Soil Stewardship Sunday and appropriate appropri-ate observance of this day was made. Land judging contests were conducted in three of the high schools of the district, and an inter-school contest was held with three schools participating. The district gave a plaque to each of the five schools in the district, dis-trict, and on it was engraved the name of the student or team making mak-ing the highest score in the school contest. The district also awarded a trophy to the school winning the inter-school contest. This trophy will pass to the winning school each year, and any school winning the trophy three successive years can keep it. One conservation tour was held, with 28 farmers participating. A conservation display booth was exhibited ex-hibited at the Duchesne County Fair. A conservation program and tour was held jointly with the Extension Ex-tension Service in connection with the Uintah Basin Industrial Convention Con-vention in August. Conservation projects were carried car-ried on in all schools of the district,. dis-trict,. Research Needs This district is in need of additional addi-tional practical information for the following: 1 Irrigation water requirements for the major soil groups, including includ-ing proper length of run, frequency frequen-cy of application, etc. 2 Our farms need additional cash crops. We need to know what crops can be grown commercially and where a market could be developed de-veloped for such crops. 3 Some research data on the response of crops to commercial fertilizers, especially nitrogen, under un-der local soil conditions would help promote use of these fertilizers. fertiliz-ers. 4 Determination of irrigation water losses in canals due to seeping, seep-ing, evaporation, transpiration and other causes. 5 Feasibility of using soil amendments such as gypsum in improving the alkaline soils of the district. Information and field' trials on new grasses which have been developed. de-veloped. The District Program The Uintah Basin Soil Conservation Conserv-ation district is the second largest in the United States. For this reason, rea-son, the Soil Conservation Seryice has established three unit offices Vernal, Roosevelt and Duchesne '.o work with the farmers. The district is divided into five ar.'as if respOi;.n .l ty. one for each u pervisor. The supervisor is responsible, re-sponsible, for the ordinary activities activi-ties witain his area. These areas of responsibility are so arranged tnat each unit conservationist is in close contact with two supervisors super-visors for coordinating district activities. ac-tivities. For next year steps have been taken to develop a bigger and better educational and publicity program, and to work with more farmers. Goals have been established estab-lished for the 1956 action program to include each coil conservation practice, soil surveys and farm planning. Our economy is built around the production of beef, sheep, dairy products and alfalfa' seed. The distance dis-tance to market has not permitted the use of high cash producing crops. Higher taxes and high cost of production are making some of the farmers wonder if they, too, can raise other cash crops since all farms and farmers are not adapted to livestock or dairying. The production of beef and dairy products is the largest source of income in the district. The alfalfa seed market was very1 poor this year. Major Problems of the District Requests for technical engineering engineer-ing assistance, especially from irrigation ir-rigation companies, are much greater than can be supplied by the present technical force. If these companies are to accomplish accom-plish their programs and objectives, objec-tives, it appears they will have to rely more and more on assistance from other sources, including private pri-vate engineers, unless more technical tech-nical assistance is granted the district-Proper management and use of water is still a major problem, both on the farms and in the irrigation ir-rigation projects. Much progress has been made in obtaining more efficient distribution and use of water, but there remains a great deal to be done in the way of obtaining ob-taining overall surveys and plans for the various irrigation systems. Reclamation and improvements of saline and alkali soils is being recognized more and more as a major problem. Drainage problems are extensive and complex. Requests Re-quests for assistance in draining and improving these soils are increasing. in-creasing. There is a real need for a continued con-tinued and expanded educational program in the district, especially in acquainting farmers and ranchers, ranch-ers, as well as businessmen with the role of the Soil Conservation District as it applies to the overall over-all agricultural program. There seems to be a lack of complete understanding as to just how each of the various agencies fit into the complete program. |
