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Show 'S ,;n Program Mobilized 91 VtS fhe recent consolida- V's soil and water ' 3 t on programs in Du- : N rv,nnnty conservation ef- . Vif being mobilized to W-i areHpfense needs of the'. d lthesavs Ted Lyons, chair-.: fi'S county PMA com-1 ;ee- j,n to the chairman, ser- ; h The Soil Conservation Forest Service and the f't'ion and Marketing Ad--fan having to do with tr ? water conservation are AhpTng concentrated on ft current defense needs " f fthe same time mamtain-Sv mamtain-Sv ' rm production plants in iS;VcondUion for continued trip: f level production in the fu- Tfck'' - !er PMA's Agricultural h- Ration Program assistance k drfed in the form of ma-i$ ma-i$ 'rvkes ancf financial i tn' help farmers carry out i r ved conservation practices, o : e soil Conservation Service ' ith technical assistance in Sloping and preparing speci-4 speci-4 : n for locally adapted a'C . ices to encourage the most ff use of each acre of rot: i technical assistance of Forest Service is similarly i oonsible for helping out on . forestry .practices. fc The County Agent and county h: iesentatives of the Farmers' bit- ;M Administration are also "A of this conservation and de- OK -production team. & Id the chairman's words: This -.solidation has served to :Dalize a working relation- that had been developing irough the years. It has -lengthened this relationship i-dmade it possible to more di-1 jctly apply available services the needs of the county, state id nation." a rurace Outlets Need Attention A grassed waterway or some :ther equally effective means of taking care of excess water ts s essential to the successful op-ai op-ai eration of a good terracing job, svs Reed Lyons, chairman of ie Duchesne county PMA com-J com-J aittee. 4 He points out that what is ione to protect the outlet of erraces may be as important as u! le construction of terraces. J'here no proviison is made to ake care of the excess water, ie terraces may increase the aosioD hazard since jt tends tQ 1 concentrate the ,run-off to lim-! lim-! M channels. ! Bjt if the excess water can ie emptied from terraces to a J i iieavily sodded waterway that will continue to retard the flow, I there is little danger of erosion. I He said that generally - such waterways are constructed so tot the grade and width assure protection when well sodded. I Sometimes checks have to be established in waterways to control con-trol the speed and volume of ac- ranulated water. Mr. Lyons urges farmers of Duchesne county who need to Klablish sod waterways to neck with PMA committeemen "fd Soil Conservation technics techni-cs on plans for their conation. con-ation. The Agricultural Con-e Con-e wation- program provides as- fSce' mers to aid in the establishing of effective sod wa-rways. Conservation io Maintain The Soil Structure Preventing soil structure from breaking down is one of the most important items in keeping keep-ing the farm production plant in condition to turn out the products pro-ducts needed for national defense, de-fense, says Mr. Lyons. A breakdown of the soil structure is one of the first steps to erosion and depletion of the soil. When the soil structure struc-ture is good, there is room for moisture and air and room for the roots to grow. The breakdown break-down comas largely through the loss of organic matter from i the soil. Continuous cropping and the removal of most of the plant growth from the land results in this loss of organic matter. Information about these and other practices recommended for the county is available at the county PMA office in Roosevelt. Roos-evelt. Range Cattle Numbers Reduced With Little Production Loss Cattle numbers on the Santa Rita experimental range in Ari-. zona were reduced almost one half between 1922 and 1946 and the amount of beef sold off the range dropped a little less than 10 perr cent. The calf crop jumped from 72 to nearly 90 per cent and the weight of the calves from an average of 273 to 411 pounds. When the experiment was started in 1922 there were 571 breeding cows on the range. The numbers were reduced to 288 head in the 24 years. Meat production pro-duction during the first six years averaged 117,307 pounds a year and during the second six-year period 136,969 pounds. Since then it has averaged 106,-138 106,-138 pounds. . There are a great many ranchers ranch-ers who dislike the idea of reducing re-ducing the number of animals on their range, says Mr. Lyons, since many feel that they will lose money if they cut down the number. He points out, however, how-ever, that the Santa Rita figures indicate that is not always true. With only about half the investment invest-ment in cattle and equipment, the range produced almost as much meat as it did in the beginning be-ginning and was in much better' condition for year-after-year sustained sus-tained production. |