200 research outputs found

    Endangered Species and Irrigated Agriculture, Water Resource Competition in Western River Systems

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    This report characterizes several aspects of water allocation tradeoffs between fish species listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act and agriculture in the American West. The geographic intersection between endangered/threatened (E/T) fish and agricultural production reliant on surface water for irrigation is identified. Three findings are: (1) 235 counties, representing 22 percent of the West\u27s counties, contain irrigated production that relies on water from rivers with E/T fish, (2) areas generating the highest revenues per acre from crop production are those most dependent on surface water irrigation, and (3) these same areas are also most likely to be drawing water from rivers that contain at least one E/T species

    Estimating Forage Values for Grazing National Forest Lands

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    Every 5 years, the Forest Service is required to update its estimates of the value of Forest Service grazing. This report provides estimates of the maximum ability of ranchers to pay for Forest Service grazing. Abilities to pay vary greatly depending on the region of the country and assumptions about costs. Based on current cash costs, the value of Forest Service grazing is greater than the grazing fee. Based on longrun economic costs, the value of grazing is less than the grazing fee. In some regions of the United States, the longrun value of grazing is zero. These low longrun values reflect the low returns to cow/calf producers in the period on which this study was based

    Sevier River Basin Floods 1852-1967

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    This chronology of Sevier River Basin floods extends from 1852 to 1967. Most common and destructive are dry mantle floods, which flow as a muddy mortar-like substance containing 40 to 55 percent water. Hundreds of tons of protective topsoil are removed from watershed lands, debris and boulders are picked up as the flow travels down steep stream channel gradients, and then the flood is debouched into communities and on to productive cropland

    U.S. Grazing Lands: 1950-8

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    U.S. livestock owners grazed their herds on 817 million acres in 1982, down about 20 percent from 1950. This drop resulted primarily from improved productivity of grazing lands, as animal units of cattle and sheep increased more than 30 percent during 1950-82. Only the Southern Plains, of all farm production regions, showed an increase in land grazed during 1950-82. Non-Federal grazing land consisted of rangeland (67 percent), pastureland (21 percent), and grazed forest (12 percent). More than 30 percent of the non-Federal range and pasture was rated in good to excellent condition, and 12 percent of the grazed forest had very high or high forage value. This report examines grazing trends, demands, resources, and conditions of resources through 1982

    Water Conservation Through Irrigation Technology

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    Improved irrigation technology and advanced farm management practices offer an opportunity for agriculture to use water more efficiently. Farmers may install new equipment, such as drip irrigation systems, or adopt advanced water management practices to conserve water without sacrificing crop yields. While farmers\u27 decision to adopt water-saving irrigation technology responds to the cost of water, physical properties of the land such as topography or soil properties of the land such as topography or soil texture dominate the choice of irrigation technology

    Agriculture Irrigation and Water Use

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    The 17 Western States, plus Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana, account for 91 percent of all U.S. irrigated acreage, with the Western States alone contributing over 85 percent. This report integrates data on the distribution, characteristics, uses, and management of water resources from a wide variety of data sources. The report includes charts and tables on water use in irrigation; farm data comparing selected characteristics of irrigated and nonirrigated farms; and data on water application systems, sources of water, pump energy expenses by energy type, values of irrigated and nonirrigated land, and cash rents
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