DlO—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 12,1981
Something is happening in the
West that could have enormous
implications for Delmarva far
mers. They’re running out of
water.
Not that some of those Plain
States were exactly the Garden of
Eden in the first place, but a
substantial share of our feed grain
is produced in states where
adequate rainfall is always a
problem. And now the whole
concept of irrigation may be in
trouble.
A study done at the Center for
Agricultural and Rural
Development at lowa State
University indicates that an area
stretching from the Nebraska,
South Dakota border down into the
Texas Panhandle is using up
ground water much faster than it’s
being replaced. And the Center is
predicting that by 1990 this shor
tage of ground water will cause
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that region’s farm production to
decline by 970 million dollars.
The area, known as the Ogallala
Aquifer region, is already facing a
crisis with some counties drawing
water from the ground at a rate 10
times faster than it is being
replenished. The problem is
compounded by the fact that as the
water table drops, it costs more to
pump water for irrigation, and that
makes it even less profitable for
farmers.
As a result of the decline in
available ground water in that
region, the study points out that
there will be a dramatic decline in
irrigated land. That means a
return to the much less productive
dry land farming common before
the widespread use of irrigation.
The problem in the Ogallala
Aquifer may be more pronounced
and the impact more dramatic
than in some other places. But it
Hattdpa Smvebf Say»...
Make
ARM BUILDINGS
• Riding Arenas
• Utility Buildings
• Hog Houses
• Cold Storage
avely
& Sons, Inc. J
(Date)
County
—Zip_
• Equipment Sheds
• Storage Buildings
• Workshops
• Residences
points to what a lot of experts have
been saying all along that far
mers are drawing more water out
of the ground than nature is putting
back-and that a day of reckoning is
at hand. We can’t just keep go'ing
deeper into the ground to find a
declining water supply.
While this may work for a while,
eventually it becomes
economically impossible. It just
costs too much to drill the wells
onH pump the water. Farmers in
muse situation would be unable to
compete with fanners in areas of
more plentiful rainfall, or where
irrigation water is more readily
available.
It stands to reason that some of
the semi-arid parts of this country
are that way for a reason. They
just don’t get enough rain. Modern
agriculture’s efforts to modify that
situation by drilling wells and
pumping water to the crops is at
best a short run solution because it
relies on reserves stored over the
centuries reserves that aren’t
being replenished at nearly the
rate of use.
Obviously, if those dry areas
were getting the rainfall they
needed irrigation wouldn’t be
necessary and they wouldn’t be
dry areas. But they are, and
farmers have tried to cultivate
them anyway, and in the long-run
natural scheme of things that just
won’t work.
So it looks as though some of
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g g MODEL 730, S/N 4998-M-12115, Wisconsin Gas Eng., Solid tires, 2 2
g g Grapple, Hydrostatic drive, 1600 Hours *8,300.00 555
SS g MODEL 731, S/N 5006-M-12051, Deutz Diesel Eng., Flotation I 5
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S g from Rental Fleet *13,000.00 5 2
S | MODEL 825, S/N 4958-MA-18496, Perkins Diesel Eng., Flotation 2 2
SS SS tires, 66" Bkt., Hydrostatic drive, 300 Hours, from 2 2
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those irrigated oases of the Great
Western Plains States are going to
be drying up, perhaps even sooner
than some.„experts were predic
ting. And that’s where the im
plications lie for Delmarva far- r
mers. Those with plenty of water,
at least for the short run - , or with
moisture retaining soils that will
produce an adequate crop year in
and year out, have a considerable
advantage. Combine that with the
fact that local farmers are within
easy shipping distance of half of
the nation’s population, and it
becomes apparent that locally
produced farm commodities are
going to continue to enjoy strong
demand.
Of course these are long-range
situations. Kansas isn’t going to
dry up overnight and the
Delmarva peninsula won’t be a
breadbasket for the East in the
GARRETT, Md. - The Mason-
Dixon Polled Hereford Association
held a meeting here recently at the
Garrett Community College.
A discussion was held of things
which may improve the next sale
of the Association. Directors
proposed holding a spring sale in
early May. Larry Chaikcic, Sam
Hunter, Paul Peasley, Don Ross,
HIGHWAY
4500 Paxton St. • Harrisburg, PA (717) 564-3031
Route 309 (Drums) • Hazleton. PA (717) 788-1127
CLARK MELROE DIVISION
Mason-Dixon P. Hereford
Assn, plans tour
next few years. But the trends
seem to be pointing in that
direction.
There, are gpod logical reasons
why some of.the Western states
will return to more dry land far
ming while some other areas of the
country, including the Delmarva
peninsula, step up their production
of both food and feed crops. It’s
matter of comparative advantage.
If we have the water and the other
factors of production and we’re
closer to the markets and to the
people who. need food,, then it
makes sense that we’re going to be
strong in the fanning business for
a long time.
Therein lies a series challenge to
farmers, politicians, land use
planners and others who have a
stake in the long-range health and
- well being of Delmarva
agriculture.
Randall Hannan, James Jenkins
and William Baser will serve as a
sale committee to plan for the sale.
In other business the board ot
directors decided to plan a series
of farm tours to the eastern part ot
the state as a part of the annual
field day and business meeting.
The tour will be planned tor June 5
and 6.
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