id
PROCEEDINGS
-Thirty-third Annual Meeting
NATIONAL RECLAMATION ASSOCIATION
Palm Springs, California - November 1964
AMERICANS ARE EATING WELL
Thanks to Western irrigation, Americans are enjoying a healthful diet of fresh fruits and green vegetables
the year around.
A Western irrigated field of lettuce.
The West grows all of the Nation's lemons, apricots, figs, walnuts, almonds, filberts, olives, and hops; 90 to 100 percent of the pears, prunes, and plums; and from 50 to 90 percent of the grapes, avocados, nectarines, cherries, and strawberries, and from 50 to 100 percent of the artichokes, garlic, cantaloupes and honeydew melons, lettuce, celery and carrots.
Agricultural Economic Report No. 33 Economic Research Seri /ice, L.S.D.A. May 1963
NATIONAL RECLAMATION ASSOCIATION
897 National Press Building
Washington, D.C. 20004
‘q(04
Proceedings of the
THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL CONVENTION
NATIONAL RECLAMATION ASSOCIATION
November 11, 12, 13, 1964
Palm Springs, California
RECLAMATION—Develops the West and Benefits the Entire Nation
NATIONAL RECLAMATION ASSOCIATION 897 National Press Building
NATIONAL RECLAMATION ASSOCIATION
33rd ANNUAL CONVENTION
Palm Springs, California
November 11, 12, 13, 1964
GENERAL SESSIONS
Wednesday Forenoon - November 11
PROGRAM
STATE CAUCUSES
Convention Center
Presentation of the Colors by U.S. Marine Corps, 29 Palms Marine Training Center; music by Coachella Valley Joint Union High School Band.
CALL TO ORDER
INVOCATION
Rc.' Donald 0. Lathrop, pastor of First Methodist Church of Indio
MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES, Lyndon B. Johnson
ADDRESS OF WELCOME
Ralph M. Brody, Chairman, California Water Commission, representing Gov. Edmund G. Brown, California
ADDRESS -- THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Hugh A. Shamberger, NRA President and Nevada Director
ADDRESS
Honorable Kenneth Holum, Assistant Secretary of the Interior in charge of Water and Power
ADJOURN FOR LUNCHEON
Wednesday Noon - November 11
LUNCHEON- --Mediterranean Room
Arthur Svendby, NRA South Dakota Director, Toastmaster
INVOCATION
Rev. Duane 'Thebeau, vicar of St. John's Episcopal Church of Indio
ADDRESS
Wednesday Afternoon - November 11
GENERAL SESSIONS- --Convention Center
Milo W. Hoisveen, NRA Second Vice President and North Dakota Director, Presiding.
ADDRESS
Lt. Gen, Walter K. Wilson, Jr., Chief of Engineers, United States Army
REPORTS
Outdoor Recreation Committee -- Dean Kastens, Chairman Small Projects Committee -- Doyle F. Boen, Chairman Sugar Beet Committee -- Floyd N. Smith, Chairman
Auditing Committee -- Wesley A. D'Ewart, Chairman
PANEL DISCUSSION - "THE PLACE OF HYDROELECTRIC POWER IN THE RECLAMATION PROGRAM" -- J. A. Riggins, Jr., NRA Arizona Director, Moderator
Panel Members:
Felix L. Sparks, Director, Colorado Water Conservancy Board, Denver, Colorado D. W. Reeves, President, Public Service Company, New Mexico
Paul E. Shaad, General Manager, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Sacramento, Calif.
Floyd E. Dominy, Commissioner of Reclamation, U.S. Dept, of the Interior
REPORT
Treasurer's Report -- Lorin W. Markham
ADJOURNMENT
Color Film - "Billion Gallons a Day", courtesy Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Thursday Forenoon - November 12
Color Film - "Miracle of Missouri" - courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation
GENERAL SESSIONS- --Convention Center
Guy C. Jackson, Jr., former NRA President; and Texas Director, presiding
REPORTS
Land Limitation Committee - James F Sorensen, Chairman
Nonreimbursables Committee (Res. No. 5) - Frank Raab, Chairman Special National Reclamation Association Committee on RightsofWay
-P. A. Towner, Chairman
ADDRESS
Robert T. Chuck, Manager-Chief Engineer; Division of Water and Land Development, Dept. of Land & Natural Resources, Honolulu, Hawaii
ADDRESS
William E. Warne, Director, Department of Water Resources, The Resources, Agency, State of California
ADDRESS
Assemblyman Carley V. Porter, Chairman, Assembly Water Committee California State Legislature
REPORTS
Agricultural Research Committee - George L. Henderson Power Advisory Committee - James F. Sorensen
ADDRESS
George B. Maxey, Research Professor of Hydrology and Geology University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada
Thursday Noon - November 12
LUNCHEON- --Mediterranean Room
Honorable Walter Rogers, Member of Congress, Texas; Chairman Subcommittee, Irrigation and Reclamation -- Toastmaster
INVOCATION
Father William Valverde, assistant pastor of Our Lady of Soledad Catholic Church of Indio
ADDRESS
Honorable Wayne N. Aspinall, Member of Congress, Colorado; Chairman, House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee
Thursday Afternoon - November 12
GENERAL SESSIONS—Convention Center
I. J. Coury, NRA New Mexico Director, Presiding
REPORTS
State Water Rights Committee - Harvey 0. Banks
Water Resources Planning Act Committee — Guy C. Jackson, Jr., Chairman Codification Committee - Clifford E- Fix, Chairman
ADDRESS
Honorable John P. Saylor, Member of Congress, Pennsylvania; Member, House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee
REPORTS--STATE CAUCUSES
ADJOURNMENT
Thursday Evening - November 12
ALL STATES BANQUET
Mayor Frank Bogert, Palm Springs, Master of Ceremonies
INVOCATION
"The Lord's Prayer", solo by Dick Kite, Palm Desert; Hal Kapp, Palm Desert, accompanist.
ENTERTAINMENT
Fire House Five Plus Two from Disneyland.
INTRODUCTION OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND LIFE MEMBERS Hugh A. Shamberger
Friday Forenoon - November 13
STATE CAUCUSES
Color Film - "Concrete-Lined Canals Save Water", courtesy, Portland Cement Association
GENERAL SESSIONS—Convention Center
LaSelle E. Coles, Past President; and NRA Oregon Director, Presiding.
REPORTS
Legislative Committee - H. E. Wallace, Chairman Water Users Committee - J. R. Barkley, Chairman
ADDRESS
Roland P. Kelly, Program Director, The Ralph M. Parsons Company Los Angeles, California
ADDRESS
Floyd E. Dominy, Commissioner of Reclamation, U.S. Dept. of the Interior
Friday Noon - November 13
LUNCHEON- --Mediterranean Room
Hugh A. Shamberger, NRA President and Nevada Director Carson City, Nevada, Toastmaster
INVOCATION
The Rev. Donald R. Woodley, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Coachella Valley
ADDRESS
Friday Afternoon - November 13
BUSINESS SESSION
Presiding, Hugh A. Shamberger
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
COMMITTEE REPORTS
HAWAII ACCEPTED AS A MEMBER STATE
REPORT
Resolutions Committee - William S. Holden, Chairman
MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS
SELECTION OF CONVENTION CITY - 1966
1967 CONVENTION
GENERAL SESSIONS
Wednesday Forenoon - November 11, 1964 HUGH A. SHAMBERGER, President - Presiding
Prior to the opening of the General Meeting, the Presentation of Colors by the U. S. Marine Corps, 29 Palms Marine Training Center, with music by Coachella Valley Joint Union High School Band.
The meeting was called to order and presided over by Hugh A. Shamberger, President.
The Invocation was presented by Rev. Donald 0, Lathrop, pastor of First Methodist Church of Indio.
MESSAGE from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES "Hugh A. Shamberger. President
National Reclamation Association Riviera Hotel
Palm Springs, California
Greetings and warm personal wishes to representatives of Western water-user organizations as you convene for the thirty-third annual Convention of the National Reclamation Association. I am certain that my views on the vital import-ance of developing an adequate water supply for future economic and population growth of our great society are well known to
most of you. I also believe that you are aware of my continu-ing support of water resource development. As you survey 1965, and beyond, in your Convention proceedings, you can be confident that, with the support of the newly-elected National administration and the Congress, the Reclamation program will continue to forge steadily forward in the years ahead.
ADDRESS OF WELCOME
Ralph M. Brody, Chairman California Water Commission
Representing Gov, Edmund G. Brown
Governor Brown has asked me to express to you his sincere regrets at his inability to be present at the opening of your Convention here at Palm Springs. Were it not for other pressing matters, he would personally be present. He has asked that I convey to you his greetings and his wishes for your enjoyable and fruitful Convention.
It is a double pleasure for us to have you hold your Convention here in California. First, because we always enjoy having visitors from our sister States. More importantly, we are honored that the National Reclamation Association has chosen our State for this Convention,. This Association has been noted for its contribution to Reclamation and the development of the West. Its historical constructive efforts have, over the years, furthered the cause of conservation and water resource development.
However, as we review the events that have transpired in recent years, we cannot be certain that all of us are aware, or at least we do not display our awareness, for some of the real problems that are facing Reclamation development in our Western States where it is so vitally needed.
I would like to take a few brief moments to mention just one of the problems that I believe is facing us and needs the attention of all of us. The time of isolated local projects, as we all know, is past. Without larger, more remote projects, we cannot efficiently or adequately put to use the remaining water resources. This in turn means that we must abandon our isolationist attitude and recognize that artificial political boundaries do not form a legitimate basis for influencing our attitudes and judgments in
con-nection with needed projects. The development of any area is of benefit to all other areas. If Nevada receives water, it is of benefit to the State of California and if California receives water, it is of benefit to Nevada; and so it is true with respect to the development of water supplies for any part of the West because it influences and affects every other part of it, and it is to our common interest to see that each area has a needed water supply. This, coupled with the fact that the only sound basis for developing our untapped resources is that of regional planning, construction and operation, requires that we ignore these artificial boundaries.
2-I believe that this is a major problem facing us today. 2-I also believe that this organization, perhaps better than any other, can be the one that brings about the common understanding necessary for regional planning and
develop-ment. The National Reclamation Association can, and I am sure will, serve as the catalyst for achieving the desired end We cannot start too soon. Without this approach, the West will not achieve the potential of which it is capable.
Again, I wish to express the best wishes of Governor Brown, and my own, for a successful and enjoyable meeting in Palm Springs.
* * * * * * * * *
Harold H. Christy, First Vice-President introduced Mr. Shamberger:
ADDRESS
THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Hugh A. Shamberger, President
The election is over. For the first time in history, I believe, both Presidential candidates were from Reclamation States, This fact is an indica-tion of the Westward drift of naindica-tional life I hope it will also indicate an in-creased awareness of the problems of the West by the National government.
The 88th Congress was one of the most conservation-minded Congresses in history. It passed more than thirty important conservation bills. The Water Resources Research Act, endorsed by NRA, will provide for water research centers at land-grant colleges and State universities. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, also supported by NRA, will make funds available for outdoor recreation areas. The Wilderness bill that was finally passed contained the safeguards that NRA desired.
-3-The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation was established and continental America's first new National park in the past 17 years was created with concurrence of this Congress. Dur-ing the life of this Congress we have seen the beginnDur-ing of construction on more than 200 water resource projects throughout the country; flood-control funds increased by more than 50 percent; more than 5, 500 miles of transmission lines built or construction started; the implementation of the Columbia River Treaty; the commencement of the Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest intertie; an expanded salt-water desalinization program move forward; and many other accomplishments which can be credited to this Congress
This was a bi-partisan effort. However, I am sure you will all agree that the con-servation accomplishments of this Congress were also the accomplishments of Secretary Udall, his fine staff, his colleagues in the Interior Department, and the efforts of other mem-bers of the Executive Branch. And, let us not forget the fine leadership and support of our friends in Congress and also that the NRA had a good deal to do with some of them.
For us in Reclamation, in spite of some disappointments, there was also much to celebrate. The year's $L36 billion in Reclamation crop production set another record. The problems of the Missouri Basin Account were satisfactorily worked out, and at least that obstacle to further progress in the Basin has been removed. The Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest intertie which I have already mentioned should help make more revenues available to support Reclamation developments in the Columbia Basin. This intertie, made possible by cooperation between the public and private electric people, will have the first direct-current transmission line in this country, and in fact it will be the longest such line in the world. Here again, Secretary Udall and his staff deserves great credit for engineer-ing this project which can't help but have a great bearengineer-ing on the future economy of the West. This is the type of west-wide planning that must be done if we are to solve our regional water problems.
The Bureau of Reclamation under Commissioner Dominy has announced a con-struction program for the coming year of $318 million, which is second in the Bureau's history only to the record year of 1950. Under this program, six projects will be started next year -- the Mann Creek Project in Idaho, the Baker Project in Oregon, the Oroville-Tonasket Unit of the Chief Joseph Dam Project in Washington, the Tehama-Colusa Canal of the Central Valley Project in California, and Crystal Dam of the Curecanti Unit of the Colorado River Storage Project in Colorado.
The year's major disappointment has been in the matter of authorizations, and this has been a severe disappointment indeed -- particularly the failure to secure the
Garrison Diversion Unit for which so many people fought hard and hoped much. Only seven new starts were authorized by the 88th Congress Reclamation appropriations, too, have not kept pace with those provided for other national water-resource programs,
Your National Reclamation Association will continue to fight for more authoriza-tions and more adequate appropriaauthoriza-tions Next year the Garrison Diversion Unit will of course be brought before Congress again. So will other important Reclamation projects, among which probably will be the Mid-State Project in Nebraska, Auburn-Folsom South Unit in California; the Central Arizona Project; the Oahe Unit in South Dakota; the Southern Nevada Water Project; the Texas Water Plan, and the Southwest Water Plan, These projects
are in areas where .Reclamation development is urgently needed and where solutions to water Problems must be found and found promptly. They are needed not only to fill pressing local and regional needs for water supply, to provide a backlog for orderly and planned develop-ment, to maintain a well-trained and dedicated force of engineers and other technical and ad-ministrative personnel required for an adequate Reclamation program, but more important they are needed by the entire country in order to maintain a booming and national economy, It is this latter point that we in NRA must keep in mind as we seek to broaden interest in and support of the Reclamation program.
However, at this time I am not going to dwell on the details or merits of specific Projects. That can be done in our committees and business sessions. I am rather going to talk about some problems that confront the entire West.
Right now the West is like a man who, after long effort, has made his way to the threshhold of an outstandingly successful career, only to find that a chronic illness which has handicapped him for years is now becoming acute. Unless this illness can be successfully treated, his long struggle will be in vain, and his glowing future will be lost just when it seemed within his grasp.
All things except one seem to promise the brightest of futureS for the West. Its Population, its industry and enterprise, its prestige and influence in National affairs, are growing at an accelerating rate that could soon make it an important, if not the dominant, region of the Nation. •But it has always suffered from the chronic handicap of insufficient water; and the Reclamation program which for more than 60 years has been its main reliance in overcoming this handicap is in trouble. Unless Reclamation can be made vigorous and healthy again, the West may lose the promise of its future.
The enterprising people in our cities and political centers who are planning the future growth of the West are simply assuming that the water problem will somehow be taken Care ,of. It is time for them to realize that instead of being taken care of, this problem is being neglected in some of its most important aspects. Such neglect, if continued, will act like an infestation of a hidden fungus or insect pest upon a major crop. Further harvests May be reaped, but as time goes on the yields will dwindle, and eventually growth will no longer be possible.
It is the part of wise foresight and responsible leadership to keep this from happen-ing before irreparable damage is done. The Reclamation program, basic to economic devel-°Pment, should be kept moving at a pace geared to the accelerating pace of economic develop-inent. Reclamation projects to support growth should be commenced in time so that they can be ready and producing when their production is needed.
But the fact is that Reclamation has been lagging in recent years. This Congress, Which has been so conservation-minded in so many ways and which has provided adequately and even generously for most water-resource programs, has been grudging by comparison in providing Reclamation authorizations and appropriations. And to us of the NRA, as indeed to the West at large, irrigation is the heart and essence of the Reclamation program and the key to future Western growth.
The 88th Congress authorized expenditures of only $148, 000, 000 for new starts. The challenge facing us is to raise this level at least three-fold and do it during a period when demands for reduced Federal commitments and expenditures are coupled with needs for sup-porting heavy defense and space appropriations and finding means within the National economy to combat poverty and unemployment.
When we ask our Congress, oar National leaders, and our fellow citizens for more support for Reclamation, we are not asking for personal favors or handouts. We are asking, on behalf of the great Western community, for the Federal investments the West needs and to which it is rightfully entitled in order to sustain its growth, and to maintain and increase its contributions to the National welfare.
However, even though our demands are well justified, they will not deserve nor receive much attention unless we back them up with substantial efforts of our own. So one of the basic problems which I, as your President, am going to lay before this convention is the problem of what we ourselves are going to do to overcome the crisis which now confronts our program.
Let us recall that this is not the first time the National Reclamation Association has encountered such a crisis and overcome it. The NRA was founded back in the 1930's when it appeared that Federal Reclamation was doomed unless West-wide support could be rallied to save it. At that time we were able to show that we represented a sense of urgency and determination that was felt throughout the West. We were able to communicate this feel-ing to our public officials; and they responded with not just the retention, but the expansion and acceleration, of the Reclamation program.
I believe we must find ways of doing the same thing today — ways suitable and acceptable to the present time. We are working today in a different situation than we were in the '30s. But now as then we are in a democratic community in which public officials are responsible to the expressed demands of the people. And it may be that part at least of our trouble is that we have not convinced our officials that there is a genuine West-wide demand for, and concern over, our Reclamation program.
Therefore, I think that all of us -- not only those of us at this convention, but all NRA members and all beneficiaries of the Reclamation program--should redouble our efforts to keep the West aware of what Reclamation means to it. The Nation must be aware that the West values Reclamation as its own program vital to its welfare, and is alert and resolute to defend it.
Your Board of Directors are considering means of stimulating greater active ex-pressions of interest in our program in each of their States. These means might include enlisting expressions of support from Chambers of Commerce and public officials in
Recla-mation towns and counties, the solicitation of editorial support by newspapers, and other media; expanded grass-roots contact with State and National representatives, the distribu-tion of informadistribu-tion material explaining the Reclamadistribu-tion cause as we have done to some degree this year; and such other activities as they may deem appropriate.
The nature of the Reclamation program has changed tremendously in the last several decades, but the basic membership and major organization interests of our
Association have remained largely unchanged. We are in a transitional period and of neces-sity we must change over in our thinking and general approach to problems of comprehensive water-resources development. We should interest the various groups concerned with multi-purpose development and use of our water resources, as we should interest ourselves in their problems and programs. We have made a start with the development of a representative Power Advisory Committee and an Outdoor Recreation Committee.
I also suggest that our efforts, whatever form they may take, should be concen-trated on support of the irrigation function. That is the aspect of our program that is most in trouble and that is being used as a pretext for attacking the program as a whole. Though We will continue to support sound power, industrial water supply, recreation, and other functions related to Reclamation, those functions already have well-organized support, and there is even a possibility that they may overbalance and divert the Reclamation program from its original purpose. Irrigation by contrast now is being snubbed by many of its former friends and needs all the support it can get; and the NRA above all others is one organization
that'should never fail to provide it.
The NRA has always supported the comprehensive, multi-purpose, basin-wide approach to water-resource development, and it still does. It is the only approach that makes sense. We do not want any river or any source of water to be developed for single-Purpose irrigation as long as multiple-purpose development is feasible.
But neither do We want irrigation to be left out, nor subordinated in, Western river-basin development programs. It is only through expended irrigation development that the West can continue to have its own regional agriculture to support its cities and industries with a balanced regional economy. It is only through expanded irrigation development that the vast rural areas of the West can achieve a thriving and stable prosperity, and be relieved of de-Pendence on erratiC and insufficient rainfall that has doomed large parts of the region to stagnation and decline. It is only through expanded irrigation developments, commenced 'low, that the future needs of the West's growing population for food and fiber can be met.
In other words, expanded irrigation development is absolutely essential to the growth of the West; and consequently the West must not allow the irrigation function to be stifled because of the fears, the ignorance, or the indifference of those who do not or will not appreciate its significance, Irrigation has always been, and must remain, the principal and primary business of Reclamation. If irrigation is going to become just another inciden-tal and deferrable function in river-basin development, people may begin to doubt that the West has a program aimed at meeting its distinctive water needs.
I would like to remind you that many major urban areas in the West owe their Origin to Reclamation development. It was from this base that other industries were estab-lished which in many areas now overshadows the original purpose. In speaking of Reclama-tion here, I am referring to both private and federally-developed irrigaReclama-tion developments.
Now, we of the National Reclamation Association are the main voice, the only voice on a West-wide scale, of the vital irrigation interest; and it is our responsibility to
be
an effective voice for that interest. With all due recognition and appreciation of thethe group best equipped to present the views of Western irrigation farmers to the Federal Government; that we are the group best equipped to point out the West's irrigation needs to other parts of the country; and that we are the non-governmental group most looked to for an authoritative, knowledgeable, and responsible expression of rural Western views on water development. In other words, we too, equally with our elected public officials, have a respon-sibility of leadership.
We sometimes hear it said that once a project area gets its water, it loses inter-est in Reclamation and is not much concerned about the improvement of other areas. But the fact is that existing, developed Reclamation areas have a direct financial stake in the build-ing of more irrigation projects. For as long as further irrigation development is held back, existing project areas will have to bear an undue burden of community support.
For example, the people of the Salt River Valley Project area now provide a large part of the cost of running the State of Arizona. During the droughts of the 1930's, the Scottsbluff Reclamation Project was about the only producing and earning rural region in
Nebraska and helped support not only its own roads and schools, but those of many other parts of the State as well. Similarly, throughout the Westwe find thatReclamation projects, because of their exceptional stability and productivity, are defraying a larger part of the public expense than either their area or their population would indicate.
This is rightful; we do not object. But we cannot help being aware of how the bur-den on existing projects would be relieved if more projects were built, Our Western States with their irrigated and unirrigated areas are like a large familywhich relies for its support on the steady earnings of just a few breadwinners, while many other potential earners in the family have only part-time or no employment. If they, too, could become fully productive,
the burden on the present breadwinners would be eased, and the whole family community would be more prosperous.
So it is apparent that all Reclamationists have abundant reason to put forth greater effort on behalf of an accelerated Federal irrigation program. It is up to us of the NRA to fulfill our responsibility of leadership by again rallying and stimulating such effort, as we did in the 1930's.
One way in which we can and should do this is to strengthen our own organiza-tion. Our Washington office in the past year has published and distributed 15, 000 copies each of two brochures, which went to every Congressman, every county agricultural agent in the United States, and an extensive list of newspapers and other media of information. It repeatedly addressed letters and other presentations to the Congress and the President. Through its efforts, a letter addressed to President Johnson was signed by 16 Western Governors. The Eastern mailing list has now been built up to more than 600 names of State officials and others concerned with water-resource work.
In view of the limited resources available to our Executive Director, Mr. William E Welsh, I consider he has done wonders. The success that NRA has achieved as the main spokesman for Reclamation has been due in no small part to his skillful and knowledgeable work in the Nation's capital. But with greater resources, our organization could do even more. We are now seeking sources of additional funds The Board of Directors is explor-ing ways of providing more help for the Executive Director in the Washington office.
Our organization has 18 active committees which meet at least once, and some-times twice, during the year. This year five new committees have been added--- Nonreim-bursables, Outdoor Recreation, Power, Sugar Beet, and the Water Resources Regional Planning Committee. I like to think of NRA as an action organization and will do my best to keep it so.
During my years as Director and now as your President I have become very familiar with the work of these active committees, and on behalf of the Board of Directors I want to express our appreciation. It is the thoughts generated at the committee level that enable our organization to formulate our programs.
We shall seek also to strengthen our State organizations. These are the strength of the NRA. State Reclamation organizations can help encourage stronger State-water resource programs, and this is one of our long-held objectives. I think it will be up to the reclamationists and friends of reclamation to convince our officials that there is a genuine Western demand for, and concern over, our Reclamation programs. I think that all of us, NRA members and all beneficiaries of the Reclamation program, should talk Reclamation and preach Reclamation more than we do. A feeling must be engendered and loudly voiced throughout the West that Reclamation is our program and that we value its welfare.
These are the reasons why the NRA Board of Directors believes it so necessary to stimulate greater effort by our Association. In order to succeed we must depend on our state associations. And ro matter what form our efforts may take they should be concen-trated on support of the irrigation function of our reclamation program.
In summary, then: While we look to the Congress and the Administration in Washington to fulfill their responsibilities toward the West and toward Reclamation, let Lis also be vigorous in our own behalf. Let us insist that our fellow citizens and our elected representatives recognize and act on the axiomatic desert, no waterless waste-land ever contributed anything to anybody as long as it remained parched; but when pro-vided with irrigation, many such areas have sustained great and rich civilizations. The American West must take its place among these latter.
I thank you.
WATER FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY--A GIFT OF OPPORTUNITY TO GENERATIONS YET UNBORN
Honorable Kenneth Holum
Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Power
Whenever one visits the Southwest, he can look across the arid deserts and almost see the proud Conquistadores, in full battle dress, pushing on toward distant
mesas in search of adventure and fabulous cities of gold.
The era of the Conquistadores and the quest for the fabled Cities of Cibola was 4 romantic interlude in the development of the West that lives on in local legend and his-tory books. And it is a colorful page of hishis-tory that we must never allow to be forgotten.
Yet, you and I know that the West was never really conquered by caparisoned adventurers--no matter how bold, brave, and galant they were. The West was won by simple, hardworking people who followed them --the robed priests and the irrigation farm-ers of the Spanish missions and the colonizfarm-ers of the West--who built the ditches and the reservoirs and made the fertile desert land blossom.
It is also one of the ironies of history that the bold Conquistadores never found the golden cities of the West; they were built, brick upon brick, upon the economy provided by the irrigation farmers and their urban neighbors who came West or grew up during the past six score years of western migration and expansion.
Today, however, there is a new problem to conquer here in the West that is just as challenging as that faced by our forebears. We who inherited the chaps, the spurs, and the irrigating shovels of our predecessors have our work cut out for us, too--a man-sized job for stout-hearted buckaroos. But before I discuss this tremendous challenge facing the new West, I want to comment briefly on the Department of the Interior's stewardship in the water resource field under the leadership of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and Secretary Udall during the past four years.
The overall progress of Western water resource development during the past four years has been tremendous. Despite the truly fine record of the Administration and
the Congress, I know that some of you here today may be disappointed because certain specific projects in which you are interested were not acted upon. Many of these projects, even though endorsed by the Administration, were held up while major policy decisions were hammered out. With most of this major policy legislation out of the road, I believe the way has been cleared for early consideration by the incoming Congress, of specific project authorizations In the meantime, I should like to refresh our minds with the high-lights of a record of solid accomplishment for Reclamation during the past four years:
1. A record four years of Reclamation construction. More than a billion dollars in new facilities have been added to the Bureau of Reclamation physical plant in the past four years This represents an increase of one-fourth in the total building of the Bureau over the preceding 39 years. The past two years have been record years--back to back--for the Reclamation construction program.
2. A record four-year Reclamation planning program. During the past four years, Bureau of Reclamation planning activities have been increased by 50 percent. The four-year record total of $67 million appropriated for investigations and advance planning has filled the pipelines with planned projects which can enable the 89th Congress to set a record for projects authorized. Furthermore, there are some 140 investigations of proj-ects now going forward in the Bureau of Reclamation_
3 A great leap forward in water research. The Water Resources Research Act of 1964 is landmark legislation, comparable to establishment of agricultural research stations in the land grant colleges under the Hatch Act. This program will mobilize the scientific resources of American universities in water resources research and will
strengthen Federal, State, local participation in these efforts. Research activities of the Bureau of Reclamation were increased and funds were appropriated for inter-agency field
research work in weather modification. Saline water research by the Office of Saline Water was increased sixfold and four new demonstration plants are producing 3-1/4 million gallons of fresh water daily.
4. Revision of Executive Policy Circular A-47. When we visited with you in 1961, you were loudly critical of Bureau of the Budget's Circular A-47 and urged that it be revised to obtain an up-to-date and uniform set of standards for the formulation and evaluation of water resource projects. A Cabinet-level committee was appointed by President Kennedy to review this matter that fall, and a new policy directive known as Senate Document 97, 87th Congress, was approved in May 1962. The new policies are designed to insure the best use of water and related land resources to meet all foreseeable needs, short and long-term.
5. Significant successes in Cooperative Power Development, Federal, private and municipal entities will share in building the Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest Intertie, the biggest single electrical transmission program ever undertaken. This program will link electric power networks from British Columbia to southern Arizona, assuring total benefits of $2.6 billion to millions of people in the Western United States and Canada. The Intertie will help us implement the United States-Canadian Columbia River Power Treaty. This far-reaching treaty will help put the total water resources of the Columbia River Basin to maximum use. Among other things, it will mean the eventual doubling of the hydro capacity of Reclamation's largest structure, Grand Coulee Dam.
Public and privately owned utilities also are participating in the operational plan-ning of the extensive transmission system of the Upper Colorado River Storage Project. Less than a month ago switches were thrown on this system to link more than 40 million kilowatts of capacity into a westwide grid in which the Federal Government is a major Participant.
6. 27 New Starts, 19 Project Authorizations. Reversing the "no new start" policy of the previous administration, this administration advanced funds to start 27 Reclamation Construction projects with a total estimated investment of $1,442, 000, 000. These new proj-ects will supply irrigation water for 1, 450,757 acres, a municipal and industrial water sup-Ply of 319,830 acre-feet, and 702,900 kilowatts of new hydroelectric generating capacity. Authorized by the Congress were 19 projects, units or major supplemental construction fea-tures withia total investment value of $585 million. These project totals include the $135 Million Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, which Reclamation is building for the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
7, Expedited Construction and Revitalization of Major Projects. This Adminis-tration sponsored legislation to remove inequities and to place the Columbia Basin Project °fl the same basis as other Reclamation projects, thereby lifting a construction ceiling on this half-completed million-acre development in the State of Washington, Virtually all other Projects currently under construction were expedited, including such major developments as the Trinity and San Luis Units of the Central Valley Project and the Upper Colorado River Storage Project. Following a year-long financial study, recommendations were made to put the $5.8 billion Missouri River Basin Project on a firm financial basis to clear the way for further project development in that ten-State area,
8. Passage of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Bill. This important legis-lation was an outgrowth of the activities of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Com-mission. The fund established will help the States and Federal agencies meet the growing outdoor recreation demands of the American people, on a pay-as-you-go basis. Of compa-rable interest to a large segment of the conservation community was the passage of the Wilderness Bill, which was extensively amended to provide statutory authorization for wilderness preservation without materially affecting development and utilization of other essential resources. These wilderness areas, principally high in the mountains will mean protected and untrammeled watershed lands to protect the sources of many of our great river systems.
I have recited some of the specific accomplishments in the field of Reclamation and water-resource development that constitute a significant record of achievement for the past four years. The tabulation could be prolonged if time were available.
I suggested earlier the major policy decisions have been made that would permit future significant accomplishments in the Reclamation field. At previous N.R.A. Conven-tions, you discussed with me your concern over problems related to the financial position of the Missouri River Basin Project and general policies as they relate to cost allocation for recreation. Both these items required detailed study and careful thought. Solutions have been found and recommendations submitted to the Congress. There is every rea.son to be-lieve that these recommendations are satisfactory to the Congress. If they are, meritori-ous projects such as Garrison, Oahe, Mid-State in the Middle West, and the Auburn-Folsom South in California's Central Valley can move forward.
If Reclamation is to continue to enjoy the broad base of nationwide support that it has and deserves, Federal administrators and Reclamation supporters in the West must continue to be diligent in their support of basic Reclamation principles that have under-girded the program from its inception 62 years ago.
I refer to two antimonopoly provisions of basic Reclamation Law:
(1) the preference clause as it relates to the marketing of electric power; and
(2) the excess land laws as they relate to the marketing of irriga-tion water.
We follow these principles scrupulously because we believe in them and because we know that failing to do so would cost the program public and Congressional support.
During the past four years, our administration and the antimonopoly cla.use as it relates to the marketing of electric power have never been seriously challenged. I am cer-tain our careful administration of this significant facet of Reclamation law has produced new enthusiasm for the Reclamation program
Administering the excess land laws has caused us more difficulty, as you know. Some of our water service contracts have been critically reviewed by long-time staunch friends of Reclamation.
We have appreciated this critical review because we agree that sound public policy requires that the benefits from Federal interest-free investments in Reclamation be wide-spread and because we are convinced that communities composed of small but prosperous family farms are in the public interest, both local and national.
We have not executed any contracts that violate the principles of the excess-land laws and we do not intend to do so in the future.
On August 1, 1962, the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs adopted a Committee Resolution asking the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a thorough review of "Laws, regulations and policies of the Federal Government respecting limitations on the
delivery of water from Federal projects" and inviting the Secretary to submit recommenda-tions to the Committee.
The results of these studies are available as an Interior Committee Print, 2d Session of the 88th Congress.
Secretary Udall's transmittal letter to Chairman Jackson recommended that con-sideration be given to legislative measures (1) to authorize general use of the Class 1 equiva-lency concept in determining non-excess and excess acreages on all Reclamation projects, and (2) the establishment of excess land purchase resale fund. The Secretary's letter also identified a number of other facets of excess-land policy which merit further inquiry, includ-ing problems created by the use of corporations, trusts, or limited partnerships as a land-owner entity; and whether acreage limitations should be applied to all Federal water resources Projects in addition to those constructed by the Department of the Interior.
I am certain that the importance of further and careful consideration of these pro-Posals and problems affecting excess-land policies are obvious to my listeners. We are now in the process of preparing draft legislation and other proposals on those subjects. After review of these proposals within the Executive Branch, the Administration will make appro-priate recommendations to the Congress. We solicit your active interest and concern to help us make certain that your objectives and the Department's are achieved.
The whole document deserves your careful consideration. I call your specific attention to four paragraphs found in Secretary Udall's letter to Chairman Jackson, dated June 30, 1964, as follows:
"In essence, there are two major schools of thought on the excess-land laws. One holds that the technical and business character of modern agriculture is such that the large-scale farm will largely displace the homestead farmer and, that, therefore, realism and the public interest require modification of the excess -land laws. Obviously, if such a policy is to be examined, other factors requisite to the public interest should also be considered.
"The other school of thought holds that the irrigation phase of the reclamation program of the United States cannot be justified except as a means by which farmers will be given an opportunity to make their homes
on the land. If this is to continue to be the policy of the United States, then the law should be modernized where necessary and such loopholes as may presently exist should be closed.
"It is our opinion that we may have reached a crossroads in land policy. In the 35 years since the last iteration by Congress of the principle of land limitation, both Congress and the executive branch have on occasion exhibited a degree of concern for the excess-land owner which may be difficult to reconcile with the policies embraced by the excess-land laws.
"The example cited above suggests that the application of the acreage limitations has been uncertain and uneven. So large a number of exceptions to the even operation of the excess-land laws has the inevitable result of Conferring large benefits on some and enforcing rigid compliance on others where differences may be the result of sheer accident or of careful planning to take advantage of the various exceptions to the acreage limitations."
Propriety requires equal and certain application of this law or any other statute. The public interest requires that we avoid conferring large benefits on a few as a result of public expenditures. Under Secretary Udall's direction, we have and will require all water service contracts to meet these criteria.
Administration of these laws is complex and difficult and will become more diffi-cult. I have no doubt that we can depend completely on the members of this Association to cooperate with us in their fair and proper application.
The Secretary's letter to Chairman Jackson suggested several areas where the law and its application might well merit serious reconsideration. If reconsideration re-sults, I am sure that the Department and this Association will stand together on a position that will assure continued broad-based support for Reclamation from people in the East as well as in the West.
During the past two years, some intensive study has been given to the extremely acute water supply problems in the Pacific Southwest.
Perhaps nowhere in the country is there a greater need for supplemental water supply than in the State of Arizona. For many years, water users in Arizona have been borrowing on the future--literally "mining" an irreplaceable underground water supply to the extent of 2 million acre-feet a year. The results of such action are inevitable--the water table goes down and pumping costs go up. Farmers go out of business and cities and industries look for new sources of water or new plant locations.
The need for additional water to offset the heavy drain on ground -water sup-plies is so great that the 1 2 million acre-feet of Colorado River water which Arizona won in an 11-year lawsuit will not even meet the annual deficiency. And it will cost nearly a billion dollars to bring water from the Colorado River gorge to the populous
centers of central and southeastern Arizona. There is the added complication, too, of the interests of other States in the Colorado's over-appropriated water supply.
This regional approach is not an exceptional incident; it is the developing pattern of things to come throughout much of the arid and semi-arid West, graduated some decades ago, from the single project school of thinking to an awareness that the river drainage basin was the only truly acceptable approach to water resource planning and development. It still is in many areas of the country.
But, take the case of the City of Los Angeles. How could its water needs be satis-fied from one drainage basin? It long ago expanded beyond the needs of its immediate drain-age basin and today imports water for hundreds of miles from two other draindrain-age basins, and Shortly will receive water from a third through the canals and aqueducts of the California State Water Plan. Colorado River water is exported to three other drainage basins and Shortly will be utilized for a fourth.
The critical water needs of the Pacific Southwest present a great challenge to this group of water users -- and all those who are interested in the future of the area. It is the question of whether we will think big enough, plan big enough, and work hard enough to solve the problem of an adequate water supply for the West in the Twenty-first Century while there is still time.
Anyone can sell water resource development when the well runs dry. But, it is a first-rate challenge to get disinterested people to think 40 years ahead, to work cooperatively and to commit heavy capital investment to remove ceilings on growth and expansion that Otherwise will restrict the future of our children and grandchildren. An adequate future Water supply will mean opportunity to our grandchildren. We have
a
responsibility to take those steps today that must be taken in order to assist them in meeting these necessary requirements.The time is ripe for a new generation of crusading Reclamationists to inspire action on a bold new water development program. We must elevate our sights from the already difficult problem of meeting current needs, and plan to meet water supply needs 40, 50 and 60 years and more away. And, the time is now, because 40 years is scant
enough leadtime to plan and develop regional projects of the scope required to meet the needs of a West tripled in population and consuming ever greater quantities of precious
Water.
Five years of concentrated effort in this vital area now would make a major con-tribution to other conservation activities underway and make the decade of the 1960's
truly
the
conservation decade of this century.We must continue to step up our planning and research. We must marshal more of our scientific and engineering knowhow to solve the problems of evaporation and trans -11()rtation losses, weather modification, better utilization of wasted water, and locate and Utilize underground water supplies and storage areas.
We must elicit the active cooperation of all individuals and organizations interested in an adequate supply of fresh water for the arid and semi-arid areas of the American West This includes the fast-growing ranks of water-oriented recreation. It includes power utilities both privately and publicly owned--because an adequate water supply means not only valuable hydroelectric production; but also municipal and industrial expansion that provides an incre35 ing market for power from all sources. We need to appeal to flood control and navigation intel ests--in short, to all individuals and groups which benefit from water resource development, We must educate the uninformed and fire up the uncommitted.
The Senate Select Committee on National Water Resources reported in early 1961 that five majcr drainage basins in the West require full development of their available water resources by 1980, or earlier, if they are to achieve projected increases in population and economic activity. These five regions are the South Pacific, Colorado River, Great Basin, Upper Rio Grande-Pecos River, and Upper Missouri River Basins. Three other regions--Upper Arkansas-Red River, Western Gulf, and Western Great Lakes--face similar water resource limits by the end of the century, according to the report. The Great Lakes area already is feeling water supply pressure and conferences are being held there this year on the problem of dropping water levels.
This vast 20-State area offers a broad base of special interest and support for expanded effort to meet future water supply problems.
The problem has been quite adequately defined. You have a large area of local, organizational, State and Federal support. The Bureau of Reclamation is an organization. of dedicated men and women who have been actively fighting for water resource develop-ment all their lives.
In this effort, the National Reclamation Association has, in the past, and should, in the future, play an important part Three decades ago your organization was formed to promote water resource development in the West. Today, you have a new opportunity and a new and vitally important challenge to meet the needs of coming generations. I hope that you will vigorously join in the great effort that is needed to meet the broad, long-range water resource needs of Western America,
Noon Luncheon - Wednesday, November 11
Art Svendby, South Dakota NRA Director - Toastmaster
The Invocation was given by the Rev. Duane Thebeau, vicar of St. Johns Episcopal Church of Indio.
"OUR DYNAMIC AGRICULTURE"
Earl Coke, Vice President, Bank of America
Today, I would like to talk about our dynamic modern agriculture, one of the most exciting and progressive industries emerging in the American economy.
I am afraid we are all accustomed to thinking and talking of agriculture in terms of the varied and complex problems that face us. Too seldom do we pause to assess just
how
many positive and dynamic aspects are at work today in agriculture and agribusiness. What is this dynamic agriculture? I define it as the agriculture in which a few Produce for the many. It is that relatively small portion of our farms that produce most of the agricultural products sold in our national and international markets. It is the agri-culture that reduces the number of farms by melting them into larger, more efficient units Which are managed by men highly trained and skilled in the art and technology of agriculture.This dynamic agriculture is not a way of life. It is a highly integrated industry Practiced by professionals who apply modern business techniques, scientific knowledge, and Mechanical innovations to their operations.
Today's dynamic agriculture has evolved because the agricultural industry learned to make use of three basic ingredients: 1, research and education; 2, capital; and 3, mod-ern management methods. Underlying these three tools have been the basic economic facts Of the modern migration from the farm to the city, and the tremendous growth of our nation In terms both
of
population and wealth. The fewer individuals left in farming simply had to look for new methods of operation to provide the vast amount of agricultural producede-Manded by an increasingly populous and wealthy nation.
Let's examine these three basic ingredients one by one to put them into the proper Perspective in agriculture.
The first item I mentioned was research and education, and it properly comes first. Today's dynamic agriculture is based upon the public research and education of our Land Grant colleges and the Department of Agriculture, and the private research which
has
increased so dramatically during the last decade -- paid for and conducted by our corporations and the farmers themselves.Outstanding has been the private research in mechanization, chemicals, and the development of hybridization in plants and animals. In these fields it has been possible for Industry and business to profit directly from their research investments because of patent 411d copyright protection. What are some of the other effects of research and education?
Well, for one thing, the age of animal power on our farms has virtually ended. Research
has
made this possible. Petroleum products and electricity have taken over. In 50 years L'Irmers have increased their use of mechanical power and machinery by 300%, fertilizers °Y 700%, and purchased feed, seed, and livestock by 500%.As another example, 20 years ago 50 basic chemicals were in common use in 4griculture; today 200 basics are available, and perhaps as many as 50, 000 formulations °f them. These chemicals, insecticides, fungicides, antibiotics, hormone and vitamin Products, and herbicides formed an important basis for our dynamic agriculture.
The scientific foundation for the dynamic agriculture encompasses the vast fields of biological sciences and engineering and this combination makes possible an efficiency and reliability of production never before attained. We are only now gaining
a first glimpse of what this can mean in agriculture -- for it has emerged only within the last few years. This greater efficiency and reliability is founded on man's ability to exer-cise significant control over insects and diseases attacking animals and plants. It is based on engineering triumphs combining design and horsepower in machinery for improved per-formance and greater speed which, in turn, reduce labor requirements and lessen the effects of adverse weather. It is based on utilizing the sciences of genetics, nutrition, physics and chemistry—singly or in combination--as tools for superior management.
Furthermore, the scientific foundation for this efficiency and reliability is being constantly strengthened through substantial investments in research. About $311 million of Federal and State funds are being invested in agricultural research per year, and it is esti-mated that private investment exceeds this amount.
The farms that are a part of our dynamic agriculture have caused American agriculture to advance more during the last 40 years than in the prior 200 years of its his-tory. On the average livestock production per breeding animal has increased 95% since World War I, output per crop acre has gone up 70%, and output per man hour of labor has shot up 400%. And these average figures grossly understate the true changes that have occurred on farms which comprise the dynamic agriculture. (Small wonder that with this kind of growth and change we should have some problems.)
The new production methods and increases in output have had an important im-pact upon the economic growth of our nation. Because of them, millions of people have been released from agriculture tc non-agricultural occupations and professions. They have made it possible for the American consumer to have an abundance of wholesome and nutritious foods in a wide variety and at relatively low costs. They have enabled the nation's consumers to spend a smaller and smaller portion of their incomes for food, and a larger and larger portion for the products and services we associate with higher standards of living.
It is extremely significant that today we spend slightly more than 18% of our disposable income on food. This is the smallest share any people have spent for food in all of history, and the smallest among all nations of the world today.
But the end is not yet in sight. Researchers, both public and private, tell me that developments in the laboratory and in the commercial development stage will probably increase output per unit of land and livestock more in the next quarter of a century than in the past 25 years. Technological developments of the magnitude projected by researchers may make it possible for U. S. consumers to spend as little as 12-15% of their income for food within another decade or two.
As I said a moment ago, there has been a tremendous investment of both public and private funds in agricultural and allied research and education. This brings me to the second ingredient of the dynamic agriculture - - capital. Research leading to technological and mechanical innovations is the prod which shows us the road to take. Capital makes it possible for us to travel the road. It is used by skilled management to obtain maximum utilization of their natural resources in order to remain competitive. Without this tool, technological and mechanical innovations would be largely meaningless. There would have
been no dynamic agriculture had we not developed in this nation the means by which agricul-ture could attract and invest capital in its enterprises capital in excess of earnings. To a very large extent we can measure the degree to which a farmer is a part of this agriculture by how effectively he uses available credit and capital resources.
But capital alone does not, of course, create a dynamic agricultural enterprise. And this brings me to the third basic ingredient -- modern management methods. Farms in the new agriculture are motivated by the powerful desire for economic growth and sur-vival. In addition to capital, they require maximum efficient utilization of land and water resources, the rapid adoption of technical and mechanical improvements, and the ability to produce for a market which has set stringent specifications of type, quality and dependa-bility of product. In short, they require superior management. Furthermore, the assur-ance of survival will be enhassur-anced to the degree that production, processing, and distribution are integrated so that risks and opportunities for profit are spread.
There is a definite and evident trend toward integration of these functions into a single corporation -- either proprietary or cooperative These organizations have highly trained professional managers and employ the best in physical science, engineering, and marketing, to produce, process, and market agricultural products in the most efficient manner. The power of risk capital from private investors gives energy to the integrated Corporation. The transition of production agriculture and its allied industries from sole reliance upon capital generated by the enterprise and bank credit to the introduction of equity capital from outside agriculture, could be as dramatic as any development thus far in this century.
Besides integration of operations, there is another changing trend in the pattern of farm ownership and management in the dynamic agriculture. This is the trend toward Consolidation of small and medium size farms into larger "commercial-family-farm" units. In the future, most of these commercial family farms will probably incorporate in order to Provide that the firm can continue beyond the lifespan of the founder with a minimum of legal and financial strain. The present drain -off of capital from the larger family farms in the form of estate taxes and litigation on the death of the owner is too severe for the enterprise to endure. Incorporation and careful estate planning are joint steps being taken to cope with this problem
Management of these incorporated family farms will continue to be held largely Within the control of the farmer and his family In addition to providing the advantage of business .continuity, incorporating offers possible advantages in tax flexibility and in Obtaining capital. I believe that this type of ownership pattern will continue to develop and will be an important factor in the trend toward fewer farms.
I said I was not going to dwell upon our problems in agriculture, and I am not. /3ut I would be remiss if I did not devote some time to one of the mistaken attitudes that inake it so difficult for us to cope with our agribusiness problems in a realistic and effec-tive manner. And that is our time-worn tendency to isolate production agriculture from
the
other parts of agribusiness, to regard it as an unconnected link in the chain ofThe fact is, the dynamic agriculture is agribusiness. Unfortunately, many of us either do not fully accept this fact or we have failed to realize its full implications and ad-just to it. To separate agriculture from agribusiness is tantamount to separating the plant-ing of the seed from its cultivation and harvestplant-ing. Yet we continue to organize and operate our farm organizations along the same narrow functional lines that were meaningful back when the farm was a self-contained unit. The operation of these organizations and, for the most part, their strategy and tactics, are geared to fight the battle of the farmer who is either isolated from, or pitted against, the businesses which supply him with his resources and which process and merchandize his products. These firms are dynamic forces vital to the success of today's farm. In fact, the two are mutually vital to each other.
Because political and governmental actions exert such an overwhelming influence on the economic destiny of agribusiness, a political voice is of the greatest importance to the dynamic agriculture. We continue to bemoan the lessening political power of the farmers which is arising out of their decreasing numbers, but we fail to consider the potential force of agribusiness all the enterprises involved in agribusiness today. This broader orienta -tion will not only strengthen the posi-tion of farmers, it will help clarify the vital issues.
It is reliably estimated that more than six million wage earners are engaged in supplying input items for our farms and 12 million more work at hauling, processing and marketing farm products. These 18 million people are just as dependent on a strong, vital, dynamic agriculture as are the 6-1/2 million working on the farms. With nearly half of our national pay check dependent upon agribusiness, we should have the political muscle to pro-vide a climate that will keep our agriculture strong and productive.
Within our lifetime we have seen historic changes in agriculture.
We have seen agriculture change from the time when farm power was the horses and mules the farmer raised, and the fuel was the feed and grain he grew. Today he buys his power and the fuel for it. He buys hi.s fertilizer and seeds, and he purchases services that he and his hired men once used to do.
We have seen it advance from an agrarian economy to the domain of science, engineering, business, and financial management.
We have seen agriculture move from a free market economy to one that is altered and structured by the influence of politics and government.
We have seen the structure of the farmer's markets change from an open market which took whatever quality or quantity of product farmers produced at a price, to a highly integrated market in which a farmer's product must meet the competitive standards of the supermarket. And we will see as the dynamic agriculture continues to expand, more and more farmers who will be partners of one type or another in the processing, distribution, and marketing of the products they raise.
We have seen a time when the price of agricultural land was based on the value of the crops and livestock it could produce. Today the market has priced most agricultural land far above that justified by economic returns.
We have seen a great exodus of farmers from the commercial production of food and fiber until now a few produce so much for so many.
We have seen the farm move from a largely self-sufficient and self-contained family enterprise affected only by economic or social forces within the radius of a few miles
to become a business in which what happens in Washington, Paris, Moscow or Tokyo has a Powerful and immediate effect on the enterprise.
We have seen technical and mechanical innovations revolutionize the production, Processing, and distribution of agricultural products. These developments require, for those that continue in farming management skills and knowledge in a staggering variety of Professions.
We have seen development of an economy and predictability of production in agri-culture far beyond our most far-reaching dreams of a few years ago.
These are the changes we have seen in agriculture in our lifetime; but there is every reason to assume that they are just really getting underway. One of the reasons for this assumption is the anticipated growth in our nation and the world.
First, the population of the United States now estimated at 180 million is expected to reach 226 million by 1975 and 348 million by the year 2000.
Second, the increased real income anticipated for this expanding population
assures not only strong markets for food, but an upgrading in the nature of food preferences in the direction of fruits and vegetables, and the protein foods, led by beef, and other meats. And it is these products which are most expensive in terms of agricultural resources needed to produce them.
Third, the world population, which now totals about three billion people, is ex-Pected to double by the year 2000 -- and this is a conservative figure, assuming the accept-ance of birth control throughout the world. U. S. agricultural exports are currently
e
,,cluivalent to one acre in five. With a national policy aimed at further expansion of exports, u • S. agriculture should at least share in this rapidly growing market.
With these three economic factors at work, the demands upon agriculture of the future will be even greater than in the past.
Change and growth is inevitable. The problems which they have thrust upon us are gigantic. There will be problems in the future. But Jam confident that those in agri-b
husiness willing and able to adjust to the ever changing situations, will find the future "right -- for sure it will be a challenge.
Afternoon Session - Wednesday, November 11
Milo W. Hoisveen, 2nd Vie-President, and North Dakota NRA Director, Presiding
ADDRESS
Lieutenant General W. K. Wilson, Jr., Chief of Engineers, United States Army
Today is Veterans Day, when the nation honors those who were called on to defend it on the battlefields of war.
Peacetime, too, has its struggles and its veterans. You of the National Reclamation Association are veterans of many a hard-fought campaign for Western water-resource development. And we of the Army Engineers are as proud of our
civil-works
service as we are of
our 188-year-old military history. One of the things in which we take most pride is the fact that our water-resources work has often brought us together with you of Reclamation, and made us companions in arms on many a historic undertaking for the progress of the West.Now, as we look back at the changes brought by the passing years -- particu-larly in the postwar period -- I think we can see a new pattern taking form in national water affairs. The people of this country are becoming aware that special and regional problems are actually parts of one big, overall national water problem; and that programs to cope with those problems must somehow be fitted into an overall national water-resources effort ‘, in which all play due part. Please note that I spoke of a "national" effort, not just a "Federal one; for the Federal contribution is and can be only one element, along with major State and local contributions, in such an effort.
In a country as broad and varied as ours, we have no choice but to base our efforts primarily on the special and individual needs of each region and river basin. That is why Senate Document 97, which governs the water-resource activities of the Federal Government, specifies that the river basin should generally be the basic planning unit. And it works because a special regional problem inevitably has national overtones. The Ohio Basin, for example, must cope with problems of pollution and water quality that are complicated by a terrific mine-waste problem unparalleled in
any
other basin. Yet surely water quality is a problem which affects not just the Ohio Basin, but the whole nation. Similarly, water programs in the Lower Mississippi Valley tend to center about trans-portation and the age-old problem of floods, which are national as well as regional prob-lems.Here in the West, too, each river basin has its own characteristics. Yet as a rule all share the general regional problem of limited rainfall, which means that Western agricultural development as a rule must be based on irrigation, and that increased irriga-tion development is a prerequisite of further growth. These are problems characteristic of, and in some ways peculiar to, this region. Yet the broad problem of water supply is one which is found in various forms in all parts of the nation, and particularly in the East, which is just waking up to the problem. And just as the Corps of Engineers is applying the river-control lessons learned elsewhere to helpmeet the special problems of the West,
