14 BUI.LETIN 85 — Storage Facilities 



eral farming will continue to be the most important forms of agricul- 

 ture in the Salt River Valley, although the long staple cotton industry 

 lias come into distinct prominence during the 191 7 season. At present 

 land prices are not sufficiently high to prohibit diversification. This 

 is evidenced by the fact that there is great diversification throughout 

 the entire Valley. The Salt River Valley has gained immeasurably 

 from the fact that land values have not been inflated unduly and it 

 thus has been possible for the farmer to have a wide latitude in his 

 attempts to determine the most profitable crops to produce. 



Storage Facilities Storage facilities for farm products are largely 

 in the hands of private individuals. There are practically no farmers' 

 co-operative warehouses or storage in this district. This is significant 

 in view of the fact that large quantities of farm products are produced 

 which would normally go into storage for periods ranging from one 

 to six months. Commercial storages for grain are operated by millers, 

 seed merchants and others whose business is the buying and selling of 

 grain. These warehouses have individual capacii"ies ranging from 

 3,000,000 pounds to 8,000,000 pounds. The total storage capacity of 

 the commercial grain warehouses operated by the seven principal grain 

 handlers is approximately 65,000,000 pounds. There is only one grain 

 elevator in the Valley, the balance of the storage space providing only 

 for grain stored in sacks. Other elevators are now building to fill 

 present deficiencies. Estimating the average yield of barley to be 1,800 

 pounds per acre and the average yield of wheat to be i ,500 pounds per 

 acre, it will be seen that present storage space is adequate to care for a 

 grain crop from about 40,000 acres. Any sudden increase in acreage 

 above that noted would necessitate farm storage or the building of 

 additional warehouse space. There are four grain warehouses in 

 Phoenix, two in Mesa, four in Tempe and two in Glendale. Grain 

 producers in the Buckeye District are farthest removed from storage 

 facilities. It is difficult to estimate the quantities of grain normally 

 stored on the farm, but at most it is a relatively small percentage of 

 the total crop. There is need for adequate grain storage space at 

 some point in the Buckeye Valley. It also would save considerable 

 hauling if a grain warehouse should be built at some point about six 

 or seven miles west of Phoenix on the railroad which serves the Buck- 

 eye Valley. 



The usual charge for grain storage is five cents per 100 pounds 

 ior the season. One of the disadvantages of the public storage to the 



