HOW DISTRICTS CAN ASSIST IN DEVELOPING THE 

 FUTURE RESEARCH PROGRAM OF THE RESEARCH CENTER 



F. H. Slddoway, Director of the Northern Plains 

 Soil & Water Research Center at Sidney, Montana, 

 discussed "How Districts Can Assist in Developing 

 the Future Research Program of the Research Cen- 

 ter" at the Northeast Montana Soil & Water Con- 

 servatlf-n District annual area meeting at Wolf 

 Point on October 5. 



Supervisors were brought up to date on building 

 construction and staffing plans for the Center. 

 A building is currently being constructed by the 

 Agricultural Research Service on the 80-acre 

 Soil & Water Conservation Research Farm, located 

 between Culbertson and Froid and furnished to the 

 Center by the Sheridan and Roosevelt County Soil 

 and Water Conservation Districts. The building 

 will provide laboratory, office, storage, and 

 shop space needed for the work conducted on the 

 Farm and outlying areas in northeastern Montana. 

 Dr. Slddoway announced the recent appointment of 

 Mr. Robert Ford as Research Farm Foreman, who 

 will also be responsible for off-station research 

 in northeastern Montana. Mr. Ford resides in 

 Culbertson. Plans call for the addition of three 

 1 scientists to the Center's staff prior to July, 

 1966. 



The survey of research needs being made by the 

 Montana Soil & Water Conservation Districts and 

 districts in the Northern Plains area was cited 

 as an excellent means of helping the Research 

 Center develop its research program on a priority 

 problem basis. The Center will ask Soil & Water 

 Conservation Districts to help in locating and 

 obtaining land needed for field plot work, and 

 to help with surveys needed in delineating pro- 

 blems and evaluating the adequacy of conserva- 

 tion practices. Slddoway stated that joint 

 study tours of Soil & Water Conservation District^ 

 with supervisors and research and action agency 

 personnel would aid the research program. He 

 commended the districts for their public rela- 

 tions programs, and emphasized that such pro- 

 grams will help the progress of the Research 

 Center as well as all segments of aj^rlculture. 



WATER SPREADING FOR MORE AND BETTER FORAGE 



Returns from extra forage produced by water 

 spreading, an ancient irrigation practice itll 

 used profitably in the dry West, can be severa 

 times greater than annual maintenance costs. 



This was Indicated in studies by U. S. D. A. 

 range scientist Walter Houston. Average yteldi 

 of blue grama grass more than tripled and thost 

 of western wheatgrass almost doubled after run- 

 off water from spring snow melt and spring- 

 summer storms was diverted to flood rangelanH 

 near Miles City, Montana. 



In an earlier Canadian experiment, it was 

 found that one range produced up to 34 times 

 more forage when flooded than when not flooded. 

 In Dr. Houston's study, yield Increases varied 

 from 38 percent to 648 percent depending on 

 duration of flooding and how well the land was 

 irrigated. 



Water spreading was probably the first form 

 of irrigation used in Old World farming. It's 

 likely that it began in this country when the 

 first Western settlers diverted water with 

 ditches and dikes. 



Several additional advantages of water spread 

 ing are earlier and longer grazing, better re- 

 sponse to fertilizer, 6o increase in litter 

 cover (organic matter), restoration of ground 

 water levels, and use of the diverted water by 

 livestock. 



What does water spreading cost? Dr. Houston 

 states that costs have varied from 36 cents to 

 as much as $50 an acre. $1,649.00 ($1.38 an 

 acre) was spent on ditches and dikes in the 

 1,200 acre area where this experiment was con- 

 ducted. Accumulated maintenance costs were 

 $465.00, making the total $2,114.00. 



By prorating this total over 900 acres con- 

 sistently flooded. Dr. Houston Indicates a per- 

 acre cost of $2.35 or 29 cents an acre a year 

 for the 8 years the spreading system has been 

 in operation. 



What does water spreading pay annually? Thes« 

 figures show that spending 29 cents an acre 

 doubled or tripled average yields and Increased 

 gross Income $2 to $3 an acre - a 7 to 10 fold 

 return. 



Several factors should be considered in estab- 

 lishing a water-spreading system. Among these 

 are type, slope and depth of soil, amounts and 

 kinds of soil salts, size and slope of the 

 watershed, storms that encourage flooding, and 

 whether the water contains excess silt to 

 inhibit grass growth or fill the spreader system 



RESEARCH NEEDS SURVEY 



On the reverse hereof are the tabulated results 

 of research needs survey. Tnfnrmatinn ua<5 nrn- 

 vlded by local SWCD Board of 

 Brieos, Chairman of MASWCD ^ 

 did the worl- 

 ecommend (:.( 



