USING ARID LANDS BEYOND CAPABILITIES 229 
This unnecessary fertility depletion is more serious in arid land 
areas where we have not yet learned how to utilize commercial 
fertilizers effectively, particularly in years of low rainfall. The 
problem of rebuilding fertility in eroded and depleted soils is 
further complicated by the limited number of adaptable legumes 
suitable for inclusion in the cropping systems in arid areas. 
Effects on Farm Credit 
Soil erosion and other land damage has an adverse effect on 
farm credit, both to individuals and large areas where land capa- 
bilities are being ignored. Land farmed with regard to its limita- 
tions is a better credit risk in every instance than land farmed 
beyond its capabilities. Land used beyond its capabilities creates 
difficulties in the establishment of necessary reserves farmers must 
build up during favorable years to tide them over the lean years. 
Feed reserves are recognized as especially essential to livestock 
operators who must maintain a flexible position if they are to 
avoid financial catastrophe. 
Sound land use is also required if lending agencies are to provide 
long range credit instead of the seasonal type which is usually 
inadequate under such conditions. Increasing numbers of lending 
institutions are recognizing these principles of conservation farm- 
ing in providing sound loan services in the arid belts. 
Economic and Social Implications 
Just a few miles east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the 14- 
inch precipitation belt, there are sizable acreages devoted to the 
production of beans. Much of the soils there are shallow, steeply 
sloping, low in organic matter, and are in small farms. Incidence 
of crop failure is high, and alternative crop choices are very lim- 
ited. These conditions combine to create a serious long-range 
economic problem which will grow progressively more acute until 
a range livestock economy is developed to replace the precarious 
dryland bean farming. During the past few years many of the 
occupants of these small farms have supplemented their incomes 
through employment in near-by national defense projects, indus- 
trial developments, and on large ranches and farms. 
Population adjustments necessary for a livestock economy in 
