2 BULLETIN 573, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the chief crops produced can be utilized locally and the products 

 marketed at a profit. The failure in recent years of live-stock 

 production in the United States to keep pace with the rapidly increas- 

 ing demand for live-stock products has resulted in high prices for 

 these commodities, and this has intensified the irrigation farmer's 

 interest in animal industries. 



The national deficiency of live-stock products has been more 

 acute with respect to sheep than any other class of farm animals. 

 The strong demand for wool and mutton, together with a decreas- 

 ing national supply, has resulted in extremely high prices during 

 recent years. These facts have directed the attention of an increas- 

 ing number of irrigation farmers to the possibilities of sheep produc- 

 tion on irrigated lands. 



The interest in sheep production has been particularly noticeable 

 on the Minidoka Reclamation Project. Since the writer was sta- 

 tioned on the project in October, 1914, there has been a rapidly in- 

 creasing demand for information regarding methods of sheep pro- 

 duction, and the local sheep industry has experienced steady develop- 

 ment. During the past two years, special attention has been paid 

 to sheep production, and information has been secured bearing 

 on the problems with which irrigation farmers are confronted in the 

 development of the industry. 



This bulletin has been prepared with special reference to the 

 Minidoka project, but it should also be of value to farmers interested 

 in sheep production on other reclamation projects where the condi- 

 tions are similar. In order to give a general understanding of the 

 conditions under which sheep are produced on the Minidoka project, 

 the more important climatic and agricultural features of the district 

 are briefly described. 



AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS ON THE MINIDOKA PROJECT. 



The Minidoka Reclamation Project is situated in the Snake River 

 Valley of Idaho, 70 miles west of the town of Pocatello. The project 

 contains approximately 120,000 acres, somewhat more than half of 

 which lies on the north side of the river under the gravity irrigation 

 system, the remainder lying on the south side being irrigated by 

 pumping. Surrounding the project on all sides are wide sagebrush 

 plains, large areas of which are now being settled and reclaimed by 

 dry farmers. On the north lies an area approximately 90 miles wide 

 including sagebrush plains, a small irrigated valley, and a moun- 

 tainous range area, beyond which the Sawtooth National Forest is 

 located. To the south there is an area of public land which is being 

 taken up by dry farmers, and beyond this is a mountainous range 

 area, including the Minidoka National Forest. Cattle and sheep 

 are grazed in the mountainous ranges during the summer. On the 



