12 BULLETIN 518, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



FARM ORGANIZATION. 



The farms or ranches in Hood River Valley are primarily spe- 

 cialized fruit farms. Other crops are grown mainly or exclusively 

 for home use. These include hay for the horses and garden truck 

 for the use of the farm family. Strawberries work in well with 

 apples and are grown extensively as a cash crop, particularly on the 

 west side of the valley. On account of the small size of the farms 

 and the consequent necessity for intensive operation, together with 

 the high value of the land for fruit culture, it is hardly practicable 

 for growers to follow a diversified system of farming beyond the 

 point of raising feed for the stock kept, and potatoes, garden vege- 

 tables, etc., for home use. 



Furthermore, the limited area of the valley makes it practically 

 impossible to expand, particularly in the lower valley. Farms have 

 been bought, settled, developed, and organized with fruit as the main, 

 and often the only, source of income. This is particularly true on the 

 east side of the lower valley, where this investigation was made. 

 Because of the natural limitations and the topographical features 

 of the valley, the ranchers do not have easy access to any extended 

 area for general farming purposes. Hence the agriculture of the 

 valley is specialized, and will no doubt remain so, with the farm prob- 

 ably furnishing the greater share of the products required for use 

 on the farm. These conditions make the growers almost wholly de- 

 pendent on their income from fruit. 



TYPE OF FARMS INCLUDED IN SURVEY. 



The 54 farms included in this survey are all located on the east 

 side of Hood Eiver and all on the Hood Eiver silt loam soil, with the 

 exception of a very few on the Underwood loam of the middle 

 valley. They range in size from 10 to 150 acres and average 39.4 

 acres, 69 per cent of which acreage is tillable. 



The average size of bearing apple orchard on these farms is 12.4 

 acres, with an average young apple orchard of 6.24 acres. These 

 farms are typical of the commercial apple district of Hood Rh^er 

 Valley and represent the conditions of full-bearing orchards as they 

 exist in the lower valley to-day. Xearly all are intensive and apples 

 are the chief source of income. 



TYPE OF GROWER. 



Many of these farms are operated by men who came from other 

 walks of life. Several of the growers are college graduates. There 

 are also among them many professional men and tradesmen who 

 chose fruit growing as an occupation after retiring from their pro- 



