to market hay advantageously, either in cash 

 or through livestock. 



Another factor is the natural reluctance 

 to make an investment for which the results 

 are relatively remote or uncertain. It may be 

 difficult to convince people that benching actu- 

 ally produces as much additional hay as the 

 experiments at Mandan indicate. A farmer 

 may let uncertainty make a negative decision 

 for him. 



Research Needs 



There has been limited active interest in 

 North Dakota in level bench systems, prob- 

 ably because they are new to the area and 

 because information is not widespread on 

 either their performance or profitability. More 

 research is needed to add validity to various 

 aspects of the analysis attempted herein, be- 

 cause at several points it was necessary to 

 make assumptions based on fragmentary data 

 or on logic alone with no supporting data. 



In addition, there are a number of physical 

 relationships for which more research maybe 



desirable. Studies are underway to examine 

 more thoroughly the effect of the direction of 

 prevailing winds and the direction which the 

 slopes face. It is likely that narrow benches 

 are more effective than wide ones for trapping 

 drifting snow. This relationship should be 

 explored. Field-sized trials should be con- 

 ducted to determine the most practical travel 

 patterns for tillage and harvest machinery, 

 to investigate the relationship between bench 

 size and operating efficiency, to establish 

 optimum width of benches for various crops 

 and machine sizes, and to furnish additional 

 data on expected increases in yield. More 

 accurate methods of estimating construction 

 costs are needed, as well as data on mainte- 

 nance costs and depreciation rates for bench 

 systems. Another problem area needing study 

 concerns the rate of adoption of level benches 

 and closely related soil and water conservation 

 practices. Research directed along these lines 

 would do much to provide more detailed infor- 

 mation on the physical, economic, and other 

 relationships the farmer needs to consider in 

 deciding which practices to select for soil and 

 water conservation and management. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



1. Black, A. L. Conservation Bench Ter- 

 races in Montana. Amer. Soc. Agr. 

 Engin. Trans. 11(3): 393-395. 1968. 



6. Cox, Maurice B. Conservation Bench Ter- 

 races in Kansas. Amer. Soc. Agr. 

 Engin. Trans. 11(3): 387-388. 1968. 



2. Buchta, H. G., Broberg, Don E., and Lig- 



gett, F. E. Flat Channel Terraces. 

 Amer. Soc. Agr. Engin. Trans. 9(4): 

 571-573. 1966. 



3. Burr, W. W. The Storage and Use of Soil 



Moisture. Nebr. Agr. Expt. Sta. Res. 

 Bui. No. 5. 1914. 



4. Carlson, C. W. and Grunes, D. L. Effect 



of Fertilization on Yields and Nutrient 

 Content of Barley. Soil Sci. Soc. of 

 Amer. Proc. 22(2): 140-145. 1958. 



5. Carlson, C. W., Grunes, D. L., Fine, L. O. 



and others. Soil, Water, and Crop 

 Management on Newly Irrigated Lands 

 in the Dakotas. U.S. Dept. Agr. Prod. 

 Res. Rpt. No. 53. 1961. 



Frey, John W., Buchta, H. G., and Valli- 

 cott, D. R. Efficiencies and Benefits 

 of Contour Bench Leveling for Ir- 

 rigation. Amer. Soc. Agr. Engin. 

 Trans. 9(4): 574-575. 1966. 



George, E. J., Broberg, Don E., and 

 Worthington, E. L. Influence of Vari- 

 ous Types of Field Windbreaks on 

 Reducing Wind Velocities and Deposit- 

 ing Snow. Jour. Forestry 61(5): 

 345-349. 1963. 



9. Haas, H. J., and Willis, W. O. Conser- 

 vation Bench Terraces in North Da- 

 kota. Amer. Soc. Agr. Engin. Trans. 

 11(3): 396-398 and 402. 1968. 



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