IRRIGATION IN NORTHERN COLORADO. 
25 
and in 1917 was far above normal, it seems reasonable to assume 
that the average consumptive duty is approximately 1.25 acre-feet 
per acre. 8 
NONPRODUCTIVE AND WASTE LAND. 
With the object of determining how the farm land of the valley 
is utilized and the proportion of nonproductive and waste land, 
careful surveys were made of TJ sections of land at different points 
in the valley. A summary of the data obtained by these surveys is 
contained in Table 8. 
Table 8. — Utilization of farm land in the Cache la Poudre Valley. 
3 sections near Greeley 
(percent). 
3 sections northeast of 
Fort Collins (per cent). 
1£ sections northeast of 
Fort Collins (per cent). 
Aver- 
age. 
Maxi- 
mum. 
Mini- 
mum. 
Aver- 
age. 
Maxi- 
mum. 
Mini- 
mum. 
Aver- 
age. 
Maxi- 
mum. 
Mini- 
mum. 
89.2 
.4 
2.3 
.5 
.9 
2.1 
.0 
.3 
3.0 
.0 
.0 
1.3 
92.8 
2.4 
2.4 
1.0 
2.6 
3.1 
.0 
1.6 
4.9 
.0 
.0 
2.5 
84.5 
.0 
1.9 
.0 
.0 
1.4 
.0 
.0 
2.0 
.0 
.0 
.3 
81.4 
4.4 
2.1 
.3 
.0 
2.0 
.4 
.7 
2.9 
1.6 
2.7 
1.5 
90.7 
19.7 
2.4 
1.0 
.0 
3.7 
1.9 
3.6 
5.4 
16.8 
14.1 
4.6 
57.2 
.0 
1.1 
.0 
.0 
.8 
.0 
.0 
1.1 
.0 
.0 
.6 
71.0 
8.0 
1.6 
1.1 
.0 
4.9 
.0 
2.0 
2.0 
.0 
.7 
8.7 
Irrigated but not cultivated. 
Private roads 
Railroad right of way 
Wood lots 
r 
Canals. . . . 
Field laterals 
High land 
Seepage land 
Marginal waste 
The 3 sections near Greeley include some of the most highly de- 
veloped land of the valley, with prices ranging from $300 to $400 
per acre. It is smooth, gently sloping land, easy to cultivate and 
irrigate. The water rights supplying it are excellent, and wet spots 
which developed after years of irrigation have been drained. On 
this land the nonproductive area is at a minimum. The 3 sections 
near Fort Collins are less valuable, ranging in price from $150 to 
$200 per acre. The land is more rolling and includes some high 
spots or knolls not reached by the ditches and some wet spots which 
have not yet been drained. The section and a half northwest of Fort 
Collins has been farmed by tenants for some years and shows the 
result of neglect. A low percentage of the land is cultivated and 
the marginal waste is particularly high. The high percentage of 
land included under the head of farmstead was in this case due to 
a number of pens for sheep feeding. 
The best farm practice requires that the percentage of land de- 
voted to nonproductive use be reduced to a minimum, and that there 
be no real waste of land. Public roads will require 2.3 per cent of 
the area of farms in a section. Private roads should not require 
more than 0.5 per cent. At present the roads are 12 feet wide and 
8 This calculation does not take into account return seepage from Poudre Valley land 
going directly into the South Platte. Taking this into account would reduce slightly 
the quantity of water actually consumed. 
