FARM MANAGEMENT OX IRRIGATED FARMS 35 
Selecting and apportioning enterprises on an irrigated farm should 
not be attempted before the water demands of the different crops 
and soils and the seasonal water supply have been carefully consid- 
ered. On farms where the available water supply is likely to give 
out or become greatly reduced in the latter part of the season a 
part of the farm area should be devoted to crops which mature early 
and require an abundance of water when a good supply is available. 
UNIT REQUIREMENTS OF CROP PRODUCTION AND METHODS USED IN OBTAINING 
GOOD YIELDS 
Many farmers in the Yakima Valley will be aided in the selection 
and production of crops by a study of the seasonal distribution of 
crop labor and by a knowledge of crop practices which have proved 
highly successful" in the area. The charts and tables 6 for each im- 
portant crop will assist farmers in estimating the labor require- 
ments for various combinations of crops in advance. This will make 
it possible to calculate the peak loads of labor more accurately, and 
to shift the work on some enterprises and thereby keep the amount of 
hired labor to a minimum. The extra material requirements for the 
production of each crop are given in order that these costs may be 
considered along with the costs for labor. Methods and practices 
used by farmers who have a reputation for producing crops economi- 
cally in the area are also discussed. These practices should be 
especially helpful to the newer settlers in the Yakima Valley, and 
they will, in many instances, assist longer established farmers in 
obtaining more economical crop production. 
ALFALFA 
Alfalfa hay is the most important field crop grown in the Yakima 
Valley. It is grown by practically all farmers and on the average 
occupies about half of the total crop area on the general farms. It 
furnishes a large part of the cash receipts from farming. 
Three cuttings are usually obtained. The second (see fig. 10), 
which comes during the latter part of July, is mowed and stacked in 
the shortest time, on account 01 the extremely dry weather. If pos- 
sible, the crop is mowed in the morning and raked and shocked in 
the afternoon. Not over three days are spent in this operation from 
the time the alfalfa is mowed until it is stacked. The very dry weather 
and the tenderness of the leaves and small stems render it highly 
important for farmers to make special efforts to save the leaves and 
preserve the green color, if hay of the highest quality is to be 
produced. Usually small shocks of about a large forkful each, are 
made (fig. 11). This reduces the amount of handling necessary and 
permits the green, moist hay to dry in the shock. A few farmers 
advise making larger shocks, even at the extra cost of labor, main- 
taining that a better quality of hay results. 
6 Besides the unit requirements in hours of man and horse labor needed per acre, the quantities of seed, 
sacks, and other materials required for production are given for each crop and the equipment used in ob- 
taining the rates for the performance of the different operations. These rates are those attained by the 
best farmers and are a little above the average for all farmers. Since all farmers do not perform the same 
number of operations on the same crop, only the principal operations performed by most farmers are 
given. Adjustments for variations from these operations on individual farms can readily be calculated 
and added to, or subtracted from, those given in the tables. The farm practices given for each crop were 
obtained from farmers in the area who have been particularly successful in obtaining high yields of good 
quality. 
