The Missouri River basin project and the Mexican projects of irrigation
by Panfilo R Leon
A THESIS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Science in Agricultural Economics
Montana State University
© Copyright by Panfilo R Leon (1950)
Abstract:
1. The main problems that face the Missouri River Basin’s agriculture are: Climatic undependability,
floods, drouths, instability of farm income, and out-migration.
The main problems that face Mexico’s agriculture are: Climatic undependability, drouths, floods,
insufficiency and instability of farm income, shortage of cropland, and deficient agricultural technique.
2. Agriculture still is a major occupation in the Missouri River Basin. Land in farms, cropland
harvested, value of livestock, output of some main products, etc., in the Missouri Basin represent a
significant percentage of the corresponding figures for the United States.
Mexico is also still predominantly agricultural. About 65 percent of its economically active population
is engaged in agriculture* and the capital invested in this occupation Is* by far* larger than the capital
Invested in any other industry* 3. In the Missouri River Basin there are approximately 5,000,000 acres
Of land already Irrigated. It is intended to irrigate another 5,233,000 acres by 1975» Land physically
suited to irrigation in the Missouri Basin is plentiful relative to water supply* In Mexico there were
approximately 4,245,000 acres of irrigated land as of 1946* It is planned to irrigate 2,868,000 more
acres by the end of 1952» The feasibly irrigable land is rather limited.* Bough estimations indicate that
only an area of approximately 17,000,000 acres could feasibly be brought under irrigation* 4* Growth
of the Missouri Elver Basin’s population has been variable* In recent decades the growth has been
slow* Eural population has been declining# and urban population has been increasing* As of 19l|0# the
rural population was 60*3 percent of the Basin’s total population* Of this percentage# 36*5 percent
was farm population# and 23*8 percent was rural non-farm population* Growth of Mexico’s
population has been steadily increasing* With the exception of a very slight decrease. 7.5 percent from
1910 to 1930 and 5.2 percent from 1930 to 1940, rural population has been rather constant. Contrasting
to the Missouri Basin, the rural population almost coincides with the number of rural-farm population.
5. -Because of the high level of agricultural development already achieved in the Basin# the Missouri
Elver Basin Project is considered as a comprehensive one* It contemplates irrigation# navigation#
hydroelectric development# and so forth* Because of the low level of agricultural development in
Mexico and its very peculiar physical characteristics * the Mexican projects of irrigation do not
contemplate such a comprehensive development* In general# irrigation is the main concern of such
programs with hydroelectric development in a definitely secondary position# TBB HISSOBBI BlVBB BASIB PBOJBCT ABD TBB BEXICAB FBOJBOTS
0PIRBI9AT10B
PAWBILO Ra LBGB
A m a s ig
Submitted to th e ' Gp&fiwte'';
Aa
p a r tia l fu lfillm e n t of the rdg u irm en ta
fo r th e degree o f
Master of S e ieate in A g ricu ltu ral Beonomies
at
Montana S ta te College
A - —*
H@M» Major Department
Bosemanfl Montana
September, 1950
L 5 -5 / ->n
- 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
so Co-4 ovn
L is t o f F i g u r e s ............................... ..................... ....
D edicatory ........................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgem ent...................................................................................
A b s t r a c t .................................................................... ....
Foreward ................. . . ................. . . . . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER I .
THE MISSOURI RIVER BASIN AND
THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO
Problems Faced by th e M issouri Hirer Basin
10
12
Drouths ...............................................................................................
12
F l o o d s ............................................................................................................................... 13
I n s t a b ili t y o f A g ricu ltu ra l Production ............................... . . . . .
15
I n s t a b i l i t y o f Farm Income . . . . . . . . . .
...................... . * •
16
I n s u ffic ie n c y o f Ir r ig a te d Land .................................................................
18
Problems Faced by Mexico
19
Drouths ...............................................
I n s t a b ili t y o f A gricu ltu re and I n s t a b ili t y o f Farm Income . . . .
I n s u ffic ie n c y o f Ir r ig a te d Land . . . . . . . . . ...............................
The P o lic ie s
CHAPTER I I .
19
20
21
22
THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
25
P h ysical C h a r a c te r istic s o f the M issouri Hirer B asin
25
L ocation and S iz e ................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
The Climate .................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . .
........................... . . .
28
29
P recipitation ..................................
W in d .................................................................................................................. 31
Evaporation and T ranspiration . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
P h y sica l C h a r a c te r istic s o f Mexico
33
L ocation and S iz e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The A l t i t u d e .....................
Extreme Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . .
................. .
s a 38?
33
33
33
Table of CotitentS (Coated)
Tb© Cl 5.!Hat© '0 6 b O 6 O OO O
' 0 OG O0 G O O G O O O O O o o o b
Tem.po^atu.I3© » <> oo c &« «# o o g o ■# 6 « o □ « o o o
P recipitation o a o d a o o * * o b e . , o o e,- * 6 »■ e o 6
CH&PTBK m «
3 k
3 k
3 T
BC0H6MIC: ASPECTS
kO
A g ric u ltu ra l Edonbmic Development o f the
M e so u rl' B ite r D asin .
W
Belatibti o f Physical features to the Agricultural
Development o « o o « * & o a & « & o « * o * @ * o o & o * a a
B rief Information Ahout Irrigation in the Missouri .
a
K iV S r
o
B a S iti
6
.6
6. o
a
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O' &
a
ft
#
o
6
6
B
6
o
6
o
e
o
e
o
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l%&
A g ric u ltu ra l EbOhbmId Development
Of BaMoo
5k
Belation o f Physioal features to the A gricultural
Development o * * e * o 6 & « e o & * @ @
o « $ .* &@ a @&o o @ tl,
B rie f Inform ation Ahpttt I r r ig a tio n i n Mexico * .» * * c & * * o 0 65
CWTEB Ifo
POPOhATlOB ASPECTS'
' 6?
population o f th e M issouri Biver Basin
67
TfendS in the Total and Thrm Population »» » » * ° & , «, , ® o d 67
'Bural atid Wban Composition 0 «' 0 * « h ** a a *; »». ».■ 0 » 0 0 e 71
BeMoati Population
Trends iti Total atid farm population 0
Oeographioal D istrihutioti = * = » „ =
Sdral and Whan Composition o o 6 o o
Baoial and Language Composition o = =
Educational Composition 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 .
= 0 0 0 6 0 0 6
= ** , * * o =
= o=o o o
==
= =6 * = * = *
006000 o e
7k
»
*
=
=
e
o e ooo
«0* 9 0
o=«oo
==* * &
o
o
o
o
o
7k
7?
7®
79
80
•» Zj.
Zable oaf Contents (Contvd)
Page
CWZBH Y=,
DISPOSABLE PESOSEOES TO CGPE
WITH THE PEOBLEm
w*.
In Mosiiee
8 ii-
Hycxi1OIogi CEiI Oondi exons o O' o o o o o o o o o o o a » ^ » » e
IM n Streams end, T yibntarisg „ » * .
* , , * . & « q.
■*
e
P 8 i |.
6
q
' In the, Misgeuri E iw r Sasin
Hydrolo^xes,! Cendatiens
I r r ig a b le Len^ q o o q
o «q « o » o o o
o qo o ,a o o <? q
CHAPTEE VI,
88
q o o o o o o o o
qo o d q » » o
q q d 88
q * 0 q ^l
THE. COALE
92
In th e H g so u ri Basin
Te I r r ig a t e Mere Land o o o o « e oo o » o © o © o » ,
Control Ox Eieede ° o v a *# * , , o o , p.» , 0 0 , 0
S ta b ilis a tio n of th e A g riculture - .«■ » , , . . , , . o .
S ta b ilis a tio n of th e Pam Income * « .» ». , «... = , , ,, .»
•Other' Obj e e tlte g
, * « * •« , « » 0 , 0 0 0 0 , 0 c 0
In Meniod
8 6
9 2
» q
,0
» ,
» «
0 0
d
*
q
a
0
c 9Zl
9 ^
«’ 4 O
e oi q 95
% . # 95
97
To I r r ig a t e More Land * q, > »- » , * » q . , * ,
, q q , * » 97
Other Gbj ectxveg 0 o o , « q » 0 , •, , 0 , 0 0 & , , , 0 0 0 0 0 98
CSAPTEE VlIq
GOSGtoSlOSB
LITEEATUEE GOSSULTED
io o '
190
MS'$ Of PISUBES
Por1 fhe M issouri Biver Baein
Piga la
Sross Pam Income from Sale o f Grops^ M issouri B lfer
S a s in
'
pigd Ba M issouri B ifen Basin Boundary end S ta te s Within
the, S'asin
,
Pigo fro .general S h ta tlo n o f th e
liv e r Basin in
tW W i t e i S ta te s 1
■Pigo I4.0 Average Annual P recip itatio n , in th e lis s o u r l
l iv e r Basin
Pigo 9» Moisture leg io n s i n th e M sscm rl Biver -Basin
'Pbr .Ie^ieu
Pige %
Bones o f tem perature in Mexico.
H g o 60
B a in fa ll Map o f Menioo- Showing V a r ia tio n in th e '
Aferage Amount o f Annual B a in fa ll from IfrZl to !9 3 9
SSgo 7« Location o f D is tr ic ts of Irr ig a tio n in Mexioojj 1$1}B
SSgo 8b A ril* Humid:* and Interm ediate' Hydrographic Zones
in th e Bepuhlio of Mexico
6
DBBIOAlBOSr*
the MWMWi
BoamaA* WitaaA
ana to the mC8m<&rnOIOBAL D2 Mm(ma9B& a*
Ohapiagoj, State $ t Hesiee9 ia am reOogmltiw.
for the leaovieage of s el © stifle agviml'hxre they
prOvMefi Bies ttvis granting m a righ t t o help l a
the solu tion of prohleOT la A grloaltaral BoonoMoss,
Am rm Lm W BB
Adtnmtfledginarb Ie <to© to c e rta in persons' Vnose help slid Valnehle
advioe made p o ssib le the development and completion o f this-, papers
Especial reco g n itio n should go to*
Br*- Md- & EELSO0. head o f th e Bepartsient of A g rio u ltn ral
Beonomiee and Bxrad Soei-Ologyp fo r h is valnahl©
advice and helps
Dro < ^ B * B R W 0 B & o a d a r* IAtlOH 8^ TKOMPSGB^ f o r t b s l f
h elp and advices
The s t a f f o f the A g ricu ltu ral Economics M hraxy and o f the
la in L ibrary a t Montana s t a t e Oollsgo # o were very
kind in making a v aila b le the b ib lio g ra p h ic .m ateria l
I noededs-
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.
.
A B sm et
Io The main pnobjLems th a t face th e Missouri Eiifer BasizVs ag ri­
c u ltu re a r e 5 C lim atic undepC nhahilitya floods^ drouths^ i n s t a h i l i t y of
farm income* and out-m igrationo
fhe main problems t h a t face Mexicotp a g r ic u ltu r e ares Blim atie
undependability* d ro u th sa. floods* in su ffic ie n c y and i n s t a b i l i t y of farm
income* shortage, of cropland# and d e fic ie n t a g ric u ltu ra l technique*
2* A g ricu ltu re s t i l l i s a major occupation in the Missouri Hiyer
Basin* Land in farms# cropland harvested* value of liv e sto c k * output
o f some main products* etc*# in th e M issouri Basin rep re se n t a s ig n if i­
cant percentage of the corresponding fig u re s fo r the United States*
Mexico i s also s t i l l predominantly a g ric u ltu ra l* About 65 per­
cent of i t s economically a c tiv e population i s engaged in ag ricu ltu re*
and the c a p ita l invested in th is occupation Is# by far# la r g e r than
the c a p ita l Invested in any other industry*
5* In the. M issouri E iver Bdaln th ere a re approximately 5*000#000
acres .Of lend a lread y irrigated*. I t i s intended to i r r i g a t e another
5»235*000 acres by 1975» Land p h y s ic a lly ' su ite d to ir r ig a tio n in the
M issouri B asin i s p le n tifu l re la tiv e to water supply*
In Mexico th e re were approxim ately
,000 acres of ir r ig a te d
lan d as of 1946* I t is planned to i r r i g a t e 2*868*000 more acres by the
end o f 1952» Ihe fe a s ib ly irrig a b le land i s ra th e r lim ited* Bough
estim ations in d ic a te t h a t only an area of approxim ately 17#000*000
acres could fe a s ib ly be brought under irrig a tio n *
!$.6 Browth of the M issouri E lver B asinas population has been
v a ria b le * In re c en t decades the growth has been slow* Eural population
has been declining*, and urban population has been increasing* As of
I 9I4O* the r u ra l population was 66*3 percent o f the B asin’s t o t a l popu­
latio n * Of th is percentage* 36*5 percent was farm population# and 23*8
percent was ru ra l non-farm population*
Growth o f Mexioovs population, has been s te a d ily increasing* With
th e exception o f a v ery s l i g h t decrease* 7=5 percent from 1910 to 1930
and 5*2 percent from 193®' to 1940* ru ra l population has been ra th e r
constant* C ontrasting to th e Missouri Basin* the ru ra l population
alm ost coincides w ith the number of ru ra l-fa rm population*
5* Because of the high le v e l of a g ric u ltu ra l development already
achieved in th e Basin* th e M issouri E lver Basin P ro je c t is considered
as a comprehensive one* I t contemplates irrig a tio n * navigation# hydro­
e le c t r i c development# and so forth*
Because of the low le v e l of a g ric u ltu ra l development in Mexico
and i t s very p e c u lia r physical c h a ra c te ris tic s * the Mexican p ro je c ts
o f i r r ig a ti o n do not contemplate such a comprehensive development* In
general# ir r ig a tio n i s the main concern of such programs w ith hydro­
e le c tr ic development in a d e f in ite ly secondary position*
A g y W lta z e * one of the f i r s t and fundamental oocnpations froBi '
Whieh mankind obtains goods to s a tis f y i t s subsistence n eo essitieS s
i s an a c t iv i t y e s s e n tia lly dedicated to d isco v er, d ir e Oti and e x p lo it
m a te ria l resources contained in the land and to control a l l kinds of
phenomena SuOh as p h y sic a l, chemical * b a cterio lo g ica l, and atmospheric
t h a t i n one way or another may have some connection w ith .to ils* . Other
th in g s being equal,, ■d i ^ s im ila rity of . s o ils and phenomena acting upon, ••
them w ill b rin g d is s im ila r ity in a g ric u ltu ra l c h a ra c te ris tic s ^
Sut
a s long as s o il and i t s a sso c ia te d phenomena* including th e Culture
o f th e society* are alike* a g ric u ltu ra l ch aracteristics w ill a lso be
much the same no m atter where the place may be«
Jn t h i s th e s is an
attem pt w ill be made to s e t fo rth some sim ila r c h a ra c te ris tic s * m ostly
derived from clim ate* and some d is s im ila r C h arac te ristic s* m ostly
d eriv ed f rent c u ltu re of th e so ciety * t h a t e x is t between, th e a g ric u ltu re
Of th e ES.SBOtiri Biver Basin and th e a g ric u ltu re of the Bepublie of
Mexico*
1■
Ihe th e s is was developed from b ib lio g rap h ic m ateria l ,c ite d herein
In th e case of Mexico.* f o r which there- was Only lim ited m aterial* th e
knowledge* judgment* and opinions o f th e author were used fre q u e n tly to
c a rry th is t h e s is to i t s completion^
,
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:
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0W 3?BB, y*
38B *1888031 BIVBR %6@I# iMD ERB a8FO#&10 0F]KB&I#@
From an a g rlo u itu m l p o in t of view, th e lig s o n r i Hiver Begin hag,
many c h a rac ter i s t i e s th a t a re very m oh the tame as those o f th e
Repuhiio ■o f 'MexiOo,*- S im ila ritie s , between th e .Msgduri Basin and: Mexioe
are of th re e 'general k in d s; " F irst# th e environmental fo rc e s shaping the
development o f the a g ric u ltu re are very much a lik e ^ second*, the ru ra l '
population re p re s e n ts a considerahle percentage o f the t o t a l population|,
land th ird # the general economy of hoth environm ents, s t i l l depends to
a, larg e extent on a g ric u ltu re since thug f a r in d u s tria l development •
plays h u t a email role, in th e W l e economy c i sack*
But# a s may fee expected# the, M stfeuri B ifer IaS in algo exhifeits
differenoeg when compared w ith Hexioo* - Ag main differences* th e f o lIotrMg
may fee mentioned* _ F irst# th e M sso u rl l i f e r Basin I s feat a region w ith in
the g re a t country of th e B aited S tates# and# therefore# can fee- helped in
the s o lu tio n of i t s problems by th e B n ite d 'S ta te d as- a whole .country-c ' •
Mexi.oo rep resen ts a Tidiole country in I t g e l f s and# 'therefore# .i f a s s is t
ta a c e f o r th e so lu tio n of i t s problems i s fo be asked*, i t hag to fee
looked for- through In te rn a tio n a l channels or M th ia h e r own ,boundaries*
,secondly# h isto r ic a l f a c to r s , social conditions# and general c u ltu re of"
. 1.
11,
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t h e . farm, population of the Missouri Basin hafe been, q u ite d iffe re n t
from th o se of Mexico*
The v a rie ty o f Circumstances j u s t mentioned
hag le d to d is s im ila r ity i n th e le v e l of t o ohnologieal d&r&lopment
reached by a g ric u ltu re in each area*
The ‘Missouri Basin has already
attained an advanced,.-agricultural technique* while Mexico e tid d . i t
developing i t s a g ric u ltu re under poor a g ric u ltu ra l t CClmiquee
At is w ell known5 clim ate i s a n a tu ra l fence th a t plays a g rea t
ro le in th e development of a g ric u ltu re ^
Other th in g s "being equal „ a
favorable clim ate favors a su ccessfu l a g ric u ltu re,, end* conversely* an
unsuited c lim ate tends to produce an unsuccessful agriculture,
fhe
second condition i s the one which* g e n e ra lly SpeaMng,* p re v a ils in
th e M issouri River b a sin , ■P re c ip ita tio n ■and temperature* two; main com?.
.pbnent fa c to rs of clim ate* occur in an Undependable p a tte rn both through
tim e and throughout the a r e a . of th e M issouri Basin,' . Sometimes good
weather comes* as i t d id a f t e r 19W* and. sometimes bad w eather comas, as
I t did during most of th e 1931fW decade, "What is the probable frequency
o f occurrence of th ese .a lte rn a tiv e periods o f good and bad weather? So. ..
person knows* and i t i s p re c ise ly th is c lim a tic c h a r a c te r is tic th a t 1.# the
main .'source o f the problems;, th a t, face th e farm ers o f th e ' M ahouri Basin,
Mexico* -tiien. considered as, a whole country*' i s by no meant more,
b le sse d th an th e Missouri Basin in i t s clim ate 'so f a r as sta b le and
su cce ssfu l a g ric u ltu re is. eonceraedo
The Mexican t e r r i t o r y fac es
undependable p re c ip ita tio n and temperature which make t h e i r appearances
a t ir r e g u l a r i n te r v a ls , and whose occurrences nobody can predict#,
$0*.
i n a general sense* one may say t h a t th e .M issouri River Saein and
'Mexico face 'sim ila r1unsu ited c lim atic c h a ra c te ris tic s fo r the development 1
Cf th e ir a g ric u ltu re #
About $0' percent of th e M issouri.Basin *s area
i s S€toi«arld! $0 percent i s the corresponding fig u re f o r th e land are a
of Mexicoo
, = 12 =»
Ag f a r as seasonal v a ria tio n of. e ffe c tiv e moisture, i s coneemed.j,
about' 80 percent l / o f the Basin area has l i t t l e or no w ater Surplus Iti
m y season, and only about 10 percent l / o f th e land has l i t t l e o r no
w ater d eficien cy in any season,,1 fhe analogous fig u re s f o r Eexidh a re
h9'9 p ercent and 12<>8. p ercen t, respectively^
S im ila rity Of environmental fo rc e s that, shape a g ric u ltu r a l develop=
meat have re s u lte d in th e M issouri Eiver .Basin atid Mexico’s confronting
Very S im ilar problems in carrying on t h e i r agriculture=
Following i s a
b r i e f d e sc rip tio n o f some of the more notable problems=
Problems Faced by th e M issouri Elver Basin
Drouths o One o f th e m an ifestatio n s o f th e uneven d is trib u tio n
o f r a i n f a ll in th e M issouri Basin i s th e drouths th a t occur i n some
p a r ts o f the Basin sim ultaneously w ith constant m oisture su fficie n cy
in o th er p a rts = Ihe M issouri Elver Basin has been s tric k e n in term it*
ta n tly by severe drouths*
They occur in an irre g u la r p a tte r n , and i t i s
p re c is e ly t h i s u n p re d ic ta b ility th a t males more d i f f i c u l t th e adoption. .
o f any sin g le crop system th a t i s always w ell adapted, to clim atic
conditions*
$he more rec en t serious, drouths were those o f I93h and 1936»
th e 60*year period reaching baOk to 1889,. th e M issouri F a lle y S ta te s
have experienced eleven severe d ro u th s a v e ra g in g alm ost one■drouth
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Percentages estimated from map e n title d ‘’Seasonal V ariatio n of
BffeotiVe Moisturert., geographical EeviW c January, 19^.8, p* 9k*
In
y e ar in every five*.
These excessive dry periods occurred i n 1889» 1890»
m k , 1901* 1910» 1917, 1930* 1931» 1934» and 1936« A ll of the ?&ssouri
Y alley S ta te s were not a f f lic te d U nifdraly i n each of th ese years'* M t
a l l of Mem were s tric k e n in te rm itte n tly * . The drouths do n e t take
place* however* throughout the e n tir e B asin*.hut are more in te n se and
mere freq u en t i n th e Upper and Western p a rts o f , the Basin0
He attem pt was made in th is th e s is to .analyse th e e ff e c ts of
d ro u th s, since, they a re w ell known: hy th e farm ers as w ell a s by a l l those
persons fa m ilia r w ith ag ricu ltu re*
fo r our purpose i t w ill su ffic e merely
to remember th a t some of the mere n o tic e a b le e ff e c ts ares
( l ) fa ilu r e of
a crop, and* as a re s u lt* M gher p ric e s f o r the a ffe c te d a g ric u ltu r a l
commodities^ (2) how farm income* and* -as a result*, lack o f payments- o f
the fa rm e r's debts with, i t s accompanying fo reclo su res and. d is tr e s s to
the farm ers and th e ir'fa m ilie s * , and th e F ederal, government's burden -of g ran tin g fin a n c ia l aids (3) Emigration of some farm ers toward more
favored areas* and the re s u ltin g lo ss o f c a p ita l through d e te rio ra tio n
of r e a l estate*, land improvements* buildings* and farm equipment»
Floods*
Floods i n other p a rts Of th e Basin* as in th e case of
drouths* are one o f th e m an ifestatio n s o f th e r a i n f a l l 's Weven d is tr iM tio n 0 I t seems rather contradictory* however* to speak of Hoods- i n
th e same b rea th w ith drouthss. B rie fly , drouths, a re IaCk- o f wafer*
whereas flo o d s a re the con trary a that i s , p le n ty o f w ater, .however*,
what seems a contradiction- disappears when one considers the fa c to rs
t h a t cause f lo o d s ^ ia te r m itte n t heavy r a in s and m elting snow#
Contrary
to the drouths.* the. flo o d s occur in t h e . lower p o rtio n o f th e Basin®
^ xk- ^
G liarao taristic of the Missouri Eivor Basin a re floods of t w generaltypes,) the. Maroh and th e June floods*
..
Eie Mafoh floods r e s u l t from
m elting eno?/ in the p la in s of th e Upper Basin and th e break-up o f r iv e r
I e e a- aocoKtpanied by l i g h t p r e e ip i t a i l on» Snow m elting in the headwater
mountains0 accompanied by h eav ier r a i n f a l l ^ produces the; June flood
which o rd in a rily i s much mere d e stru c tiv e than the March floods,
fhe
p rin c ip a l e f f e c t of a March flo o d i s the d e lay Sn p lan tin g u n t il the
f i e l d s a re dry enough to he worked®
The June flood delays th e prepaw
a tlo n o f lan d and d e stro y s growing crops much too l a t e in the season
fo r p la n tin g or re p la n tin g to be p ro fita b le *
As do drouths a floods b rin g tro u b le to the farm ers and to the
in s titu tio n s re la te d to ag ricu ltu re*
These tro u b les are almost, o f the
same n a tu re as are those brought by dro u th sa th a t I e a d is tr e s s t o the
farm ersa d e te rio ra tio n Of the farms and th e ir appurfsnanoes» expenditures
o f Psderal Uoverment fo r r e l i e f a and so forth®
Sn a d d itio n a the floods
cause s o il erosion^ and sometimes make , f e r t i l e land poor by depositing
s t e r i l e s o il upon it®
Average annual flood damage, a g ric u ltu ra l and
non* a g ric u ltu ra l a probably exceeds $7$ea00(J fo r the Upper Baeina. •
SlSji7^1 #000 f o r th e bower BasipA ahd $1$»IOyaO(X) fo r .the ,e n tire Baain*'
In a century o f record th e re have been floods' in ISSh9 ISS la 1903# 1908a 1909, 1 0 ,9, 1927, 1935a 191#* 19^3 W
19W#
!h ere were th re e
sep arate flo o ds in 1943 aloneg i n 1943 sis?# covering a p erio d of n e arly
two and one6aI n l f months®
The-highest was,i n 1884, b u t th e re are'no
adequate records# and th e damage has never been estim ated# although i t -was
Small because of th e undeveloped s ta te of the ■country#
By f a r the
most d e stru c tiv e th re e years in the River's history were 191*2 , 19h3s
and l9hh«
I n s t a b il i ty of A g ricu ltu ral Production.
By a g ric u ltu ra l production
in s ta b ilit y , I mean th e ups and downs in the volume o f production caused
by drouthse f lo o d s ,. and changes in th e techniques and p ra c tic e d in agri­
culture such a s change in crops, adoption o f new v a r ie tie s o f Crops,: ■
change in type of farming, enlargement, o r reduction i n sis© o f th e farm
U n it, movement of people in to a g ric u ltu re o r Out of i t * and so forth©
G enerally speaking, th e re are a t l e a s t two types o f a g ric u ltu ra l
production in sta b ility *
One i s t h a t d erived from technological advances
in a g ric u ltu re t h a t are taking place co n stan tly in a world o f progress*
Obviously,, one cannot be a g a in st tech n o lo g ic al progress because i t . causes
t h i s type o f i n s t a b i l i t y , b u t ra th e r the concern in th is regard, is ' how-"
to a d ju st a g ric u ltu ra l p ra c tic e s to technological advances w ithout
su fferin g d e te rio ra tio n in a l l kinds o f C apital already in agriculture*
The second type o f a g ric u ltu ra l production i n s t a b i l i t y i s th a t
brought on by u n su itab le weather*
This may a ff e c t a g ric u ltu re with
too much r a in f a ll (flo o d s), o r too l i t t l e r a i n f a l l (d ro u th s).
There -are
o th er fa c to rs resp o n sib le fo r a g ric u ltu r a l production i n s t a b i l i t y such
a s p e s ts and d isea ses, but those derived from unsu itab le w eather.are the
mbst drastic©
•
3to most of th e Missouri River Basin the a g ric u ltu ra l i n s t a b i l it y
Caused by u n su itab le w eather has been most prevalent*' Brouths .and
^.oodfs W re forced Scaae farm ers to mow opt- pf the stric k e n places Sr
@Rt of the B&sln* A gfld*!i ^ r a t W ta h llity I* the #ia@oq*& Basin i#
;
Qm W iy im portant f a c to r accounting fo r th e .@lovr growth, of S e ' B asin's
papnlet&oa.
# e W t a h l i l t y o f A griG kltare 1# the Baal* aleo a ris e s
teems#- th e Cl W M e v a ria tio n s appear in 'a -v e ry lrre g ttla r pattern*
W eaW m en c W e t p re d ic t long I* ^v aW -W lM i any degree o f aoedrety
,how add # ie n r a i n f a ll and tem perature changes #1% take place®
W w re
h e s ita te t o Wka long-run plans p r ooramititontSa and some a g rie t2 lS r.a |
in s titu tio n s ^ such as a g ric u ltu ra l C redit .Agenciesii cannot help
farm ers with th e ir problems to the same degree th a t i s p o ssib le in '
a re a s o f g re a te r clim atic 'O ependabilitye
W t a b i l i t y o f Pam Income= W
th in k s o f W t a b i l i t y o f farm
income as th e c o ro lla ry of a g ric u ltu ra l production in sta b ility ®
She
M issouri Hiver Basin i s , perhaps $ th e r© #on of the h a lte d S ta te s
Mteare f a m W o w has been most unstable,: ;guoh i n s t a b i l i t y o f farm '
W cm e may cow e ith e r because o f unfavorable weather or because' o f •
'
!Lemr p rices fo r far* p r o w # *
W prW ip&l factors^ drouth
h as by f a r th e g re a te s t e f f e c t in'-making farm -Income |,ow® . W
W
d w athts d e o W t W
zoasons
in ow e *rd cbvW ea' the crop y ie ld s
become v ery poor,- and oftentim es considerable Orpp acreages a re M
d e te rio ra te d t h a t i t i s no t w orthw hile.to harvest %em« , W
la s t
drouth recorded was th a t o f th e 19^W 9W p e rio d , whioh^ to g e th e r with
depression p riced, reduced farm Income more- W h $0 percent below th e
average farm income o f th e
peM odt
.
cen t
I
H
I
Fig* I
Sources
Sroee Perm Income from S a le o f Crope, M issouri g iv er Baeius
Index Mumbere (l9 2 lr U > 1 0 0 )
192i*»19U7»
M eeou rl River Baein* A g r icu ltu r a l Prorrz n., U nited S ta te s Department o f A g ricu ltu re,
A p r il, 1^49.
* 18
I f o th ar things remain m Ohangods p ric e s of farm products sa y
go up during lo c a l a re a drouthss hut such in c re a se in farm, product
p ric e s vrf.ll n ot o ffc e t th e low production, and, furtherm ore, the p ric e s
Cf th e in p u ts that farm ers have to buy w ill not duel Ine0
IPllovjing the drouth of th e 1931 ^ 19W period,# th e re were almost
id e a l weather conditions and the r e s u lt was a g re a t farm income made
up by a high production and high prices*
She p ric e s were boosted by
unusual demand of war conditions*
In su ffic ie n c y o f I r r i gated lend*
fhere is in s u ffic ie n t ir r ig a te d
lan d in the M issouri River Basin# and even in th e United S ta te s viewed
no a whole*
Many people# p rin c ip a lly o u tsid e o f the Missouri Basin
area# ask why the Federal. Government should embark « b rin g in g in more
ir r ig a te d land# when th e JSaiioa i s facing a g ric u ltu ra l surpluses*
The
question may be j u s t i f i e d i n terms o f lo c a l p rojects# from a very
sh o rt run p o in t o f view# and o th er sp e c ia l circum stances# But when
ohe r e la te s the ir r ig a tio n p ro je c ts to th e e n tire Wcsioa# in a long
run and under normal circum stances of th e Basin# one concludes th a t
more i r r ig a te d land i s needed in th e United S ta to ss but p rin c ip a lly
in the Missouri Biver Basin*
fha so -c a lle d a g ric u ltu ra l surpluses
a re tru e fo r a very few products lik e wheat and potatoes# b u t such
surpluses were brought on by abnormal war conditions# some o f which#
perhaps# s t i l l are working but w ill n o t endure forever*
As o f about
d u ly of 1943# only appro.riiaately 6 percent o f the t i l l a b l e land In
ihe a rid and sem i-arid region of th e Basin was irrigated*
When One
edttsMera th is px-oportim o f ly p lg a ted lm d m& reo& lls th e mfavop=
a b le iyeathey for agrdoultupe th a t p revails 1% m eh -&£ # e B asin5 one
oannot b u t eonelude t h a t 1» the K isso u ri S l W S&sih mare Irrlg a tlo m ■
i s neededo
PhrtkeWPes one must bear in. mind, that the ,stabilisation o f
agrieu lfu w not the inorsase of Irrigated land i s the .main Obiedtife0
In general 3 the stabilisation o f agrieulfape t i l l reduce emigration
from the SasinjTand> therefore^ w ill allow for an increase #f the
Sasiufs population#
.f$ie i r r ig a ti o n projeots ape f u r th e r j u s t i f i e d mb# one think# of
o th e r b e n e fits t h a t go alo n g 'w ith it* ' -Sbwep.,, flo o d OOntfels and.
m v ig a tlo n may b rin g as mueh b e n e fit m 'ir r ig a tio n alone would "brings •
,.v
■
'
fhus-s from the foregoing,, i t ' seems-'- th a t .a ll tW W denob i s . in - f a w
.. •
' '/
'
o f th e projeots o f ir r ig a tio n thus f a r undertaken in the Missouri,
; ... '..-V / v :i ■ W e r Basin*
BrbMbmS-' faced, by # % !# :
hrouths* Brouths a re b u t one m an ifestatio n o f u n s u ita b ility o f
weather for
agriculture*
Brouths h a te ootmweti -rbry' often@
to d th e y u s u a lly oeeur when crops a re in -g re a te s t need o f molSturb=
'
fhe p o rtio n s o f the t e l e a n t e r r i t o r y most stric k e n by drouths a # th e
C entral M e# and th e B b r t h w 'p art of Mexico# M Eexioo a c tu a l rain#"
f a l l fre q u e n tly d e v ia te s w idely from- average o f ^normal’6 p rec ip ita tio n #
the d ev iatio n o f a c tu a l precipitation ■from, average -oOcurs, unfortunately^
during th e c r i t i c a l growth ,period, of th e crops, and in- those, -areas'
where crop production i s Biost Im pdrtant0
As in the M ssouri Birer Basin# considerable acreages are some*
■tim es n e t M rre s te d ,in Mexioo Mcan.se o f the d e te rio ra tio n o f the crops,
because o f drouths=
Bxmple*:
Ojidal lan d was not harvested=
In 19i!0» 59=93 percent o f t h e , seeded
Jhere were several fa c to rs because of
which th e crops were l o s t , but drouth accounted fo r approxim ately
7 k p ercen t of th e unharvested land=
i n s t a b i l i t y of Agriculture .and i n s t a b i l i t y of
Be
' ir r e g u la r d is tr ib u tio n o f r a i n f a ll in JfexiCbr b oth through th e rain*
f a l l season and throughout, th e country# b rin g s as a n a tu ra l consequence
i n s t a b i l i t y of a g ric u ltu re and farm income and. i n s t a b i l i t y In a ll the
r e la te d a c t i v i t i e s as well*. Ihen ra in y Seasons gome,,, th e farm ers
have good,-crops#, and, therefore# a s a tis fa c to ry ' income from the 'sale
o f crops=
Be" c ontrary s itu a tio n p re v a ils .when th e ra in s .f a il*
Be
two p rin c ip a l fa c to rs' causing i n s t a b i l i t y o f a g ric u ltu re a re drouths
and floods=
Gne can hear com plaints from th e farm ers o f th e Central
Ifesa about poor crops caused by in s u f f ic ie n t ra in fa ll=
Qn th e other
ten d # ,one a lso le a rn s th a t the: farm ers of the. southern p a rt o r . Cf th e
northwestern, p a rt o f Mexico# one of th e r ic h e s t regions, of th e country^
have l o s t t h e i r crops because' floods have occurred=
AS in th e case o f th e Missouri W e r Basin* th e flo o d s not only
make a g ric u ltu re U nstable an d reduce farm income, but they a ls o
d estro y p ro p e rtie s and lives=.. With v ery few exceptions#'.the fed eral
Government has to fa c e lo s s e s suffered by the e jld a ta r io s , and although
2% «®
causes o th e r than purely weather e o M itio n s a re responsible fo r such
lo s s e s , drouths md' fltiode are b y ■far the, inoet Im portant eatteeS:*
Onee a g ric u ltu re and f a m .IuobW haye become u n sta b le . I t la an
easy m a tte r te; plotdre,- th e '^oneeeufeubas $ ; .In s ta b ility ' in' p ric e s of
farm p ro d u cts, la c k of loan repayments^ foreclosures.^ and so forth*
bed Land*
,Insufficiency o f ir r ig a te d Ismd
in. Messleo may be considered from 'tto. p o in ts o f riew»
f i r s t , by consi­
dering -sdiat proportion of the possible, fa m in g a re a is. a c t u a l l y .i r r i ­
gated I w d 0 and Secondly0 by considering what proportion, of i&e fe a sib le
ir r ig a b le land is, a c tu a lly irrig a te d #
As f a r as the f i r s t poin t o f
t i m i s Concerned, i t i s estim ated th a t as o f 19i|S th e re was an i r r i ­
gated a re a of about 4s877,000 a c re s, which con stitu tes about 8 « | pernCent o f the p o ssib le fam in g area o f Mexico (58^bO 0OOO acres)#
According to plans f o r ir r ig a tio n and the a c tu a l p o lic y of ir r ig a tio n
Se' far,, i t i s expected to raise, th e .percentage of ir r ig a te d land up
to 12*1 p ercent by the- fend of' %$$&*. from the second standpoint and
aleo referring to i$4&* i t i s estim ated that the 4*877*000 acres
alre ad y brought under i r r ig a ti o n re p re se n t 28=7 p ercen t o f .XT0OGOfrOOO
acres which are estim ated to be fh# lim it o f fe a s ib le ir r ig a b le
laud*
-
I t IS expected t h a t t h i s 28=7 p e rc en t w ill be 41*8 percent by
th e end o f 1952*
from the feasible- ir r ig a b le Iw d sta n d p o in t, i t
appears th a t I e x io s has already made g re a t headway In irrigation® ,This i s tru e when’on©- thinks' o f the efforts-, and the expenditures that
«• 22 -wthe FeSoraI Soveraw at has- made in xrorking out th is problem^ hut 3 am
n o t Quito sure i f the X'f^OOQ^DOO acres are the lim it o f fe a s ib le
irrigab le laado
Furthem ores i t I s worthwhile to- mention the possi­
b i l i t y o f bringing under c u ltiv a tio n about 17»000»000 a cres on th e
tr o p ic a l lead s where i r r ig a ti o n w ill not. he required,
hu t th is is a
m atter o f g e ttin g those tro p ic a l la n d s ready by means of clearing^
S a n ita tio n j, and so forth#
Given the u n s u ita b ility o f the climate fo r Mexican a g ric u ltu re^
and tak in g in to c o n sid era tio n th a t most' o f th e land depends upon
seasonal r a in fa ll# i t seems doubtless t h a t ir r ig a tio n i s im perative
end i r r ig a ti o n w ill be considered ln s u ffi c is n tly developed so long as
th e re may be unexhausted p o s s ib i l i ti e s i n t h a t fie ld #
Fhe P o lic ie s
S im ila r problems demand sim ila r p o lic ie s to solve them# and th a t
i s why both th e Federal Government of th e Gnited S ta te s and th e Govern­
ment o f Mexico have p ro jected very s lm lla r plans f o r the so lu tio n of
t h e i r a g r ic u ltu r a l problems#
Fbs W ite d S ta te s Government has planned
development o f th e w ater resources o f the. Missouri Basin through the
provisions of the Missouri Bivor Basin Project# also known as the PickSloan Plan#
Fhis plan contemplates b ringing under i r r i g a t i o n a good
deal o f a g ric u ltu ra l Im d in the Basin and to take care of the floods
t h a t occur r e la tiv e ly often in the.low er Missouri Basin#
I t i s also a
program to conserve and to use the Tmtors of the ItLesouri Kiver in the
meat comprehensive way#
-On th e o th er hand# the Federal Government o f
= 23 =
jSostioo a lso has fo m n la te d sp e cia l programs to develop w ater resources
W t to p r o v i d e by so Io in g 8 some a id to th e farmers^
Many proMsais o f farm management^ far® financings and farm popu*
l&t&on adjustments w ill a rise in the MsBouyi Biver Baaba and in Be*!**
#eam bringing in to ir r ig a tio n agricultural land* th at new are being
farmed under the dry-farming syetemo
T&en t h is th e s is w s planned, i t vraa thought t h a t m analysis 8
comparison, and c o n tra s t of such problems o f th e two p ro je c ts would be
worthwhile in order to fin d out which of th e techniques used in the
development o f th e Basin area could be applied to th e development of
the Mexican p ro je c ts o f I r r ig a tio n fo r th e achievement o f more success^
f u l re s u lts *
However, th e la c k o f a v a ila b le d a ta on E ex iw i n the
College l ib r a r y and lac k of tim e req u ired t h a t the th e s is be of a
d e s c rip tiv e n a tu re concerning fhe M issouri IHvcr Hacjn P ro je c t and # e
M #lcan P ro je c ts o f irrigation*
th erefo re* being o f a d e sc rip tiv e nature only, i t s value l ie s i s
i t s tr a in in g in methodology.? th a t is * tra in in g In the lo g ic a l process
th a t might be followed in th e development of a to p ic in a g ric u ltu ra l
economics and B tra l sociologyo f h ls th e s is a ls o may serv e t o poin t
out t h a t whenever an e n te rp rise ' in i r r ig a ti o n i s undertaken, th e re ore
e th e r uses o f w ater th a t might be developed in order to develop w ater
resources in tb<* most comprehensive way and to ' reduce th e costs of
irrig a tio n *
She follow ing shoptors contain s t a t i s t i c a l inform ation, discussion.
md, GOSBneats ooaoeming the, physical oaviyomnent of the IB ssottrl Sir©?
S a sia and o f MeKicoi, t h e i r problems and th e ir resources and p o lic ie s
thus f a r formulated w ith Wiich to work out t h e i r problems,
■
»
<mp9#a i i ,
«
m e B8Y610&L, m v i Bmwme
Physieal d k a ra e te r is tios of the IE sspuri TEver ia s ln
Io c a t1Ioa and S ise 0 Ihs S isstm ri Biirer Basia includes the M xsouri
proper sad a l l of i t s t r ib u t a r i e s to the O oatiaeatal BivMes
I t lie s
bcrbween the 57th and th e %9th degrees n o rth I n titu d e a I t in clu d es the
lea d a re a o f a l l or p a rts of tea sta te s g mamely, Mtntraa * Ifyosaingo
Colorado o !forth and South Dakota,, M nnesotaa Ieh ra sk a a S ra sa sa
and Missouri o
fhe elevation o f th e M issouri Biver a t i t s mouth is shout l|00
f e e t above se a le v e l = Most Cf the lower basin l i e s a t an a ltitu d e
o f from 500 t o I aOOO fse to
Io the w est and n o rth l i e s a broad s t r i p
r is in g from I 5OOO to S5OOQ f e e t In a ltitu d e a t i t s western lim it*
fe
th e west o f t h i s SffOOO f e e t e le v a tio n lie s, a h ig h er b e lt o f an a l t i *
tucte o f from S6OQO to L0QQQ I o e te West o f the LsOOQ fo o t contour is:
g b e l t o f from LsQQO to 6»,OQQ f e e t high*
The headwaters of th e Horth
P la tte and o f the BSg Horn S v e r s l i e in m are a where e le v atio n rrages
from 6*000 t o 12*009 feet*
Ths p a r t o f the Missouri' Basin ly in g i n the United S ta te s covers
about 326sOQQaQOO aor@sff or 5°9ff575 square m iles*
She p a rt ly in g i n
the Provinces of A lb erta rad B askatchw raP Craadaff covers 9 ff715
square Izdles6 o r 60217ff6QQ -acres*
Ih other Wordsff th e a re a o f the
Missouri H v e r Saein makes a t o ta l o f 519*090 square m ile sa o r
352*217*609 a c re s equal to about 17 p ercen t o f the to ta l a re a o f
the Waited StateSo
North Dakota
South Dakota
Colorado
Pig* 2
M leeourl KLrer Basin Boundary and S ta te s W ithin th e Basin,
Souroei
M issouri S lrer Baeln
U. S . D. A ., A pril
c u ltu r a l Program.
27
Mleeourl
Baeln
States
Pig# 5
General Location of the MKLeeourl
Rlrer Baeln in the Uhited S ta tes.
Adapted freoni
Putting the Missouri to Work.
Bureau o / Roclamation, Depart-
ment o f the In terio r, Washing­
ton, De Ce, Ju ly, 19l«5 »
■«*- j28 -<»
The ClimatGo ' The. nottaai o lIinate o f the Basiia i s humid fby the
e a ste rn p a r t1ahd sem i-arid f o r the western area,
This w estern p a rt
i s c h a rac terise d by extremes i n r a i n f a ll and' tem perature and g rea t
i r r e g u la r ity in clim ate throughout the seasons,of the yearo' W inters
are r e la tiv e ly long and cold oyer, much of the Basin, w hile summers a re
sunny and hgt„ Spring i s eool^ m o ist, and windy-, and autumn i s CoqI s d ry ,
,and sunny.
Other c lim atic fa c to rs im portant,,to farm ers'' i n th e S re a t
P lain s o f the ■Basin are low hum idity, much, w ind, e x ce ss of' p o te n tia l
evaporation
over p r e c ip ita tio n , and a g reat d eal o f sunshine== .
Temperatureo
tu r s ,
The M ssp u ri Basin i s noted fo r extremes .of tempera*
These- extremes come a s a r e s u lt of th e distance from la rg e bodies
o f w ater which are slow to warm and to cool th e atmosphere*
The Basin
is* raoreoever, influenced a lte r n a te ly by a i r m asses' from cold, northern
regions and from the Gclf of Mexico, ■ Therefore, the seasonal -variation
and'-the d a ily range in tem perature are g re a t, and v io le n t tem perature
Changes sometimes occur w ith in a. few hours*
Jiyerage annual tem peratures
in th e Basin range from approxim ately $$ degrees P* i n the southeast
to le s s than W degrees F9 in th e northwest*
In most places,, the
h ig h est tem perature recorded i s a t l e a s t as high as HG degrees Fe and
th e low est a t l e a s t as low as minus 20 degrees Fe Fmtremes a re beyond
th ese lim its in. c e rta in areas*
f a b l e ,-T shows th e mean temperature
for
th e ' s ta te s w ith in the
M sso u ri Basin a re a for th e period of time from 1920 to 1933®
29
Table I
Years
1920
Mean Annual Temperature fo r tiae M lesourl Basin S t a te s .
(1920-1938)
C olo.
Iowa
Kan.
Minn.
D.F.
D.F.
1*8.2
D.F.
D.F.
1*1.6
1*1*.I*
1*2.7
1*2.3
39.5
1*1.5
1*0.8
1*0.5
1*2.1*
39.1*
1*3.0
1*6.9
1*1.3
1*2.3
1*3.1
1*1.2
39.7
l*o.l*
1*3.1*
1*1.1*
U3-5
I4 6 . 7
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
193U
1935
1936
1937
1938
I1SeS
5l*» 5
5 7 .6
5 0 . 2
5 5 .8
1*9.0 5l*«9
1*6.1* 5 3 .0
1*8.8 55-6
1*8.3 5 5 .2
1*8.8 5 5 .0
1*9-1* 5 5 .2
1*6.1* 5 3 .0
5 0 .2 55.5
5 3 .2 57.1*
1*8.2 51*. 7
5 0 . 8
5 7 .8
5 1 .5 5 8 .5
1*8.6 55-9
1*8.6 5 6 .3
1*7.5 5l*.6
5 1 . 2
5 7 .9
Ave .
1*7.6
1*8.8
1 9 2 1
1 9 2 2
4 3 .7
U3-6
U5.3
I1DeO
l£ .2
141.7
4 3 .8
I4 I4 . . 6
I1S . 2
1*5.0
1*6.8
U9.5
1*6.6
1*6.9
1*5-9
Source*
5 2 . 2
5 5 .7
Mb.
Mont.
Nebr.
N.D.
S.D.
D.F.
D.F.
D.F.
D .F.
D.F.
51*. 3
5 8 .2
1*8.9
5 2 .3
3 9 .5
1*2.0
3 9 -7
1*0.7
3 6 .2
1*0.6
1*0.7
38 .0
1*1.1
3 8 .0
1*1.1*
1*1*. 9
1*0.0
1*1.1
1 *3 . 1 *
39.1*
1*5.9
1*8.3
1*1*. 8
1*6.1
1*3.5
1*6.3
1*6.1*
1*1*. 0
1*6.8
1+3.6
1*7.0
5 1 *. 5
58.1*
1*2.6
1*1*. 2
1*1.5
1*3*1*
1*1.8
1*1*. 6
1+1*. 7
1*0.8
1*3.3
1*0.9
1*3*1+
1*5*6
1*2.6
1*1*. 0
1*6.9
1*2.1*
1*2.7
1*1.9
1*1*.I
5 5 . 8
1*3.3
5 6 . 8
55 .3
5 3 .0
5 5 .6
51*. 5
5 5 .6
5 5 .2
5 3 .5
5 5 .9
5 8 . 0
5 5 .1
5 7 . 3
5 7
. 1*
5 5 . 0
5 6 . 3
5 0 . 0
1*9.6
1*7.1
50.1
50.1*
1*9.1
50.1
1*7.8
50.1*
52 .9
1*9.2
5 2 .1
53.1*
5 0 . 2
1*9.9
1*9.1
5 2 .3
5 0 . 2
Wyo.
1*5.2
1*7.9
1*9.6
1+6.1+
1*5.1
1+U.6
1*7.9
D.F.
1*1.0
1*3*6
1*0.7
1*1.2
1*0.5
1*3.1
1*2.9
1+1.3
1*1.5
1*0.0
1*1.8
1+3.2
1*0.5
1*3.2
1*5.8
1*2.2
1*2.1*
1*1.1*
1*3.0
1*0.1* 1*6-3
1*2.1
38.8
39.1
1*1.9
5 0 . 0
Climate and Man, 1 9 l|l.
P r e c ip ita tio n .
The p r e c ip ita tio n in the M issouri R iver Basin i s
o f th ree general types*
( I ) The "oyclon io S t o m n ty p e th a t covers th e
autumn, w in te r , and sp rin g sea so n s.
This k in d o f p r e c i p i t a t i o n , much
o f which comes as snow, f a l l s a t a slow r a te and over r e la t iv e l y long
p e r io d s.
(2 )
The "continental" type which occurs during th e summer
sea so n , m o stly in a rain form.
This type g e n e r a lly covers sm all areas
and u s u a lly comes in the form o f sh o rt hard showers w ith th e 0 one omit ant
g r ea t disadvantage o f so much o f t h is typ e o f r a in f a ll being l o s t by
<----------
P recipitation in Inches
J 15-19
^
Pig* U Averege Annual Precipitation in the Kleasuri
River Basin* Precipitation includes rain,
I 50-39
melted snow, s le e t and h a il.
Hinoff in ste a d of soaking in to the so ilo
(5) Iho nOrogmpMen type
r e s u lts in t o t a l preolpitatiOn markedly higher than the precipitation
o f o th e r types,
the h e a v ie st r a i n f a l l comae in the months’ o f Mayjr Iunofl
and duly th e n i t i s most needed fo r the crops and p astu re^ hnt» unfor*
tu n a to ly fl much of i t i s no t used because i t s runoff i s h ig h ,
the
h ig h est r a i n f a ll i n te n s itie s occur in the southeastern p a rt o f the .Basin0
table 11 Showe6 f o r t h a t portio n of the S re a t P lains t h a t i s
w ithin th e Missouri E lver Basin6 the average annual p r e c ip ita tio n and
c o e ffic ie n t o f v a ria tio n f o r t h e ' period from 1006 to 19589
fah le I f
C h a ra c te ristic s o f th e P re c ip ita tio n for Seven S ta te s o f the
Missouri Biver Basine
(1086-1958)
Ave o Annual
P re c ip ita tio n
S ta te
• Inches
Colorado
'I&nsas
Montana
Bobraaka
S orth Dakota
Bouth Dakota
Wyoming
Sotireeg
■
Standard
Deviation
C o efficien t
o f Variation
Inches
2=0
0*3
2=7
0=0
2 .8
3=2
2o6
Percent
16=09
B6=5T
l!w88
22=50
. 16.89
18.97
13*93
Lead and Public D t i ll t y Economics , 1907.
Mnd=
13
16
18
18
17
17
19
The Croat P la in s a re a o f th e Missouri Biver B asin is noted
f o r windy weathers
W inter winds are predominantly from th e northwest
and wests w hile summer winds come m ostly from a southerly direction=
to® h ig h e st average annual wind speeds a re about th ir te e n miles
an houn and they occur in th e n o rth ea stern p a rt of th e Basin=
Jhe
g re a te s t wind speeds recorded vary from about b5 to JO m iles an hour^
PB
aepsodias aa th e lo o e ltty a
A p fU , *8@ rny*
-At*#*# * a a # ar* m e # fre g u e a t .a# M W b*.'
m gb %W # W
Mgh
WapOratiQiao
#**%% $a. M #
^
Eraporfetion m d i'r.angpiratiOHo
-fhe ‘r a te and th e WtQxmt
atiO n bfe% a g re a t im portance.I a an a rid and gem i-arid regions
ewpor«
$be
e ffe o tiW p r e c ip ita tio n i t oply th e n a tu ra l p r e c ip ita tio n mj.nufe.the
evaporation W
th e r u n o f f
ih s r a t e o f evaporation o f m oietare fro®
th e s o il depends p rin c ip a lly on the tem peraturee ■re la tiv e . Ium ldity8, tdad
movement, s o il composition, and th e .amount of m oisture present#
l a a l l p a rte of th e .Basin, the p o te n tia l. evaporation and trans«-.
p ir a tio n are g re a te r t h # th e p re c ip ita tio n .« ' Actual evaporation, &#
l e t s than th e precipitation, only because p a rt of the vfater i s absorbed
and held by th e s o i l , and p a r t I p l o s t by runoff*
Olim atic d a ta f o r ■
the Basin in clu d e l i t t l e inform ation on the lo s s o f w ater by ©vapor-*
ation from the p o ll and tra n s p ira tio n b y plants.* ■ But evaporation from
fre e w ater surface#^ ouch #
leh es and streams^ i s h ig h e s t'in the a re a
Of' low est rela tiv e - humidity in the. so u th ro p tem part-an d low est in thS
humid n o rth ea stern payfe' However, the combined evaporation from s o il
and tra n s p ir a tio n from p la n ts i s .h ig h est "in th e region of -highest
r a in f a ll i n th e .southeast and decreases p ro g ressiv ely toward the north*.
.
West0 Shis, in crease i n 't h e ra te o f evaporation from north to south
over the M ssc u ri .Biver Basin i s pronounced*
She wa-ra season evapor»
a tio n i n the- n o rth ern p o rtio n i s S lig h tly more than go inches ascompared w ith 'approximately 6 0 .inches In th e south®
- 33 -
Physical O harao teriatio s o f !lexito
jkOpatim. # 4 Sigeo
The Bepuhiio o f Mexico i s s itu a te d hetwee#
the HiMi ie-gj?e©S 'and i w
degrees n o rth Ih tith d e ^ . I t s ■&3(fa#m&
lo n g itu d in a l p o in ts are 86 degfeSf, and,. 118 degrees s w est Io n g itad ee
The Bepubllc is crossed by th e TfopiO Of Ganoer a t I t s jaid®pointe
; V, '
-
;
,
, -
The geognapMc lim its o f the t e r r i t o r y of Mexioo a re a s follows^
west and norths th e P a o ifie 0eeau.s e asts the -Gnlf of Mexloo and ##.%«hemm #@&* norths. tW:'%nited S ta te s' of' #**«$##* douthedst# the. Kepwltiio#
Of Guatemala and B r itis h Sondura$o
The A ltitu d e 0 Bpre than h a lf th e t o t a l area o f the country &&'
s itu a te d a t an a lt i tu d e o f more than 5*20(5 f e e t above sea levelg a
coHslderable proportion o f t h i s a re a being, located a t more then 6,500
f a s t above ##& lo v a l?
#&
bav&og #
S ltitB da o f l a s s than
650 f e e t above se a IOWI* are:. confined to' com paratively narrow .bands
along e ith e r c o ast and to the Peninsula o f fueatan*
Extreme Bimpnslonse The major d ista n c e i n a s tr a ig h t lin e isabout 1*900 Ittile s jl which runs from th e extreme n orth o f M w w G aliri
'fo m ia t# 1 the month of % e Mo Suohiate * State; o f Ohlapas^
w idth is, approxim ately 1*500 m iles in '
'the ,,major'
s t r a ig h t lin e draw,' from
Tijuahai). low er G a lIfo w ia s to Matsworos,* S ta te of Tamaulipase
TW
narrow est p a r t o f Mexico measure# about '159 m iles in th e S ta te of
OMSMW'
.
.
The. t o t a l a re a of th e t e r r i t o r y ip. 763*9^, oguare .miles# o r .
MSeTTljhOO acres<i. .le la tin g the;;.;area o f Mexioo w ith th e oorrdypondlhg'
■
a re a of oth er c o u n tries of th e world, we le a rn th a t Mexico occupies
th e e ig h th p lace in the world, th e f i f t h p lac e in th e American Oonti=
n e n t, end. th e th i rd p lace i n h a tin Amezdca*
Ebei Clim ate,
W ithin th e borders c f HexioC almost every type of
Cliniate in th e world is lik e ly ' to be found in g re a te r or le s s e r degree*
S trik in g d iffe re n c e s in tem perature tak e place w ithin a, sh o rt, geographic
cal d ista n c e «, Ehis d iffe re n c e r e s u lts from the v a ria tio n s in a ltitu d e
and from the p o sitio n of th e h i l l s and mountains.
W ithin th e sh o rt
d istan ce of only a few m iles one may S h ift from a clim ate su ita b le
fo r banana p la n ta tio n s to one c h a ra c te ris tic o f pine forests® . Ehis
g re a t .v a rie ty of clim ate may- be a ttr a c tiv e from a re c re a tio n a l stand*
p o in t, b u t i t i s a g re a t disadvantage, to a g ric u ltu re , since* generally
Speaking, the tem perature and the p re c ip ita tio n are n o t very c o n sisten t
both through time and throughout th e country*
Unless Irr ig a te d crops; or
adaptable v a r ie tie s a re developed, most of th e farmers, have no assurance
Cf t h e i r success i n .a g ric u ltu re .
Temperature*
Ehe t e r r i t o r y -pf -Mexico- i s 'Custom arily divided in to
th re e major c lim a tic nones which, are based roughly on d iffe re n c e s in
elevation*
The f i r s t of th ese IS re fe rre d t o as the' iiEot Country", and,,
though i t i s not d e fin ite ly d e lim ite d , i t includes roughly th e area
s itu a te d a t an e le v atio n of le s s than 3,000 f e e t above sea level*. -This,
a re a extends a s narrow bands along th e c o a st but broaden# c u t to include
the e n tir e p eninsula of Vueatan*
The iiE ot Country" includes vegetation
which ran g es from tro p ic a l jungles to deserts.*:
LBQBHD
Temperate Lands
Cold Lands
l o t Lands
Flge 5 Zones o f Tamperature In Mexloo.
Sources
La Hepubllca Mexieena, by Tomas
Copeda Bincon, Mexioo. 19h l , p . 26
• J6 •»
The second clim atic zone is referred to as the "Temperate Lands"
and includes the middle a ltitu d e s, extending roughly from 3,000 to
6,000 fe e t in elevation .
Light fr o sts ooour occasionally in the
winter over some o f th is area although the temperature is generally
m ild.
This zone extends over the greater part of the central and
northern area of the Republlo.
The third gone i s that of the "Gold Country" which includes
most o f the areas with an altitu d e in excess of 6,000 f e e t .
In these
areas fro sts occur at night rather frequently during the winter months,
and the nights are generally c h illy e sp e cia lly during November, Decem­
ber and January.
Table III
Mean Temperatures for Some Representative Climatological
Stations in Mexico.
Length Mean Temperatures o f RecordStatlons___________State___________ing. Degrees F.__________________
Years
Chihuahua
Guadalajara
Guaymas
La Pag
Lerdo
Manganillo
Magatlan
Mexico City
Monterrey
Progreso
Salina Crug
Tampioo
Veraonig
Zaeateoas
Sources
Chihuahua
Jalisoo
Sonora
Baja C alif
Durango
Colima
Sinaloa
D. P.
Nuevo Leon
Tabasoo
Guerrero
Tamaulipas
Veraorug
Zacatecag
Climate and Man, 19Ul
10
2U
6
10
11
5
142
15
17
12
20
11
12
15
Jan.
5$
59
6U
65
59
75
68
5h
57
69
76
66
70
1*9
Oot
- I P - T T jl 61*
66
69
69
72
81
87
80
Tl
81*
70
Tl
79
82
80
75
82
72
80
65
65
59
81
72
71*
82
80
79
81
82
80
82
76
78
80
76
79
58
58
55
, .
smnuial,
distrilbutedb fte north & JgenerdLly
i s 1Tery W ew iiiy
Tattt there are. are#, on the
southejffii S ttlf Soost in the s ta te s # f le ra o rtts . Tabasco m d SempecM
1STkere the r a i n f a ll ,averages from 90 t o 1%8 intihee; per year*
S e rW n
Spots south o f the Sttlf i n the s ta te s of Tabasco had Y eraorut are
. i
deluged w ith o ver 118 in ch e s-o f'.W k f a l l a year*
to t k l a 'a n W in
I a striKfeig c o n tra st
north # d n o rth e a st the c h a ra c te ris tic s o f W
' ' ,1' ■
v ., ! ' . 'V
..
■
p r e c ip ita tio n approximate d e s e rt c o n d itio h sff M tih g le s s than '3*8 '
'V:i;'
inches, of r a i n f a ll a year*
the areas, * e r e the r a i n f a l l i s inadequate
fo r a su ccessful & griculture represent; th e g re a te r p a r t of th e t o ta l
a re a o f the M puhliM
M cprding to ThoMtMaite*$ c la p sif l cation^■
HMioo^®. lend area, may ho Olass l f i Od h i follows,,^
adequate mols.tiM- '■
In m l seasons.^, only 12*8 p e rc en tg d e fic ie n t m oisture in a ll; seasons^
10*9 p e rc en tg d e fic ie n t m oisture in winter.* 35»9 percents d e fic ie n t
m oisture in Summeri, I aI?. percent*
P p u W ifth a o f th e -crop land is. ^seasonal" land#, in t h a t i t
w ill produce crops only during the rainy season# .which* in m ost-parts
. o f. the country* is from # y Or June to. Beptembef& Only m& hOOthre
o u t'o f s ig h t i s irrig a te d ^ and only about 6«.g percent i s c la s s if ie d
a s being s u f f ic ie n tly humid not to need irrig a tio n *
38
Table 17 Average Annual P recipitation In Some Representative
Climatological Stations in Mexico*
Station
Chihuahua
Guadalajara
Guaymas
La Paz
Lerdo
Manzanillo
Mazatlan
Mexico City
Monterrey
Progreso
Salina Cruz
Tampico
Veracruz
Zacatecas
State
Chihuahua
J a lisco
Sonora
Baja, C alif.
Durango
Colima
Sinaloa
D. P.
Nuevo Leon
Tabasco
Guerrero
Tamaulipas
Veracruz
Zacatecas
Length of
Record in
Tears
22
33
5
13
14
10
U7
17
33
12
23
15
12
35
Ave• Annual
P recipitation
Inches
15*39
39.73
11.11
5 .7 1
10.21
3 6 .2 7
3 0 .1 3
29.38
2 2 .8 0
1 8 .9 4
38.81
4 4 .9 3
6 3 .7 4
2 0 .1 3
Source * Climate and Man, I9I4I .
As far as the number of days with r a in fa ll i s concerned, roughly
two-thirds of the country receive 100 or le s s days of r a in fa ll;
one-third receive between 100 and 200 days of r a in fa ll, and n egli­
gib le portions along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico receive preci­
p ita tio n during 200 days or more*
78*7 to 118.1
118.1 end over
m
r n
Flg 6
Sources
Sfclnfall Map o f Mexloo Sltowing Variation* In the
Average Amount of Annuel Rainfall from 1921 to 1930.
Sural Mexico, by Hathaa L. Whetten, University o f
Chicr-o k-ose, Chicago. I l l i n o i s , I9I48, p. 7.
AgrioultiW'al. Econotoio Bevel opmsat o f # e 'ItSssourS. F iver Basin
fhe S lg n lfio a n i eeonomio use o f th e 'Missouri Basin Began i n 1805*
She n g ric u ltu ra l occupation was la rg e ly confined to lan d s In th e lowerM issouri t e r r i t o r y u n t il a f t e r 1862 when Kansas and Sehraska were
se ttle d *
South. Dakota, Sorth Dakota, SehraSka and Kansas grew wheat
e x te n siv ely in t h e i r e a rly M sto ry a. h u t oom has Become in cre asin g ly
im portant p a r tic u la r ly in Sohraska and South Dakota0
te e seven p la in s s ta te s harvested
acreage of the Mnited S ta te s i n 1945*
percent of the to ta l wheat
In 1895» ju s t 50 y ears e a r l i e r , ,
only 51=S percent of the United s t a te s Wheat acreage was in these
sta te s*
'
te e chronological development o f t h e -BhSiStfS a g ric u ltu re has
Ibeeajl in a general sense# in. the follow ing orders
f i r s t # Because the
a r id weather conditions e x iste d in most o f the..-states# th e a g ric u ltu re
was alm ost e n tir e ly centered in gracing,, and# th e re fo re , in the devo«
lopment o f the, liv e s to c k industry*
Secondly# those s ta te s th a t have
had th e most abundant r a i n f a l l »- or which have been supplied w ith
supplementary w ater through, Irrig a tio n # -have been able to broaden the
economic b a sis o f t h e ir ag ric u ltu re#
She Mountain and th e West Worth c e n tra l' D ivisions Cf th e United
State©# i n which th e B atin -states a re situ a te d # have in creased th e ir
output a© tim e went on*
-UlTablo V Index Bumbera of Farm Output for Human Consumption from the
Mountain and the West Borth Central Divisions of the United States
1938-19U7.
(1933-39-100)
Years
1938
1939
19Uo
1 9 1 a
1 9 I4 2
191*3
19W*
191*5
19l*6
19l*7
Average
* Includes the sta te s
**Includes the sta tes
Missouri, l o w , and
Source: Agricultural
West North
Central Division**
!fountain Division*
111
U
112
113
122
132
158
151*
156
155
1 0
1 1 3
1 2 5
133
139
137
1 3 6
1 3 6
1 6 0
il*l*
11*5
128
139
of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.
of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas,
Minnesota.
S t a t is t ic s , 19U8, U.S.D.A.
By looking at the data in Table V, we oan r ea lise th a t, measured
by farm output for human consumption, the agricultural development of
the Basin has become more and more important.
We can arrive at th is
same conclusion when we measure the agricultural development by the
gross farm production as i t is se t forth in Table VI.
As in the United States as a whole, the number of farms in the
Basin sta te s has showed a downward movement.
This i s shown in Table VII.
This tendency of a decreasing number of farms, explainable in part by the
improvement in agricultural technique and by the in d u strialization of
other parts of the country, does not mean a decreasing importance in agri­
culture, since what has happened i s only an enlargement in the size of the
remaining farms#
This change favors an Increased e ffic ie n c y in farming.
Table VI Index Jfumbers of Gross Farm Production for the Mountain and
the IfiTest North Central D ivisions 1938-191+7 (1935-39=100).
Years
!fountain D iv is io n
HO
103
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1 0 9
HO
117
1 1 1
Average
Source*
West North
C entral D iv isio n s
1 2 2
1 2 6
129
134
132
130
129
136
148
1 3 2
124
1 3 2
1 4 4
1 4 5
1 4 4
148
A g r icu ltu r a l S t a t i s t i c s , 1948, U.S.D .A .
Table V II Number o f Farms in th e M issouri B asin S ta te s from 1930-1945
and Change in Number o f Farms from 1940-1945*
Increase or Decrease
B asin S ta te s
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
M innesota
M issouri
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Wyoming
T otal B asin
Total
U nited S ta te s
Source*
Number o f Farms
1940
1930
1945
1940-45
Percent
Nuxnber
6 3 ,6 4 4
221,986
174,589
203,302
278,4 5 4
5 0 ,5 6 4
133,616
8 4 ,6 0 6
83,303
1 7 ,4 8 7
- 3,818
- 4 ,3 8 4
- 1 5 ,1 3 5
- 8 ,399
-1 3 ,1 5 6
- 4 ,0 7 6
- 9 ,3 0 6
- 4 ,4 4 2
- 3.749
- 1,942
- 7 .4
— 2*1
- 9 .7
- 4 .3
- 5.1
- 9 .7
- 7 .7
- 6 .0
- 5 .2
- 1 2 .9
1 ,1 3 0 ,4 3 4 1,198,351 1,311,551
-6 8 ,4 1 7
- 5 .7
5 ,8 5 9 ,1 6 9 6,096,799 6,288,648
-237,630
- 3 .9
47,618
208,934
141,192
188,952
242,934
37,747
111,756
6 9 , 5 2 0
6 8 , 7 0 5
1 3 , 0 7 6
51,436
213,318
156,327
197,351
2 5 6 , 1 0 0
41,023
121,062
73,962
72.4 5 4
15,018
Census o f Agriculture, 1945•
-1 + 3 “
Rie proportion o f land in fa m e in each s ta te ( Table V III) has
been co n sid era b le s in c e the area was s e t t l e d , but i t i s v ery s i g n i f i ­
cant th a t th a t proportion has tended to in c r ea se w ith the passage
o f tim e.
While in 1935 the percentage o f land in farms was 72, on the
average, in 19li5 i t readied 78,
Compared w ith the U nited S ta te s as
a w hole, th e M issouri Basin s t a t e s in c r ea se d th e ir proportion o f land
in farms by I percent more than the U nited S ta te s did from 1935 to
1915.
Table V III P ercent o f the T otal Land th a t i s in
Farms in th o Basin S ta te s 1 9 3 5 - 1 + 5 ,
B asin S ta te s
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Wyoming
191+5
54.1+
96.2
92.5
62.3
62.8
97.3
91.4
87.9
53.1
1940
47.4
95*3
91.7
49«6
49.6
96.5
04*6
80.6
44.9'
Average
77.8
71.8
U nited S ta te s
5 5 .?
3 9 .9
Sourcel UV S.' Census' o f A g r ic u ltu r e , 19^5
1935
45.2
96.6
9 1 . 7
50.6
50.0
94.8
87.1
75.4
45.1
71.7
55.4
The valu e o f farms in the M issouri KLver Basin (Table IX) has
in crea sed a great deal in th e l a s t y e a r s .
Although i t i s alm ost
c e r ta in th a t in c r ea se in th a t valu e has been because o f th e in f la te d
v a lu e s th a t have occurred during the l a s t y e a r s, i t a lso i s an in d i­
c a tio n o f improvement in the farm b u ild in g s , as w e ll as an in c r e a se in
th e s o i l f e r t i l i t y and the adoption o f b e tt e r farming p r a c t ic e s .
Also
these are evidence of the agricultural importance of the Missouri
EtLver Basin states*
Table IX Value of Farms in the Missouri Basin States (Land and Build­
in g s). 1930-19lt0-19li5.
Average per Farm (d ollars)
Basin States
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Wyoming
" IW "
1 1 ,8 5 5
1 7 ,2 8 4
1 3 ,9 6 2
9 ,705
6,285
13,720
15,205
10,189
1 1 . 1 2 4
7,917
percent of
Increase or
Decrease
1940
19)0
1940-45
7 .5 5 0
1 2 ,6 1 4
9 ,0 9 2
7 ,312
4 ,3 2 4
8 ,3 7 3
9 ,3 9 9
10,497
19,655
45*4
3 4 .2
3 8 .7
27*1
37*9
47*9
49*3
44*5
6 , 6 2 8
6 ,9 7 6
5 .5 1 8
1 3 ,7 2 8
11,471
7.018
11,109
19,274
12,199
15,455
12,919
Weighted average
11,680
8 ,0 2 3
12,597
Source* IJ* S* Census of Agriculture, 19li5»
5 1 . 2
37*9
45*4
The acreage harvested per farm between 1929 and 1914* in crea sed
I4 . . 6 7 percent on th e average fo r the ten s t a t e s .
I n d iv id u a lly , the
g r e a te s t in c r e a se s were fo r South Dakota and North Dakota w ith 9*17
and 7*85 p e r ce n t, r e s p e c t iv e ly .
The s t a t e s th at showed a decrease
were Minnesota and Iowa w ith - ) . 2 5 and -3 * 5 5 percent, r e s p e c tiv e ly .
U n fortu n ately, fo r the United S ta te s as a w hole, most o f the
s t a t i s t i c a l data fo r the M issouri River Basin s t a t e s i s a ff e c te d by th e
Second World War c o n d itio n s , and, th e r e fo r e , we cannot be c e r ta in o f
the r ea l n atu ral tendency o f the economic c h a r a c te r is tic s o f th e a g r i­
c u ltu re o f th e r e g io n .
This i s tr u e , fo r in sta n c e , in the ca se o f
f o r e s t products s o ld per farm.
In 1930 the mean o f th e average valu e
- U5 o f fo r e s t products s o ld per fa n s was $ 1 7 ).
to $ 1
0 9
, and fo r
1 9 2 4 5
In I 9 I4 O th a t v a lu e decreased
the fig u r e was In creased to $271.
In th e foreg o in g we have t r ie d to s e t fo r th some s t a t i s t i c a l data
d e scr ib in g the a g r ic u ltu r a l economic development o f the B a sin .
The
fo llo w in g s e c tio n w i l l be devoted to show th e s ig n ific a n c e o f th e Mis­
so u r i River B a sin 1S a g r ic u ltu r e in th e U nited S ta te s economy.
The a g r ic u ltu r e in the Basin rep resen ts an important p art o f
th e H atlonf S economy ( Table X ).
The Basin area o f approxim ately 3)2
m illio n a cres i s about 17 percent o f th e land area o f th e U nited S ta te s ,
about
2 5
% o f the cou n try’ s fara land and the same proportion o f the
harvested cropland.
Table X Comparison o f A g r icu ltu r a l S t a t i s t i c s fo r the U nited S ta te s
and th e M issouri KLver B asin.
Land area
Land In farms
Cropland harvested
Humber o f farms
Farm population
Value of land and
b u ild in g s
Value o f farm
implements
Value o f liv e s t o c k
Source*
U nited
S ta te s
M issouri
Basin
Percent o f
U .S. Total
1,905
1,1142
353
5 ,8 5 9
23,558
3U0
282
91
582
2 ,0 9 6
17-8
2 4 .6
2 5 . 8
* 1 ,000,000
246,389
6 ,5 5 7
12*. I
1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
5,124.7
8,2*72
82*7
1,663
16.1*
U nit
U hlt
M illio n acres
n
n
«
«
1,000
1 ,0 0 0
9 .9
8 .9
1 7 . 2
M issouri :R iver B asin A g r icu ltu r a l Program,p UeSeDeA-. August, 192*9.
C apital v a lu es in a g r ic u ltu r e in th e area represented an in v e s t­
ment o f about nin e b i l l i o n d o lla r s in 19U5.
The value o f land and
b u ild in g s accounted fo r 6 .6 b i l l i o n d o lla r s o f t h is t o t a l .
The
proportion o f U nited S ta te s value o f liv e s t o c k and liv e s t o c k products
s o ld in 1914* by the M issouri Basin i s in d ic a te d in Table I I ,
Table XI Value o f L iv esto ck and L iv esto ck Products S o ld , I 9 I4 U, Mis­
so u ri B asin ,
Commodity
M issouri Basin
(000)
u ,527
1,220
185
27
7
197
12
L ive anim als, w o o l,
m eat, e t c .
Dairy products
P o u ltry and p o u ltry
products
A ll liv e s t o c k and l i v e ­
sto ck products so ld
Sou rce:
Percent o f
U nited S ta te s
Total
U nited S ta te s
(000)
2 , 5 3 1
1 ,587
8,6145
1 , 6 0 2
19
M issouri River B asin A g r icu ltu r a l Program, U .S .D .A .. August,
In the year I 9 W4 , th e value o f a l l th e wheat produced in the
M issouri B asin accounted fo r 3k percent o f the to t a l value o f wheat
produced in the U nited S t a t e s .
Com production made up 25 percent o f
the volume o f prod u ction , and th e f la x th resh ed rep resen ted U7 percent
o f the t o t a l .
B arley threshed made up 1*0 p ercen t, and sugar b eets
rep resen ted $6 percent o f the N ation ’ s t o t a l production.
Although th e valu e o f a l l farm products sold or used by the Basin
s t a t e s (Table I I I ) decreased n otab ly in 19W as a r e s u lt o f th e com­
bined e f f e c t o f drouth and d ep ressio n , th a t valu e was in c r ea se d con­
sid e r a b ly in I 9 I4 5 , but t h i s time i t was in flu en ced by good weather and
h ig h p r ic e s .
- hi
Table XII Value of All Farm Products Sold or Used by the Basin States
Average Value Per Farm (Dollars)* 1 9 3 0 - U5*
Increase or Decrease (-)
State
1945
1940
1930
1930-1945
1930-1940
Dollars
Dollars
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Wyoming
5,671
5 ,982
4 ,6 3 3
3 ,8 0 4
2 ,4 5 6
6,363
5,277
5 ,6 6 3
4 ,5 5 7
6 ,8 4 2
1 . 5 0 2
2 , 8 5 0
1,775
1,048
2,267
1.792
1,580
1,531
3,405
2 , 3 2 0
1 ,6 0 4
3 ,0 5 2
3 ,4 6 7
2 ,8 2 7
2 ,9 0 6
4 ,1 2 5
2 ,338
2,679
1.783
1,483
852
3,313
1 ,810
2 ,836
1,651
2,717
Average
5,125
1,981
2 ,9 7 9
2 ,146
2 , 2 3 2
2,683
3,333
3,303
70
1 1
6 2
64
53
1 0 9
52
100
57
66
54
#
- 1 ,1 0 1 - 3 3
- 620 -1 9
-1 ,3 4 8 -4 7
- 547 - 2 3
- 556 - 3 4
- 785 -2 6
- 1 , 6 7 5 -4 8
-1 .2 4 7 - 4 4
-1 ,3 7 5 -4 7
- 720 -1 7
-
997
-3 4
Source 1 U. S. Census of Agriculture , 1945.
Table XIII shows that In the year I9I4U the value of sheep, c a ttle
and hogs In the Basin accounted for from 20 to 28 percent of the to ta l
value of liv e sto c k in the United S tates.
Table XIII Value of S p ecific Livestock on Faras, January I , 1945» Mis­
souri River Basin.
United States
(000)
Type
Horses and mules
Cattle
Sheep
Hogs
Source*
974
5 , 6 0 3
359
988
Missouri Basin
(000)
99
1,145
102
245
Percent of
U.S. Total
10
20
28
25
Missouri River Basin Agricultural Program, August, 1949.
In the year of 1940 the Basin had 5.2 percent of the U. S. to ta l
population and roughly 8 percent of the farm population.
The Missouri
Basin i s a leading resource area from which the Nation obtains a high
— ItS —
proportion o f i t s food and f i b e r .
The production th a t th e B asin fu r ­
n ish ed to th e U nited S ta te s* economy during the drouth period o f 19 )0 39 in clu d ed i
1*1*3 percent
percent
31+ . 8 percent
15*3 p ercen t
1 0 .0 p ercen t
1 8 .7 percent
of
of
of
of
of
of
th e
th e
th e
th e
th e
th e
N a tio n 's
N a tio n 's
N a tio n 's
N a tio n 's
N a tio n 's
N a tio n 's
wheat
rye
b a rley
oats
com
grain sorghum
When nature sm iled , as she did in 191+1# th e B a sin 's production
accounted for*
51*7
6 1 .9
50.1+
19*1+
percent
percent
percent
p ercen t
of
of
of
of
the
th e
the
the
N a tio n 's
N a tio n 's
N a tio n 's
N a tio n 's
wheat
rye
b a rley
oats
2 5 . 6
percent of the Nation's grain sorghum
1 1 .6 percent o f the N a tio n 's com
3 2 .7 p ercen t o f th e N a tio n 's wool
R elation o f P h y sica l Features to th e A g ricu ltu ra l Development.
The agricultural economic development of the Missouri River Basin
has been c lo s e in lin e with i t s physical featu res.
Back in i t s early
days, the more arid parts of the Basin were covered with a carpet of
grass, thus leading to the development o f a livestock industry.
With
the passage o f time, wheat became more and more important, and when i t
was possible to dispose of water through irr ig a tio n , the agriculture
became more d iv e r sifie d .
From the standpoint o f the major geographical
division s of the Basin, the Upper Watershed area i s the more arid
portion, and, therefore, appears to be more suitable for grazing the
liv esto ck and for timber.
This area, with the exception of the ir r i­
gated area, i s suitable only for lim ited cultivation*
In th e West-era P la in s area* 'th e r a i n f a l l ' i s Itiw making th e production
u n c ertain and ri$ky in meet of the n o n ^ irrig ate d Iauds
In tome part#
o f t h i s area* dry-wheat farming 'ig p ra c tic e d w ith Some degree o f suer
ooBSa
ihe E astern P la in t and Iiotrer Basin areas are more favored in
r a i n f a l l and humidity* and*- therefore* the: crop production i s higher*
more s ta b le , and more d iv e rs ifie d th an i t i s i n th e Upper 'Watershed
and Western. PiainB areas™
SBe a g ric u ltu re of th e M sso u rl BisW Basin could n o t have been
developed in a steady way and on a wed I - e s t a b li shed b a sis except by
t r i a l and error*
During low productivity*' p erio d s caused Wy n a tu ra l '
hazards* the farm ers.were forced to r e s o r t t o a l l or some o f th e
follow ing ex pedientss
( I ) • B e 'expansion of crop acreage to meet the
impact of low yields*
(2)
i
gracing*
{$)
: ■
B e farming o f land b e tte r su ite d fo r
■
,
'
■
■
B e a lte rn a tin g , o f periods o f a g ric u ltu r a l advance in to
th e d r ie r p a rts o f the Basin and r e tr e a tin g from them* ■
B e p e c u lia r c lim a tic conditions fo r a g ric u ltu re t h a t p rev a il
in the: Basin make the S tatu s o f farming uncertain*
During drouth
periods or d i s tre s s of oth er natu res 5 th e farm ers and t h e i r fa m ilie s
liv e d in poverty and need; many lacking th e fin an ces to pay t h e i r
dCbts*
Boss o f farms- by fo reclo su re m s v e ry high*
B e n a tu ra l c h a ra c te ris tic s o f th e .Missouri SiVer Basin have been
Strongly r e fle c te d in th e types o f farming*. In- ad dition to th e ranching
a g ric u ltu re mentioned above*, th e re e x is ts th e summer-fallo w type
o f a g ric u ltu re B io h i s c h a ra c te ris tic o f the. a rid areas*
the type and development of some s o c ia l in s titu tio n s t h a t serwe
the farm ers also have been in accord tisdth special, c h a ra c te ris tic s o f
th e region=
fo r in sta n c e , th e o rg an isatio n of the lending in s titu tio n s
i t d if f e r e n t from the o rg an isatio n of th e lending in s t it u t io n s o f:th e
Bast so f a r as repayment plans a re concerned*
Property I n land also
■presents d ifferences* f o r i n most o f th e M issouri Basin s ta te s there
i d a: la r g e r proportion Of f ederaliy^om eS. land, than th e re i s in other- .
areas o f th e country * Ih is c h a ra c te ris tic may c o n s titu te one o f the
fa c to rs t h a t has o b stru c te d a more rapid and b e tte r development of
a g ric u ltu re i n th e M issouri Biver Basin*
■ ' B rjef Inform ation About i r r i g a t i o u in the M issouri '.Bifer-Basln^ '
A ctu ally th e re are. about ^ i OOOsOOO acres o f ir r ig a te d land in. the •
M seo u ri Basin*
Of t h i s area approxim ately I
»000 a cre# receiv e .
only a sm all pro p o rtio n o f th e water- t h a t they need*
i t i s intended ■
to. develop an a d d itio n a l 5»253»000 acre# o f new i r r ig a te d lan d and
to supplement w ater fo r another I »943*000 acres*
A ltogether# present
and, future, ir r ig a te d rand, w ill co n trib u te a t o ta l Of 10, 233*000 acres*
$he p resen t and, proposed ir r ig a te d land M sh a tte red throughout the.
d r ie r p o rtio n s o f the Basin, a s shown in fab le 3CW*
I t should be noted th a t ir r ig a tio n i s n e t proposed f o r th e
S ta te s of Minnesota,, Iowa and M ssouri* ' This ip because th e two
form er s ta te s ' have a very sm all proportion w ithin the Basin* and
because t h a t proportion i s in th e more humid p a rt o f th e Basin*. Ihere*
• fo re ^ i r r ig a ti o n i s no t necessary*
Ihe S ta te of M sso u ri includes
51
almost a h a lf of I ts territo ry in the Basin, but irrig a tio n i s not
proposed there because the sta te is one of the more humid of the
area.
Flood control i s the major a c tiv ity in these humid s ta te s .
Table XIV Present and Proposed Irrigated Land by States in the Missouri
Basin - United S ta tes,
S ta te s
Present
I r r ig a tio n
(ldOO A cres)
New
I r r ig a tio n
(lOOO A cres)
Supplemental
I r r ig a tio n
(1000 A cres)
2 I4 O
Montana
1.591
9U7
Wyoming
5U
1.23U
165
-0North Dakota
1,225
29
South Dakota
6 8
958
2 3
Colorado
1 , 2 6 8
97
997
810
5 1 8
Nebraska
1,470
*
-CL
Kansas
195
5 , 0 0 0
T otal
1,943
5 .253
♦Less than 500 a c r e s .
Sourcei Changes in Crop Production A n ticip a ted from Proposed I r r ig a tio n
in the M issouri ZtiLver B asin , U.S .D .A ., February, 1 9 5 0 .
The change that w ill take place in the acreage of cropland w ill
not be s ig n if ic a n t when viewed from th e B asin as a w hole.
Only 2.8 5
p ercen t w i l l be added to the area already being farmed; t h i s i s because
a con sid erab le amount o f the land th a t w i l l be ir r ig a te d i s already
being farmed under the dry-farm ing system .
However, when we consider
s p e c if ic cro p s, n o tic e a b le changes w i l l take p la ce e ith e r in in crea sin g
or d ecreasin g th e area d edicated to c e r ta in crop s.
tru e fo r w heat, a l f a l f a hay and potato cro p s.
This i s p a r tic u la r ly
The acreage dedicated
to wheat w i l l be decreased in rather amazing q u a n tity .
In g e n e ra l,
t h is s h i f t may appear reason ab le i f we r e c a ll th a t, on ir r ig a te d land ,
i t i s more p r o fit a b le to grow crops such a s a l f a l f a and p o ta to es in ste a d
o f w heat.
A lf a lf a hay and p otatoes w i l l in c r ea se n o tic e a b ly in a ctu a l
52
acreage*
See ta b le XV*
Table XV Present and A n ticip a ted Acreage o f S p e c ific Crops on Land
Proposed fo r New and Supplemental I r r ig a tio n .
Crop
Com
Vfheat
Oats
B arley
Rye
Grain Sorghum
Forage Sorghum
A lf a lf a Hay
P otatoes
Sources
P resent
1000 Acres
A n ticip a ted
1000 Aores
1 ,186
1.5U5
598
U9
17
70
1.239
118
505
667
-Qm
31
7
6 9 0
2 , 0 6 3
5 0 2
6k
2 1 9
Increase or
Deorease ( - )
lOOO Acres
53
-1
. 2 2 5
3
69
k9
Ik
63
1.773
155
Changes in Crop Production A n ticip a ted from Proposed I r r ig a tio n
in bho' M issouri River B asin , U .S .D .A ., February/ IgffiV
Viewed from th e Basin as a w hole, th e change in production Is
expected to be by fa r more s ig n if ic a n t than th e change in acreage
would in d ic a te .
Of the nine s p e c if ic crops considered above, the
p o tato and com crops w i l l have th e g r e a te s t in c r ea se in production
w h ile
wheat w i l l have th e g r e a te s t decrease in i t s produ ction.
Table XVI s e t s fo r th t h i s inform ation.
D o u b tless, the change in production fo r s p e c if ic crops i s very
s ig n if ic a n t when compared w ith the t o t a l production o f the U nited
S ta te s.
This i s p a r tic u la r ly true fo r the potato and a l f a l f a hay
crop s, whose change w i l l account fo r 7 end 12 p ercen t, r e s p e c tiv e ly ,
o f th e N ation 1S t o t a l production (T able XVII) .
53
Table XVrI Present and Anticipated Production of Some S p ecific Crops
on the Land Proposed for New and Supplemental Irrigation.
Crop
Total Production
Unit
Present
Com
Wheat
Oats
Barley
Eye
Grain Sorghum
Forage Sorghum
A lfa lfa Hay
Potatoes
Sourcei
1,000 bu.
n
M
If
ft
»
n
«
ft
tf
n
1,000 tons
ti
n
1,000 bu.
27,550
19,017
12 ,8 9 7
15,596
53U
259
136
1 ,4 2 7
1 0 , 8 6 7
Anticipated
Increase or
Decrease ( - )
52,241
3,328
21,113
24,691
-1 5 .6 8 9
26,081
10,485
533
I
1,271
42
5.391
35,783
8,216
1,012
94
3 ,9 6 4
24,916
Changes in Crop Production A n ticip a ted from Proposed I r r ig a­
t io n in the M issouri Rjver 3 a s in , U.6YD.A'., February,
Table XVII Anticipated Increase or Decrease (-) of Selected Crops
in the Missouri Basin as a Percentage of Present Production of These
Crops in Selected Areas.
Crop
U nit
Com
Wheat
P otatoes
A lf a lf a Hay
Souroei
m illio n bu.
n
n
M
It
m illio n tone
On Land to
be Ir r ig a te d
Percent
90
-8 2
229
278
In the
M issouri Basin
Percent
3
-4
96
53
In the
U nited States
Percent
I
-2
7
12
Changes in Crop Production Anticipated from Proposed Irriga­
tion in the Missouri' 'RiVer Bnsin, U .S.6.A ., February, 1950.
- 5U -
Agricultural Economic Development of Mexico
Significance of the Agriculture in the Rational Eooaomy« Accord­
ing to the 1930 Census of Mexico, the distrib u tion o f the gainfu llyworking population among the principal major occupations was as shown
in Table XVIII.
Table XVIII
Economically Active Population by Classes of Occupation in
Mexico, 1930Occupation
A g r icu ltu r e , f o r e s tr y , liv e s t o c k ,
f is h in g and hunting
Industry— in c lu d in g m ining, petroleum
and manufacturing
Transportation and Communication
Commerce
A ll oth ers and u n c la s s if ie d
T otals
Source t
Number
( in 0 0 0 '« )
Percent
o f Total
3 ,6 2 6 .3
70*2
7U3*U
273*8
415*2
iU*U
2 .1
5*3
8 .0
5,165*8
100.0
1 0 7 .1
The SjIdo{ MexicotS Way Out, by E. N. Simpson, 1937*
The c a p ita l in v e ste d as of 1929, according to the same source o f
in fo rm a tio n , was
3 , 6 9 5
m illio n pesos in a g r ic u ltu r e , 979*5 m illio n
p esos in m anufacturing, and in mining and m etallu rgy,
p e so s. \ J
1 , 5 0 0
m illio n
Mexico i s a country s t i l l predominantly a g r ic u ltu r a l.
Up to the present time, most of Mexican agriculture has lacked
the technical advances now being used by the leading countries in
agriculture.
This statement may be supported by the s t a t is t ic a l
records of agricultural production shown in Table XIX.
l/
The exchange rate during recent years and up to August, I 9 I4 8 1
(U. S . currency) * U*85 pesos. Since August up to th is date,
$1.00 *
8 . 6 5
p e so s.
$1.00
- 55 -
Table XIX Volume of Production - Eight Crops, 1901-1907*
sand of metric to n s).
( in thou­
Crop
1907
1902
1903
190a
1 ,9 2 7
199
2,2a2
183
286
37
136
29
i.a s 6
15
2 ,1 7 a
162
1 9 0 1
Com
Beane
Wheat
Cotton
Henequen
Coffee
Sugar cane
Potatoes
2,305
256
327
22
82
27
2,22L
9
2 3 0
2
23
55
10
,?a 6
9
2 5 6
55
1 0 1
3a
1 ,393
ia
1 9 0 5
1 9 0 6
2 , 1 3 5
2 , 7 1 5
ia 9
178
3 0 3
3 5 0
ia s
8 1
5 9
6 5
LiO
39
1 ,6 8 7 1,807
13
25
5 ,0 7 5
169
312
3a
113
50
2 ,7 6 2
17
Sevei Tbar
Awrage
2,653
182
295
5 a
9 0
5 3
2 ,0 1 5
1 5
1927-1933
Crop
1927
Com
Beans
Wheat
Cotton
Henequen
Sugar cane
Potatoes
Source:
2 ,059
190
32U
39
133
2,997
53
1928
2 , 1 7 3
1929
2
,a #
1 7 6
9 5
3 0 0
3 0 8
6 0
5 3
1 3 9
1 2 9
2.9^ 7 3,029
5U
39
1 9 3 0
1,377
83
312
38
90
3 ,2 9 3
as
1931
1932
2 ,1 3 9
136
aaa
a6
aa
3 , 6 9 a
1,973
132
1 0
2 6 3
2 2
Seven Year
1933 Average
1 ,9 2 a
186
330
56
9 6
1 2 3
3,ao5
5 2
2 ,7 7 8
52
1.873
1U2
325
as
1 1 a
3 .1 6 3
to
The BjIdo} Mexico’s Way Out, by E. S. Simpson, 1937*
A general glan ce at Table XIX in d ic a te s th a t tho production o f
c o m and b ean s, which s t i l l are th e b a s ic products in the Mexican
d i e t , has bean somewhat ir r e g u la r .
I t has rather a tendency to decrease
in volume in some years in r e la t io n to the seven year average of the
1901-1907 p erio d .
The data in Table XIX shows th a t throughout the p eriod o f record,
production o f co m and beans remained e s s e n t i a l l y the same.
These
products do not show a decided upward tendency in tiie lr volume o f
prod u ction , and, what i s more, the
1 9 2 7 - 3 5
average was sm a ller than
th a t o f the 1901*1907, period.=
The production, o i oof fee and potatoes
shows, m upward tondenoy during th e f i r s t -period ■oo&sIdefed=
.
e te e tendeuoy was not t r i e f o r h eth coffee and-potatoes during, the
'
second period analysed#' h o t a .sig n ific an t ohaOrvatiou here 1$ that*
■contrary to th e case o f corn and hem s# the seven y ear average fo r
the I92?“i953 period was g re a te r than i t was fo r the 1901*1907 period#
Among th e a g ric u ltu ra l products ra is e d lh Eemicoj. wheat deserves
o a r a tten tio n * too=
I t has -a decided in flu e n c e on in d u s tria l uses
and on the ,Memican, -diet=
As. in th e ease -of corn and hem s# wheat
showed an Ir r e g u la r tendency in i t s production* although the. average
produotion f o r the 1927*1935 period was g re a te r than i t was f o r the
p erio d from 1901 to 1907»
Also deserving our a tte n tio n i t cotton* since it- i s im portant
In th e n atio n al industry# and because h o tte r n a tio n a l resources
d is tr ib u tio n and te c h n ic a l care a re devoted to i t s production=. . from
th e d a ta contained in: Table HX# we see th a t cotton production, showed
a ste ad y upward tendency fo r the f i r s t five- -years of th e 1991*1907
period=
For the o th er period# the tendency was ra th e r in d e fin ite * and:
what i s mere sig n ific a n t# th e average production fo r th a t period WaS
sm aller than, i t was fo r the. 1901*190? period=
the. poor technique employed i n Eeddean a g ric u ltu re i s fu rth e r
■supported by observing th e y ie ld s through th e years, e f th e tW periods
Considered above -,(fable %%)*Prom th ese d ata we le a rn t h a t the y ie ld s of. the products
- 57 -
considered have not shown any marked upward tendency, although, except
for beans, a s lig h t Improvement is noted from the f i r s t to the second
period*
Table XX Yields in Kilos for Pour of the More Important Products from
1901 to 1907* (One k ilo i s equal to approximately 2.2 pounds)
Crop
1901
Com
Beans
Wheat
Cotton
580
1 9 0 2
2 3 2
569
229
571
265
2k2
6 0 0
1903
5 6 8
2 0 9
580
279
1904
1905
1906
1907
Seven Year
Average
570
208
549
282
584
235
550
288
574
246
559
289
584
234
554
249
575
228
556
271
Y ield s in K ilo s fo r Pour o f th e More Important Products from
Crop
1927
Com
Beans
Wheat
Cotton
Souroei
6L7
198
729
29U
1928
6 9 8
198
6 9 1
297
1929
1930
1931
513
129
704
268
448
116
756
244
633
188
8 6 9
353
1932
609
2 0 6
703
283
1933
1 9 2 7
to 1933
Seven Year
Average
593
188
754
295
6 0 1
281
830
329
Appendix A. , The E jid o 1 Mexioot S Way Out1, by E.. N. Simpson, 1937
That Mexican a g r ic u ltu r e s t i l l . has a long way to advance I-S appar-
ant from the y ie ld data in Table XXI referring to representative countries.
Table XXI Average Yield per Acre o f Various Crops in Representative
Countries, (in K ilos)
Country
Mexico
U nited S ta te s
Canada
A rgentina
Spain
I t a ly
Com
Wheat
B arley
Rice
247
243
393
465
186
745
951
-O838
2 ,5 4 6
199
6 5 6
8 9 0
769
607
627
3 2 4
360
5 2 6
5 0 6
376
437
473
453
Source« The Ejidoj Mexico's Way Out, by E* K. Simpson, 1937
Cotton
1 0 5
69
-0-0 28
93
- 58 The f a c t th a t Msxloo has a greater co tto n y ie ld than the United
S t a t e s , Spain and I t a ly must n o t be a comfort fo r u s .
This higher
y ie ld i s probably the r e s u lt o f the more fa v o ra b le e c o lo g ic a l and
econom ical environment fo r cotton in M exico.
The most s ig n if i c a n t
th in g here i s th a t th e y ie ld fo r a l l the o th er pro d ie ts c it e d are
low er fo r Mexico than th ey are fo r th e o th er c o u n tr ie s.
The corn
y ie ld i s more s ig n if i c a n t , sin ce i t i s by fa r lower than the United
S ta te s or th e Argentinean y ie ld d e s p ite c o rn 's having been r a ise d
in Mexico throughout the c e n tu r ie s .
Table XXII Acreage and Index Numbers o f Area Under C u ltiv a tio n for Four
Crops from 1932 to 19k6, (Average 1 9 )2 -I 9 I4 6 "100)
Corn
H ectares Index
(OOO)
No.
Years
321+3
3198
2970
1 9 ) 2
19)3
193U
19)5
19)6
19)7
2 9 6 6
2852
3 0 0 0
19)9
19U0
19*4
19142
191+3
191+1+
191+5
191+6
3091+
326?
331+2
31+92
3758
308)
3355
31+51
3313
Average
3325
1 9 ) 8
Source:
100
99
92
92
88
93
96
1 0 1
Beans
Hectares" Index
No.
(000)
1+1+5
1+72
1+93
1+60
508
1+81+
501
563
86
91
96
89
98
91+
97
109
1 0 3
6 0 1
1 1 6
108
116
95
1 0 U
583
113
6 0 0
1 1 6
1 0 7
1+68
99
102
91
515
100
5 1 0
5 2 7
1 0 3
1 0 0
Wheat
H ectares Index
(000)
No.
640
662
597
Potatoes
Hectares Side
(000)
No.
7)1+
728
731+
98
102
92
87
81
81+
92
97
98
103
115
108
113
112
113
12
11
12
13
15
11+
16
17
18
23
27
27
27
27
27
11+2
142
11+2
I4 8
100
19
100
5 6 8
528
51+7
596
632
635
6 7 2
750
7 0 0
6
Table adapted from Compendio E s ta d is tio o , M exico,
1 9
63
58
63
68
79
73
84
89
94
121
1 4 2
1 4 2
I4 8 .
Another s o r t o f inform ation th a t may r e f l e c t th e a g r ic u ltu r a l
economic development in Mexico i s th e area under c u lt iv a t io n .
Table XXII
- 59s e te fo r th t h i s inform ation fo r c o m , w heat, beans and co tto n fo r th e
period from 1932 to I 9 I4 6 .
As may be observed from the d a ta in Table XXII, in g e n e ra l,
the co m and bean acreage under c u ltiv a tio n has been somewhat I r r e g u la r ,
w h ile fo r wheat and p o ta to e s, th e area under c u ltiv a tio n has been
in c r e a s in g .
So fa r as c o ffe e and c o tto n i s concerned, the area under c u ltiv a ­
tio n has shown an in c r e a s e .
Taking th e area c u ltiv a te d in 1925 as 100,
th e c o ffe e area c u ltiv a te d in
1 9 3 0
was 10? percent; in 1935, 111 per­
cen t; in 192*0, 137 p ercent; and in 19i*l* the percentage was 159*
co tto n the r e s p e c tiv e percentages were
9 2
,
1 5 5
, ll|8 and
2 2 7
Por
.
Per the country as a w hole, th e a rea under c u ltiv a tio n has been
as shown in Table XXIII fo r the 1927-1933 p erio d .
Table XXIII Area Under Cultivation in Mexico.
Hectares*
Years
1927
1 9 2 8
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
(
0 0 0
5 ,6 9 7
5 , 6 0 2 *
.
5,155
5,193
5 , 6 1 8
5,170
5 ,537
Average
)
Index
Percentage of
Number Total Area
1 0 5
103
95
2 .9
2 .9
2 . 6
9 6
2 . 6
IOlt
95
2 .9
1 0 2
2 . 8
1 0 0
5.1*25
* One h ectare i s equal to 2 .I4 7 a c re s.
Souroei Appendix A, The E jid o .
2 . 6
2 . 8
The f a i r l y s ta b le amount o f land under c u ltiv a tio n in Mexico i s
o ften a ttr ib u te d to th e f a c t th a t the supply o f a g r ic u ltu r a l lan d can­
not be in crea sed suddenly in Mexi0 0 .
This may not be n e c e s s a r ily true
,
«*■ 4® *
. ■ -since S te agricultural IamA 1#
land of tk e Country*
e u ltlT atio n o
■
fe r y sm all proportion of # # t o t ^ t v
!here i s a n e c e s s ity to. in crease th e area under
fhe constancy i n th e a re a o f cultiTrated land $ay be
found in th e Tery lim ite d p o s s ib ility th a t e x is ts in expanding th a t
lan d and in th e expmsiTOhess of, in cre asin g it»
'
:'
S l t t o r i o a i dev-elopaent o f p o litic a ls so c ia l and cu ltu ral, fa c to rs
' have had a decided in flu e n c e oh, m e slew1 progress of a g ric u ltu re i n
Ifiexicoo B rie fly s- during the Spanish Solonial Periodi, a g ric u ltu re did
n a t W e progress heCsuse th e diaWhuMon o f # ie Iaod and tbe.Cfswdh*
■ i'
!''?
'
f
'
'
'
-" ,
.■
-
,
■
Iikm with, the'.
#%& a #it& 9a e /* f
the Spanish crown rather than -in accord with the charaoteristics- and.
'
.■
in te r e sts -of the agricultural environmont of lex lo t*
Since Mescitp
became independent^, Mexican agriculture was- characterised by %e
existence o f a very large group of real e sta te u n its concentrated in
& Tory few hands#-
Iho u ndesirable c h a ra c te ris tic s of’ the- la rg e
concentration made progress impossible#
Since igm > a g ric u ltu re h at
been facing- % r e la tiv e ly new p e c u lia rity i n
, ■
■
c u ltu ra l in e ;t itn tic n t«
the
development Cf agri»
# l s p e c u lia r ity .in the breakdown o f th e la rg e ■
''- r e a l e s t a t e u n its ,and th e ’: form ation o f % J ld c # .,
Although f o r ty ye-ars-;-
here- -poa'ced t i n Ce th e new A gricul tu r a l . W t i h i t i c n a s ta rte d * end Wkhnwt h a t f o r ty y ears mean m # i n a m ortal
life*- ‘t h a t period i t ^ust' h
s t a r t f o r th e development o f s o c ia l i n s t i t u t i o n * 'Ih e re fo re ijs i n a 'v e ry
general Senssa m may Consider th e f a c t m a t m s t i l l cannot f in a lly
appraise, the r e s u l ts o f th e a g ra rian reform#
A
%*&&*
s ig n !f! d&w.b fa c t about Mexican a g ric u ltu re is t h a t m m know
improtod a g ric u ltu ra l techniques is. m important fa c to r i s
th e
o f the eot&bxy*
B laoe & W
y ea r* a g o t h e iaat&tat&oa#
aad, aea in Oharge o f a g fio u itu re have beaome f w i l l a f w ith modem
techniques,
%t i s alread y know he# M improve crop v a r i e t i e s ^ -ho:#
to take care Of resources lik e s o i l W w ater ip a b e t t e r Wayip h #
to market th e crops more e ffic ie n tly ^ and so - f o r th .
So we hope th a t
#n o&tBtandi&g dovelopm at in th e a g r im lta r * o f #&%&#& i& &% lam**
d ie t s p r o sp e ct.
B e la tic n .of Physical fe a tu re s to the A gricu ltu ral Pcen.omic
^veloia^nt. M in the aW aw a Bbrep Basin, the physical factory q#
.Mexico have influenced the economic development of a g ric u ltu re and the
establishm ent o f c e rta in p a tte rn s o f agriculture^.
Deserving o f a tten d
t io n U th e corn .fam ing c h ie fly p ra c tic e d i n %@ Central P lateau area?
Among o th e r f a c to r s , th e d lm a te has had a decided in flu e n ce 5u the
considerable acreage devoted to th e firm ing of nom»
know* meet of tba drop I W la
AS m already
and -corn, has been, one. of
the products, t h a t has .met t i t h more advantages,
i t would n e t be
im possible t h a t , i n the long run* the adoption o f improved a g ric u ltu ra l
techniques could s u b s titu te f o r com e th e r products o f g re a te r economic:
W iu e p o r th a t co m could come to be used f o r liv e sto ck feed In &&##
to convert i t in to meat and .daily product# @
Also deserving of. attention W the sml^ncmad, w e of agrSeul~
;■ '/ ' I .
„■• i
I'
‘
■■11
.
11' .
tore that prevaile in smo regions of the southern part, ef'Sexise
03
-m
. WinXy along the coast o f the Gulf o f Mezlco and % e P a c ific QeOan,.
W t i s he cause o f th e shallowness of th e S o il and the: ra p id ity w ith
tihioh i t s . - 'f e r t i l i t y i t exhausted,
In order tp p lan t corn, a p lo t
o f Xahd i s cleared by c u ttin g down brush and burning i t ,
The land 1#
then p lan ted fo r two,. Or a t most, th re e y e a rs, consecutively.
I t 1#,
th en abandoned f o r Si# o r seven year# and allowed to grow Up to bruph
again So th a t i t stay accumulate humus and again become fe rtile .,,
In '
th e meantime*-.the farm er moves bn successively to the c le arin g and th e
p lan tin g o f o th e r p lo ts .
Since we a re apealcing of the re la tio n s h ip
between geographical, fea tu re # and p ra c tic e s i n ag ric u ltu re^ we. should
a ls o mention the p ra c tic e of farming some products,, m ostly cow,' On
h i l l s i d e s 'i n places where th e re is, an ir r e g u la r topography,.
S qually important i s the p ra c tic e of Sumaewfallow t h a t i#
developed where p re c ip ita tio n .is. very scanty,"
This 'p ra c tic e i s o f
th e utmost sig n ific an c e because o f th e f a c t t h a t i t s u b s tra c ts cron=
lan d from the already v ery lim ited a g ric u ltu ra l lan d ,
As ,in th e M issouri B iver Basin,, th e a rid Climate pf th e ,n o rth e rn
p o rtio n o f .Mexico has brought about t h e development Of a liv e sto c k
industry.
In th e northern p a r t of the c o a st of the Gulf o f Mexico
th e re a lso e x is ts a liv e sto c k occupation, bu t th is type i s ra th e r a
-Stocfefarming in ste a d ' of .a. /S tric tly ranching typed
—6) —
Table XXIV Mexican I r r ig a tio n Development from Years 1926-191)6 In olu SjLTO•
Area Put Under I r r i g a tio n as o f I 9 I4 6
Mew Acres Improv^TAores
A gu ascaIien tes
Baja C a lifo r n ia
Coahuila
Colima
Chiapas
Chihuahua
Durango
Guanajuato
Guerrero
Hidalgo
J a lis o o
Mexico
Miohaooan
Morelos
Nuevo Leon
Oaxaca
Puebla
Queretaro
San Luis P.
S in a lo a
Sonora
Tabasco
Tamaulipas
Veracrus
Zacatecas
17,750
209,620
1 7 , 0 0 0
75.840
64.750
40 ,5 0 0
62,718
33.873
27,636
1 2 1 , 5 0 0
2 4 , 0 0 0
2 , 2 5 0
1 0 8 ,9 1 0
Total Area
as o f 191)6
Acres
2 0 ,0 0 0
318,530
1 2 ,5 0 0
2 9 ,5 0 0
5 0 0
5 0 0
6 0 ,9 1 8
1 3 6 ,7 5 8
282,500
124,900
282,500
189,650
47,300
39.250
11,000
27,451
3.500
750
8 ,02 0
87,800
1 5 , 0 0 0
1 0 1 ,9 6 8
44,873
55.087
3 ,5 0 0
1 2 2 ,2 5 0
3 2 ,0 2 0
1 5 ,0 0 0
37,543
125,915
26,593
169.973
2 9 5 ,8 8 8
227,388
4 .25 0
2 3 1 ,6 3 8
6 , 2 5 0
5 0 0
1,250
Total o f Large
I r r ig a tio n
P r o je c ts
1 ,1 0 1 ,7 8 3
937,315
2 ,0 3 9 ,0 9 8
T otal o f Small
I r r ig a tio n
P r o je c ts
53,358
51,830
105,188
Other Expenses
Grand Total
Sources
11,685
42,895
2,1)08
122
1,105
40,498
87,441
3 5 ,6 2 3
438
1 5 ,2 1 7
33,118
14,490
2 2 ,2 1 3
I,4 i6
32,676
17,244
127,531
8,201
353
49,286
44,081
5 3 2
6 , 2 5 0
750
64.136
T otal Snestm ent
Thousands Pesos
1 1 9 ,9 0 1
3 ,7 2 9
713,025
6 0 , 4 0 0
147,429
1,1 5 5 .1 4 1
989,145
2 ,1 4 4 ,2 8 6
920,854
Mimeograph from the U. S . Embassy in Mexico, February, 1949.
— Sh —
Tabla XXV Mexican I r r ig a tio n Program Planned fo r Years 19W -1952.
I n c lu s iv e .
Area to be I r r ig a te d
by th e end o f 1952
Total Area
New Acres
Improved A.
Acres
S ta te
Baja C a lifo r n ia
Chiapas
Chihuahua
Coahnila-Durango
Colima
Ghianaguato
Guerrero
BBLdalgo
J a lls o o y Michoaoan
MLohoaoan
N ayarit
Nuevo Leon
Oaxaoa
Puebla
Queretaro
San Luis P o to si
S in a lo a
Sonora
Tabasco
Tamaulipas
Veracruz
Zaoateoas
T otal o f Large
I r r ig a tio n
P r o je c ts
T otal o f Small
I r r ig a tio n
P ro jects
Total
203,750
17,500
92,500
203,750
17,500
92.500
20,000
67,500
22,500
10,000
158,750
175,000
75,000
57,500
182,500
97,500
10,000
12,500
2140,000
155,000
20,000
67,500
22,500
15,000
158,750
213,500
75,ooo
57,500
182,500
97,500
10,000
12,500
362,500
155,000
5 ,000
58,500
122,500
592,500
117,500
20,000
2 ,3 2 7 ,0 0 0
106.0
5 .0
W*.9
2 0 .6
8 .0
35-0
8 .5
2 1 .0
51*. 5
55.1
2 1 .0
I46.2
110.0
2 0 .0
2 .0
1 .5
2 5 0 .0
187. 5
6 .0
173.5
151.8
7 .0
592,500
117,500
20,000
166,000
2,1*93,500
575,000
2 ,7 0 2 ,5 0 0
Planned
A ppropriation
M illio n Pesos
1 .3 3 5 .1
375.000
166,000
2
,8
6 8 ,5 0 0
1 2 3 . 8
1,1*58.9
E ngineering and Overhead
T otal Cost
Souroei
1*1.1
1
,5
0 0 .0
Table adapted from data o f a mimeograph from the American
Embassy in M exico, February, I 9 I4 .9 .
— 65 —
B r ie f Inform ation About I r r ig a tio n in Mexico*
The Federal
Government o f Mexico has long r e a liz e d th a t ir r ig a tio n i s one o f the
most important e n te r p r ise s th a t should be undertaken to s t a b i l i z e
and improve a g r ic u ltu r e .
That i s why Mexico has always d ed ica ted
e f f o r t s and g rea t sums o f money to bring as much land as p o s s ib le
Even p rior to 1910 ( Table XXVI) th e acreage brought
under ir r i g a t io n .
under ir r ig a t io n was c o n sid era b le. I f we take in to co n sid era tio n the
techniq ues then a v a ila b le to undertake e n te r p r ise s o f th a t nature and
the sta g e o f knowledge o f th e a g r ic u ltu r a l r eso u r c es.
1 9 2 6
From 1910 to
, the r ev o lu tio n a ry p erio d , ir r ig a t io n r eceiv ed l i t t l e a tte n tio n as
i s shown by th e very small amount o f land brought under ir r ig a t io n
during th a t p erio d .
Sin ce 1926, ir r ig a t io n has received the a tte n tio n
th a t i t d e ser v e s.
Table XXVI
in Mexico.
Total Areas Brought Under I r r ig a tio n by Epochs
Epoch
Acres
Up to 1910
1
1 9 1 0 - 1 9 2 6
Sotiroe i
1
Unknown
Unknown
9 2 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0
,5 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0
2
,4
5 0 ,0 0 0
3 5 0 ,0 0 0
1926.19146
1947-1952
Total
,7
Pesos Spent
2
2
,1
,8
4 5 ,0 0 0
6 8 ,5 0 0
7 .1 1 3 .5 0 0
2 1
,0
0
0
0 0 ,0 0 0
Table adapted from data o f a mimeograph from th e
American Embassy in Mexico, February, I 9 I4 9 .
Table XXVI shows the area brought under ir r ig a tio n or th a t which
w i l l be put under ir r i g a t io n , and the money sp en t, or th a t w i l l be sp en t,
by major p eriod s sin c e b efore
1 9 1 0
up to
1 9 5 2
, in c lu s iv e .
i
LEOEKD
CO
D is t r ic t s in P ro ject
(
D is t r ic t s in C onstruction
.
x
•
.
D is t r ic t s in Operation
Fig* 7
L ocation o f D is t r ic t s o f I r r ig a tio n in M exico, 19^8.
Map adapted from*
\
S1
I r r ig a tio n in Mexico by Horace H. Braun,
A ttache to the U. S* Embassy In M exico, February
I , 1919.
I ;
—6 7 *
CHAPTER 17.
POPULATION ASPECTS
Population of the Missouri River Basin
Trends i n Total and Farm Population.
The movement of people
into the Missouri Basin States began with the agricultural occupation
of a small part of the State of Missouri near the beginning of the
nineteenth century.
Population spread from Missouri to Kansas and
Nebraska a t a comparatively slow rate u n til the passage o f the Home­
stead Act in 1862 and the reaching out of the railroad.
These deve­
lopments encouraged and fa c ilita te d the movement of great numbers of
people into the lower part o f the Basin.
Since then the movement of
the population has been subjected to , among other things, the drouth
fa cto r .
Between 1880 and 1890, a r e la tiv e ly wet period, there was a
considerable increase in population in the Missouri V alley Plains
S ta tes.
Table XXVII shows the increase of th is period.
Table XXVII Population Increase of the Mis­
souri V alley Plains S ta tes, 1880-1890.
State
Kansas
Nebraska
South Dakota
North Dakota
Montana
Wyoming
Colorado
Source*
Population
Increase (%)
1+3.1+
134.9
254.0
417.4
265.0
200.9
387.5
Missouri River Basin, Senate Dooument 19! , A pril, 19I44.
Severe drouths occurred in I889, 1890, and 1891+ and, partly as a
r e su lt, the rate of increase was pushed down as is shown in Table XXVIIL
— 68 —
Table XXYIII Population Increase o f the
M asou ri V a lle y P la in s S t a t e s , 1890-1900.
Population
S ta te
Increase f t )
Kansas
3 .0
Nebraska
0 .3
South Dakota
1 5 .2
North Dakota
67 .1
Montana
2 0 .3
Wyoming
U7.9
Colorado
3 0 . 6
Souroei
M issouri River B a sin , Senate Dooum
ment l g i , A p r il, 19Z&.
In th e deoade from 1930 to 19U0 th ere was a return to drouth
c o n d itio n s .
The ca ta stro p h ic drouths o f I 9 3 I4. and
1 9 3 6
reduced
pop ulation in fou r o f th e P la in s S ta te s and slowed up th e ra te o f
in c r ea se in th e o th e r s .
In g e n e r a l, th e in crea se o f the t o t a l population has been in a
d if fe r e n t proportion when compared fo r each s ta te forming th e B asin.
While in the s t a t e s o f M issouri and Iowa th e in crea se was r e la t iv e ly
sm all during the period from 1870 to 19^0, growth fo r North Dakota
was very la r g e .
Table XXIX Population Growth in the M issouri
Basin S ta te s from 1870 to igliP .
Population
Population
S ta te
in 1870
M u ltip lie r
in 1940
M issouri
2 .2 2 0
1 ,7 2 1 ,2 9 5
3 ,7 8 4 .6 6 4
Iowa
1 ,1 9 4 ,0 2 0
2 . 1 2 5
2 ,5 3 8 ,2 6 8
Kansas
364,399
1 ,8 0 1 ,0 2 8
4 .9 4 5
Nebraska
1 0 . 7 2 0
122,793
1 ,3 1 5 ,8 3 4
Colorado
39.864
28.190
1 ,1 2 3 ,2 9 6
Montana
27.180
20,595
559,456
South Dakota
11.776
54.600
642,961
Wyoming
9 ,118
27.510
250,742
North Dakota
266.700
2,405
641,935
Source: M issouri River B a sin , Senate Document 191,
A p r il, I 9 W1 .
fha Mlsscsayi Basin had 5»a,8 percent; of the to ta l population of
■&o Dhited States in 19# 3 7*38 percent of the rural population^ and
8*26 percent of the Hationag ru ral fam population=
fa th a t s w
year Mie population of the Basin amounted to 6*839*766^ of ttMeh ■
or 60=3 percent wag rural population* #f this®. 36@S per*
cent was farm population a n d . r u r a l non^fam=
Of the population
litfiag on farms in the Mssouri Basin,, the smallest number are in the
Upper Watersheds and Me larg est am ber are Sn the Bastem Pl&inSd
fhe lower portd on of the Basin is the subdivision which is the most
densely populated®
M at subdivisioa is much lik e the eastern p art
of the United States as f a r as population density and rural^Urbam
composition i s oencerned=
Me population of the JBssourl B iw r Basin has fo ile d to keep
pace with the population growth o f the Mdtim as a Mole®
While the
Hatlon4S population has Increased more than $0 percent sin ce 192Q>
Me population o f th e Basin has increased w r y lit t le =
Me population
growth reached i t s peak about 192G and showed a steady decline from
1933 to 1 9 # »
Muring th is lapse o f time there was a lo s s o f about
790» GGG fa m people® or 2 3 percent*
I t is: true that the now farm
population has increased 26 percent since 1920® but th is increase ia
in su ffic ie n t to males up for the lo s s in farm population» and® moreover®
i t In' by no stems comparable with the 85 percent increase in the non?
farm population of other part# of the Haflon=
Table 30X shows the population change for. the Basin by decades
from I860 to 19 # =
- 70
Table XXX D ecennial Rates o f Increase or D ecrease ( - ) In the Population
o f the M issouri Basin S ta te s from I860 to I 9 I4O.
1930
to
1940
S ta te
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
M issouri
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Wyoning
1 9 1 0
1 9 0 0
1 8 9 0
to
to
1 9 3 0
1 9 2 0
to
1910
to
1900
4«3
4*1
-4*5
-5 « 7
-7 .2
1 0 .2
2 .8
6 .3
7 .4
6 .6
—2 .1
6 .3
5 .3
8 .8
1 1 . 0
1 6 . 0
8 .4
2 .7
-4*3
8 . 9
Average
0 . 7
U nited S ta te s
7«2
Source:
1 9 2 0
1 7 . 6
8 .1
4« 6
1 5 .0
3«4
4 6 .0
8 .7
4 8 .0
-0 .3
1 5 . 0
1880
to
1890
3 0 .6
112.7
1 7 .7
43*4
1 6 . 7
5 .0
3 3 .7
1 8 7 0
1 8 6 0
to
1880
to
1870
3 8 7 .5
36.1
1 7 3 .4
7 7 .6
2 6 .0
70 .3
0 .5
67.1
1 5 .2
4 8 .0
1 3 4 .9
4 1 7 .4
2 5 4 .7
33«0
1 8 .5
6 .0
54«5
1 1 .8
8 0 .8
45*4
5 8 .0
2 0 1 . 0
1 4 3 .4
734.5
1 28.0
5«3
12.8
33«8
3 0 .1
153.8
2 0 6 .4
16.1
1 4 .9
2 1 .0
2 0 . 7
2 5 .5
1 2 . 1
9 . 0
6 7 . 8
2 5 . 6
1 6 . 0
2 6 5 . 0
1 6 . 5
7 6 . 9
2 39.9
1 5 5 .6
45*6
9 0 . 1
326.5
193.2
193.2
2 6 7 . 8
1 5 6 .0
2 2 .6
3 0 . 1
U nited S ta te s Census o f P o p u la tio n , I 9 I1.O#
One o f th e fa c to r s r esp o n sib le fo r th e lo s s in the B a sin ’s popu­
la t i o n I s em igration .
Per In sta n c e , th e S ta te o f Nebraska l o s t by
em igration about 228,000 p erson s, which i s equal to 18 percent o f
th e p op ulation o f th a t s t a t e , during th e period from
1 9 3 5
to
1 9 4 7
«
During the decade from 1930 to 1940 th e s t a t e s o f the B asin (excluding
Colorado) su ffe r ed a n e t m igration o f minus 4«2 percent o f t h e ir
p o p u la tio n s.
The Dakotas had the g r e a te s t em igration and Minnesota
and Wyoming the s m a lle s t .
There are many fa c to r s which cause em igration o f th e population
from the M issouri B asin , b u t some o f th e more important are th eses
( I ) i n s t a b i l i t y of a g r ic u ltu r e caused by the p e c u lia r c lim a tic condi­
tio n s o f the Basin, (2 ) the s t i l l r e l a t i v e l y sm all degree o f in d u s tr i­
a liz a t io n in the a rea , and (3 ) b e tt e r job o p p o rtu n ities elsew h ere.
M
looking to r th e oay;s©;s.: th a t h a w
the y$te o t '
■.growth o t population* wo muet oonsidsr the- trend of the Ornde-Slrth ■■
Sfete W
ot
the tren d o f the Crude Death Sata- l a a d d itio n to th e e ffe c ts'
em igration j**t Considereati
The Crude' Birth, and Death Shtee f o r .
th e s ta te s o f th e I i s s ouri Basin remained e s s e n tia lly the same during,'
th e I928”l9 to periods, w hile t h a t -for the E ation a s a whole showed a
,deoreusew
furtherm ore^ th e Death .late was: I o w r r e l a t i t e to the Birth:
Kfeta In the EissOtiri Baein- than i t was In th e Dhited S ta te s m a whole
Ihe exoess o f # e B irth la te ' oyer, th e Baath s&te of the "-Basin had Been
g re a te r than th a t fo r th e Ia tio n as a whole* hu t i t s in cre ase has
heen slower th an th a t o f the- -Dnlted g ta te s s - although th e M rth and
death rela tio n a h ip d i n t h e -Basih M w ■Been such th a t & rapid g # w th ''
in population might have occurred^ ■out-m igration has Been so heavy ■'
t h a t population growth has Been held t o s nominal r a te and even h #
declined i n some-areas w ith in th e Basins-
' # h # ,%d Drhaa Composition^ In iiie early days of settlement*
most of the people in the Basin lived, on' fsKsror or in small towns* ■
%& a#0D shout hg BdroW lived oh f#r &*4 compared with 37 Bercdntibs
19U0 and approximately 3k- percent a t the present time*
The rural
population of the Missouri liv e r Basin has been decreasing a# time
goes by* but the decrease has been smaller than the corresponding '
decrease for the Dnited States* Bata, showing these relationships
-Sge g iv g a -IR -T a b lt azacs*
The improvement of a g ric u ltu ra l techniques and th e development
- 72 o f in d u stry are the p r in c ip a l fa c to r s th a t have brought about th is
decrease o f rural p op u lation .
So fa r as the urban pop ulation i s concerned, the rev erse s itu a ­
tio n is tr u e .
That i s , the urban population has been in c r ea sin g
p ro p o r tio n a te ly to the t o t a l population s in c e the f i r s t U. S . Census
was tak en .
B ut, as in the case o f ru ral p o p u la tio n , the urban
p op u lation o f the M issouri Basin has in c r ea se d le s s p ro p o rtio n a tely
than fo r th e U nited S t a t e s .
The same p r in c ip a l fa c to r s poin ted out
fo r th e d ecrease o f rural population have perm itted an in c r ea se in
the urban p o p u la tio n .
These data are s e t fo r th in Table XXXII.
Table XXXI Percentage o f Rural Population in the Basin S ta te s from
I860 to 19lt0.
S ta te
1 9 1 4 0
1930
1 9 2 0
1880
1 8 7 0
1 8 6 0
55
79
81
66
68
73
72
91+
92
66
68
85
89
81
75
82
86
93
93
70
88
87
86
81+
75
85
82
100
100
100
86
91
90
90
83
1 9 1 0
1 9 0 0
1 8 9 0
86
81+
70
50
69
Tl
59
58
61+
71+
89
87
70
52
71+
77
66
61+
65
76
93
90
71
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
M issouri
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Wyoming
1+7
57
58
50
I4 8
62
61
79
75
63
50
5 2
6 0
6 3
61
51
1+9
66
65
83
81
69
65
Average
6 0
6 3
67
69
73
71+
82
89
90
U nited S ta te s
1+3
Uk
1+9
51+
6 0
6 5
72
71+
80
Souroei
5 6
53
69
6 9
U nited S ta te s Census o f A g r ic u ltu r e , I 9 I+0 .
1 0 0
- 73Table XXXII Percentage o f Urban Population in th e Basin S ta te s from
I 8 6 0 to 1 9 i|0 .
S ta te
l9hP
1930
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
Missouzd
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Wyoming
53
W
142
50
52
38
39
20
2h
37
50
39
39
Ud
Si
3 I4 .
35
16
19
31
Average
UD
U nited S ta te s
56
Source*
1 9 2 0
1 9 1 0
1 9 0 0
1 8 9 0
I4 8
36
35
a
m
U5
21
19
34
36
16
29
50
30
29
14
1*6
35
26
11
13
29
36
33
5 6
51
146
3 1
3 1
1 3
2 5
2 2
3h
32
35
2U
7
10
2 7
1880
31
15
10
1 9
2 5
18
13
7
7
1 8 7 0
1 2
13
14
16
25
15
18
I8
6 0
14
9
9
9
17
2 9
27
5
8
34
2 9
31
27
2 5
17
16
12
I*
W
35
28
26
20
U nited S ta te s Census o f A g r icu ltu r e , 19i|0.
- TUMexioan Population
Yrenda in Total and Fam Population*
The growth of the to ta l
Mexican population has been a steady and sig n ifica n t one since the
early eighteen hundreds.
Giving no considerations to the growth be­
fore the Spaniards arrived in Mexico in 1516, the growth of the popu­
la tio n was variable between 1520 and 1800.
Since 1800, however, the
population has been growing rapidly, and in recent years the rate of
increase has been very great.
Table XXXIII Growth of Population in Mexico by
Selected Years Between 1521 and 1952.
Year
1521
1795
1805
1810
1820
1830
18U2
1852
1861
Inhabitants
(Thousands)
9,120
5.200
5.765
5,810
6,20U
7.996
7,016
7.662
8,213
Year
1871
1880
1889
1900
1910
1921
1950
19U0
19U7
1952
Inhabitants
(Thousands)
9.097
9,908
11.396
13,607
15,160
1U.335
16,553
19.65U
23,253*
25 , 623*
Figures estimated.
Souroei a. Raral Mexico, by Nathan L. Vlhetten.
b. Irrigation in Mexico, mimeograph from
the UV S. 'Embassy' in Mexico.
The estimated increase in population w ill be 2,570,000 during
the period from 19k 7 to 1952 which is an increase per year in round
figures of i|00,000 persons.
Perhaps i t should be remarked th at,
although u n til recently the population of Mexico has increased slowly
throughout the years, Mexico has many more inhabitants than any other
Lp.tiawAm©rica?a, eooatfy ozoept Bra&il»
IBe pepulatitoi o f MexW
Shewed & great f e r t ilit y *
Imeaa
a t eon® timeSj, tW growth was stationary or even down* as i t w e
during iaost o f the years during the Spanish Colcmihi and the Eexiesn
Revolutionary periods* i t m e dm to* among other faotore* inadequate
eooHOtoio3 san itary end ednoatione! conditions that prevailed during
•those periods end to <saigration to foreign oountries*
Meag the more important factors accounting for the growth
Of the Mexiesm population Is the high M rth rate that Iiasrioo always
has had*
fhs death rate has always bean high# but even so s the birth
rate has outran i t leaving m excess o f births over deaths that i s
greater or a t le a s t equal to that in the Cnited Sbates»
Immigration accounts for very l i t t l e o f the growth o f the
population*
41 though
Im dgm tion almost always has exceeded Otoigmtiona
during the 193Q^19W decade immigration rep r e c it e d about a tenth o f
the to ta l population increase*
the great f e r # l i % of the Msxicen population i s due to the
agricultural and rural conditions of Mexico# since * in general# the
countries which, are le s s in d u str ia lisod*, le s s urbanised# or more
agricultural have a greater power o f natural increase in th e ir popa«
laid on*
For the statesm en of Mexico* or fo r th e men in charge o f Improve
la g the s o c ia l in s titu tio n s * th is n a tu ra l upward tendency in th e growth
o f the population c a lls fo r a thorough study and ev alu atio n o f the
-
resources Wlish W d h to a ffo rd a dyoent’ ioTrol of liv in g fo r the.
'populatiotto
% c o n tra s t TSilth th e W t e d Stated#- # 0 expression r a r a l pdpu*
Nation in Mexico is. a synonyia Cf th e expresgi.on f$m population! th a t
10 # Z& Mexico e s s e n tia lly #11 the .rural population i s engaged in
agrieulturO o
Mexico i s la rg e ly & r u r a l c l r i l i nationo $ f w ' c la s s ify
a s r u r a l a l l in h a b ita n ts liv in g In l o c a l i t i e s having l e s s than
inhabitants^. then about tiT e -th iris#
' p e ro e # o f th e t o ta l
In h a b ita n ts in .Iiexido may be. designated as ru ra l in comparison ■with
o n ly 13 »5 percent f o r th e W t e d States* ■ %f m c la s s if y a s rural ■
a l l inhabitants i n Mexico in l o c a l i t i e s h ating %OO0 or 10,000 .inhabit
t a n ts ^ a c la ss ific a ti.o n t h a t w ill bo more correct than th e f i r s t -one
fo r M W ooi th e proportion o f r u r a l population m ill b e abaut Tg o r
80 percent*
•
!
,
, .
- . Vv-, '- ;
■■
•
. ■: -
‘
Sbwver,, the proportion o f -rural population has been, decreasing3
i n 1910 the percentage was 77*7% whersas i n 1 9 # i t whs 6 # 9 ,
fo r th e country ae a whole* o f the economically a c tiv e popu­
la tio n
those- engaged in agMoulturo- decreased from 70=2 percent, in
i950 to 63 percent -in 1 9 # »
Iho -South P a c ific region th a t comprises-
th e s ta te s o f Oolimap, Ohiapasp: Guerrero*' and Oaxaca has th e la rg e r
proportion. -Of people dedicated to a g ric u ltu re * Whereas' the IW th
Pacific-, region shows the sm allest percents
the proportion o f Cgri=
cultural, population i # c lo se ly re la te d to- the hlse- .of th e community^
t h a t I s 6 the ,'smaller th e Oommunityi, the -more people engaged in. Cgri=
culture* and conversely* th e la r g e r th e Oommunityp the l e s s people
4n this aGtitityo,
,Digtfilmm,#. #s*&*a% p*po&*t&oa &# 7 9 # taamnly
distributed geographicallyo STearly half of her inhabitants are
crowded into the Gmtral Ifesa Which coapriseo lees than one-sewnth
of the total Imd are a 6 On the other hand> the,re are Tagf areas in,'
other -part®, of the country which remain a im # uninhabited,
M
general and for the country &e &#koi** i t appear* that the population
tends-to follow the higher altitude#* Whenever the: altitude drop#
below 3 ,2 0 0 feet,' the population tends to become more sparse® . there
ere important exceptions to this, tendency® ' W Isthmus of fehuantepee, 'has clusters of population in low altitudes, as hate parts pjf the
.at&tb* OfTferaerwBf-Xboatan*. aba #ia@&o&« m e t # the atate' CapWle, ' ■ '.
'
,
' -
'
the placed Where the population is more concentrated,, are located at
a h i # altitude® Twelve of the $1 state. .Capitols are located at
m
altitude in excess of
per-
k ^Q
feet, with a density of mere than
l&
A<xu@per square split** 4%*»** are eight state capltols with a population
density of
m m
located at
m
than
60
inhabitant's per square mile, and which are'
altitude of more then 6#ooo feet abet©, sea ieyeli. ' The '
State of .Sonora, located at an altitude o f
fT J
feet has a population
density of only 5.2, while Oampeohe and Quintana. Soo5 m th altitudes .of
sixteen, end tea feet., have densities of
and 1*0 inhabitants per
.
square mile# respectively^
"
There, are tm principal factors' that cause the conomtratien. ef
population at high altitudes^ (l) The fe ar'th a t the people have of the
w rlQ ua tro p ic a l diseases®
The c en tral high lands
M m
a more o#&.
Portable clim ate and a re regarded as having a m oh more healthful
emriromaont than the I o m r tro p ic a l a re a s »
The amount o f r a i n f a ll
(S )
and I t s seasonal d i B tr iM tlon => Wot only i s th e C entral !Iesa higher
than most o th er areas o f
M a x im # .
M t fl excepting some o f th e c o asta l
areas* I t i s also more Mmid6 Population settlem ents tend to avoid
th e v a s t s e a l-a rid regions o f the n o rth
m d
to c lu s te r in Me more
humid re g im e of the Central Hesa0
Rural and Wrhan Oomposltionfl th e re has been a d is proportionate
r e la tio n between th e ru ra l population and th e .urban p o pulation» the
ru ra l population M s been g re a te r both in absolute numbers and as a
percentage®
W everthelessfl w ith th e passage o f tim e # th e percentage
has been declining^, although t h a t decline has no t been as rap id as
i t has been In the Whited S ta te s « The contrary s itu a tio n i s also tr u e ;
the urban population has shorn m increase®
That in cre ase has taken
p la te both in ab so lu te population and in percent®
Zn general® w®
can expect a continuing in c re a se in urban population as a r e s u lt of
th e in d u s tr ia lis a tio n th a t Eexlco has eiartedo
Ror th e country as
a whole® th e l o c a l i t i e s having over IO3GOO in h a b ita n ts gained
in cre ase i n population of 2601 percent from 19$0 to I9I4.O®
m
For
the
l o c a l i t i e s having IGflGOO. or le s s in h a b ita n ts th a t approximate more
th e c h a r a c te r is tic s of r u ra l population® the corresponding increase
was only 16»8 p e rc e n t» The in cre ase o f urban population has n o t been
even fo r a l l o f the regions?- The region M a t has become by f a r Me
most u rbanised i s the O eatral Region which, i s influenced by the
population d e n sity of the- c i t i e s o f Mexico and Guadalajara=.
But.
most o f th e s ta te s of th e South PaoifiO region not only inOreased
t h e i r urban populations h u t t h e i r OltMiS M a t population from 1930
to 19l*0. .
$0 Speak Of r a c i a l composM tio n in Mexioo' is. by no means an easy matter*. WOi Oannot draw a
d e fin ite d iv iding lin e fo r each recto
Perhaps i t was due to t h i s f a c t
t h a t the Mexican census has ignored the m atter of ra c e sin c e 1921*
adopting in stea d c u ltu r a l and economic considerations a s a base fo r
th e r a c ia l stratificatio n = ,,
th e p rin c ip a l r a c i a l groups a re :s
-M estlao groups (2) the In d ia n group*, and (3) th e White, group*
( I ) th e
.She ■.
predominancy in number o f each ■r a c ia l group I s in the o rd e r In whidh
they are mentioned*- According to fig u re s of th e 1921 census* th e '
r a c ia l proportion f o r the t o t a l population was as follow ss
Mestizos#
60o3 percents Indians* 29*2 percent's and W hites, IQ0J p erc en t,
Compared w ith other Latin^A serican Countries* M etiw has . a- l e s t e r
p ro p o rtio n o f Indian population than h a w Bolivia* 'Guatemala* Ppru6''
or Bduador*
".
.
.
-
'
Of th e l i s t e d r a c ia l groups*, th e Tiihite end the Mestizo group#
a re more homogeneous w ith in themselves as f a r a# c u ltu re and language
a re concerned* We. may th in k o f those- two. groups as: th e ones building*
shaping and rep re se n tin g Mexican c iv iliz a tio n , ; The understanding
among these- people, has been increased because, they have, no t e i,# e f
geographic or language barriers* , and* -furtherm ore, -th eir ■in te re s ts , and
w 80 <=
■•
' ■’
, ■■■.
. r
ambitions aro Vory miOh the Same? ■ I t yrould be d e sira b le to- have
th e Seime c h a r a c te r is tic s within, the Indian gronp, b ut#. unfortunately^
th is, i s not th e case*,
In th e f i r s t place# th e re are a g re a t v a rie ty -
o f t r ib a l groups among th e In d ian group0 . in th e -second place# each
one o f th ese has i t s om customs# tra d itio n s # *and general m ltu ra l
developmento
.
,.
'
According to th e fig u re s o f th e %9k& -census o f population#
percent of th e t o ta l population spoke In d ian languages exclusively®
7 4 j. percent SpOke Indian and-Spanish languages# and 85.1 p ercen t
spOke the Spanish language*. .Ihe percentage who speak, the Indian,
language i s g re a te r in th e le s s densely populated areas=
'fhe p e r- .
pontage o f to ta l, population who Sppak th e Indian language i s g rea ter
in ' th e South. Pacific- region and smaller in the Sprthern region®
From th e foregoing i t can be appreciated, th a t the Mexican-c u ltu ra l and economic problems can be worked c u t in ah integrated
-
manner only a f t e r development of a tra n s p o rta tio n and communication
System in to the is o la te d Indian areas and only a f te r the le a rn in g of
the Spanish language by a l l th e people in the country=
Fduoational Composition=
BTom h is to r ic a l inform ation we know
th a t the educational asp ect o f Hexico has always received attention=
The follow ing f a c ts a re in support of th is statement=
I*
The f i r s t school in the Wew Wprld was-. e stab lish ed a t :TexQddd
in 1525 by Fray Fedro de Gante=
.
•2o- The f i r s t p rin tin g press in the-.Jfew'WCrid was s e t up i n
'm
@1 «"
S ixieo in %5$% M 4 th e f i r s t %apk was .published th e re th e fello tria g
.
'
'
■'
■
■
■■
-
the S a tidhs.1 S h iv e rsity of S x i S was fotihied in 1551 r
e ig h ty -fiv e years before Harvard was- fo'uaded*
As we w ill see l a t e r m# th e H iite r a o y in ie iie o is- s t i l l
great*
the follow ing guestioh seems-: a lo g ic a l; one to r a i s e o S ty -
■is l l l i t e r a e y "S till se gyeat i f eSueation w as,Stiimilated sin c e sue'fe
'e a r ly tim esf
the answer SeemS' to he "#%%'- edneatiOh" developed 'aeeey&
in g to h ie to rio a l cirouaistaaces, end those eiroufiistanoes: were not.
favorable to u n iv o rsal education fo r a l l ..of the. people=
th e re were
i n te r e s ts th a t favored education fo r a very few people=
furtherm ore,
education was biased being q u ite a p a rt Smm- th e -pure s c i e n t i f i c haw-"
Is d g e v . i t was n e t u n t i l , a f t e r 1 9 # t h a t education began, to receiv e ■
an unbiased, r e a l i s t i c end s c ie n tif ic emphasis.= - Since then* th ere
began the development and improvement o f c e rta in educational 'in s titu ­
tio n s such a s Sural Hormal Sehools0 H #dol# o f A griculture* Indian
Sdhoolsa A g ricu ltu ral Oolleg e t, end so forth=
0
Ihe re c en t development
education may b e seen i n fab le X W $*. \ m b ie X W r #M *er of Hiban # d W e l School# - '
in
Mexico from
1910 to I9b$*
.,.j
v
AmiwiW
w^ iMi npi iri mi'll■ Urban
%bgr
.
1 #
19M
1#*
a
su r a l
■ fe ta l
,8#he%p._
M S#
W Y$
k i#
M
in c r e a s e
_^ e ^ c e n ,ta ^
ie * W
15*795
16*605
L
2 0 ,7 8 5
,
W
W
1 1$
......j a u .
Sbureeii Oempendlo H tta d le tie g * :. 19W* Mexlce-
.
As iS' a p p a r e n t thd
of .rural schools I s ix t y
g re a te r
than th a t of urban schools, p o ssib ly because the number o f ru ra l
c h lia re n oho need, schools i s greater*
fudged by the number of schools^
education Ms. received g re a te r a tte n tio n now th an formerly^,
Se
In crease in th e number of t o t a l schools has been accompanied by an
In crease in the nuzrber o f children who atten d s-'. W eiag 1 ^ 2 as 100
pereentg th e lnden number o f ■children a tten d in g school in 19h5 was
121)- percents
As a r e s u lt of th e g re a te r number.of c h ild re n attending
sdhools each year* the percentage o f l i t e r a t e population of ten yearno f age and over M n increased^ in 1900: th e percentage was. 26s in 1910»
90s Sn 1921.* 3ii| in 1930? Iftl and i n I 9I10 i t was 1#»
Henloo stan d s higher then European co u n tries ,in ill i te r a c y * but
lower than Egypt* Ecuador* Peru and .Bolivia=
S e lativ e to- the mutibef o f students attending, schools * the types
o f in s tr u c tio n rank In. the follow ing o rder o f importances
1«. S uperior Primary in s tru c tio n
2* fommeree
3*
Ik
go
W ic ia e I /
Aawyer
M ra l fea c h e r
do
Other
Eaidmated in th is way* the p ro fessio n o f agri-culture ranks on the=
l a s t level*
Although t h is inform ation cm no# be- taken aa <m enact
index o f th e Importance among the d if f e r e n t professions * i t Is- a measure
■
o f value and OKiphasia9
"
/
. -fti
W m.
speaking
85 *»
■
e p sc i^ l mention, should % ,made u f
oi
tho f a s t th a t iii 19% the P resident o f M9O&0&* UIsjaual, A tila Oa#oho,
issu ed a decree t h a t o b lig a ted a l l ,persons
knew how to read end
w i t e to teach th e i l l i t e r a t e reading -m i w ritin g »_ fhe effective*..
h&s$ o f t h i s approach
m $
be appreciated, by th e f a c t th a t o# August.
21» 19W) a to ta l Cf l.dl{h0»79h I l l i t e r a t e persona 'between th e age®Of -a # and f o r t y years -had Ie a m M how to read and to write® •
'a
— 81+ —
CHAPTEH
V.
D IS P O S A B L E
RESOURCES TO COPE W ITH THE PROBLEMS
In Mexico
H ydrological C ondition*.
Prom a h y d ro lo g ica l sta n d p o in t, the
area o f the Republic o f Mexico i s d iv id ed in to th e fo llo w in g zonesi
Ie
The Arid Zones where a g r ic u ltu r a l production i s sm all and
u n certa in w ith out ir r ig a t io n .
2.
The Semi-Arid Zones where crops are obtained by dry-fanning
l e s s than $0 percent o f th e y ea rs.
5.
The Semi-Humid Zones where crops are u s u a lly p o s s ib le w ith­
out ir r ig a t io n , but where ir r ig a tio n i s d e s ir a b le to in c r e a se the
y ie ld and t o in su re a g a in st dry sea so n s.
i*.
The Humid Zones where good crops can be obtained each year
w ith out ir r ig a t io n .
The corresponding area o f each zone mentioned above i s in d ica ted
in Table XXXV and shown in P ig . 8 .
Table XXXV Hydrologic Areas o f Mexico.
Zone
Acres
% o f T otal
Area
Arid
Semi-Arid
Semi-Humid
Humid
253,232,500
1248,451,700
5 1 ,1 0 3 ,2 0 0
32 ,9 8 3 ,9 0 0
Total
Source t
485,7 7 1 ,4 0 0
52.13
3 0 .5 6
1 0 . 5 2
6 .7 9
100.00
Mimeograph from th e U. S. Embassy in
M exico, P eb ., igitS*
The hydrological area division s are, however, far from showing
the agricultural p o s s ib ilitie s of the Ration.
Much of the national
area i s unsuited to agriculture, regardless of hydrological conditions.
] Arid Zone
] Semi-Arld Zone
I Semi-Sumld Zone
I Htnald Zone
10 .5 2 #
6 .7 9 #
the Bepubllo o f Mexico.
Sources Braun, Horace H ., Irrigation In Mexico, Attache to tiie U. S. Embassy in
-# 6 tapdgraphioal chafacterj-stdee and a v a ila b ility of w aters
fh© fol^ovr®
4ng d ata show the th e o r e tic a lly p ossible a reas whioh can
tille d ■
from & s t r i c t l y top ograp h ical p o in t o f y le m
P o s s ib le S am iag A tm o f Me^ioo*.
.
3 m * b l4
# # z BbtAl
# Of 3#a&
Acre#
_th e o re tic a l
A tm -of the
Zone
t i l l a b l e Area
GOpatry
%a Ardda Semi-Arld and
Semi-»Humid soneS ?: Aeree
fo r xhloh -water i s avail#
a b le fo r ir r ig a t io n
%?,5&9vOQ&
5* B W d gener m i l c # e
area for' W ie h lrrlga?'
t ie n i s n o t n ecessa ry .
Area su itab le for dryfa m in g s So w ater ■
available fo r ir r ig a t io n
3 t so oga:OG.d
,JfeEimum th e o r e tic a l
T illa b le Area
58,5QG,@0Q
SoarOeg
69*9^
9.5#
1*0^
6&*6#
7*W
Mimeograph from the U» S« B iiaasy in Mexiooy
W k5*
While 5 9 s00D5000 a cres ,am th e th e o r e tic a lly p o ssib le a re a to
t i l l s i n 1 9 # the O p ltlw te d a re a tfiss 'tiply i.il, p o rte n t o f that-figure*.
Of th is, percentage^ f$ percent w # #
i r r ig a te d Iand^ S»i percent In
humid Iandfl and 31 «6 p ercen t was dry=»farming®
Main Streams..and Irib u ta id e si0 Sexiee has many riv e r e 5 b u t,
unfortunately* the g re a t m ajority o f them are, u n fit e ith e r fo r navi­
gation*. o r fe y providing w ater f o r a g ric u ltu ra l, .purposes*
perhaps
many o f the r iv e rs haw .considifable e c # l o W ine* 'ih e te chaw eteris'K os
Of the riv ers r e su lt from th e f a c t t h a t th e . two g re a t e e rd ille ra s
which tra v e rs e the country from north to wonth form the p rin c ip a l
- 87 w atersheds, and, w ith the excep tion o f a few streams in the p lateau
r eg io n , m ostly in the Mesa d el N orte, p r a c t ic a lly a l l the r iv e r s
drain d ir e c t ly e ith e r in to the Oulf o f Mexico or the P a c if ic Ocean.
Most o f the r iv e r s a r e , a cco rd in g ly , r e la t iv e l y short and to r r e n tia l
mountain stream s.
Table XXXVII shows the r iv e r s th a t are important from an
a g r ic u ltu r a l or n avigab le p oin t of v iew .
Table XXXVII
Mexico.
Lengths and Basin Areas o f the More Important Rivers in
S ta te
River
TamaulIpas
Guanajuato
y J a lis c o
T laxoala
Tamaulipas
Tabasoo
Sonora
Durango
V eraoniz
Chiapas
S in a lo a
Baja C a lifo r n ia
Sonora
S in a lo a
Source*
* Only
Bravo
Lerma y Santiago
B alsas 0 Mezoala
Panuoo
Usumacinta
Yaqui
Nazas
Papaloapan
Mazcalapa
FUerte
Colorado
Mayo
S in a lo a
Length
in M iles
Basin in
Square
M iles
1739
72,568
576
U22
U97
Slit
49,601
43,390
33,968
26,248
25,476
2 6 1
1 9 , 6 8 6
5 2 2
335
W
255
1552*
217
15,054
13.896
13,124
2 1 7
Rincon, Tomas Cepeda, The Mexican R epublic, M exico, 19b l.
9 6
k ilo m eters o f t h i s le n g th are w ith in Mexico.
Of the r iv e r s c ite d above, ir r ig a t io n p r o je c ts have been accom­
p lish e d or are now in p rogress on the Lerma y San tiago, Yaqul, Fuerte,
Colorado, S in a lo a and Papaloapan.
Other r iv e r s n ot shown in th e Table bu t on which ir r ig a t io n work
has been ca rried out or i s now under way are*
River Mayo in the S ta te
o f Boaora^ th e r ite r s Ifantej, Pnaifioaoion and Paio in th e g ta te of
faznaulipasi - S t W Bnehiate in Bhiapaes and Md Verde in th e S ta te o f
Ban Im ie PotoM ® '
, '
'
I
, Sn Phe I E ts m r i B ite r Badin
H ydrological Gonditlonso
M W r BaeWa
ihere are many n i te r s in the # g # n r i
Boae o f # e m o r ig in a te i n the B d#y Mountsins0 She
larg est: drainage b a sin i s t h a t o f ihe. M sso u ri S iw r whose c h ie f
U rih ataM et Inolnde th e -Tellowstones the P l a tf s fl and the ihms&eh •
# e source Of w ater' f o r the Wesbttrl. '.S w r and it,® triM ta rie s h re r a in and enom
#n#f provides mere than, % th ir d ,of Uhei w afer o f . •
th e tipper MosottM# . Bfrebm SOw^i therefore,, S tto tn a te t In a o o o rd m # .
w ith fltte tim tio )# in *Aia and
■;
'
.
i n .gowrdl* strO m flo w i n m e t
:
.
.,
; ■
o f th o S w w o f th e M eSourl S w r Basin So M gh in the spring .# d e a rly e ra s e r when th e W ttn tS n snow i e w lfin g .* and Sf- decreases M a
low flow during th e f a l l and w in ter -when the m elting .snow and the 'rain y seasons: a w # e r *
We i l l u s t r a t e t h i s statem ent -with th e dafa.
i n fa b le S S S i l l which .seta fo rth th e dissb&rge o f w ater a t s e w r a l
gauging sta tio n s, along the 'Missouri end i t s main trihu-tarieso
We know t h a t ra in is n e ith e r W lfa h le nor w ell d is trib u te d
through th e ra in y season.^ and th a t i n some year# -drouth® appear*
ShewieW jr in s o f a r w th e r iv e r s depend upon ra in fl- they are n o t depend*- '
a b le sources o f w ater f o r h ig h ly 'developed i r r ig a ti o n practice® unless
la rg e m ounts o f sto rag e a re possible^.
Buring ra in le s s and .snowless p a rts o f th e year* th e M ssourl S f e y
I
3
Adapted from*
Thomthwait e , Moisture Regloni in the United
S t a t e s , Geographical Rerlew, January, 19bB* p. 9i*.
- 90 and i t s tr ib u t a r ie s depend g r e a tly on underground w ater.
In p a rts o f
the B asin the ground w ater i s considered inadequate to meet the
in c r ea sin g demands placed upon i t , but in oth er parts the supply is
ample fo r such in crea sed developm ent.
Table XXXVIII D ischarge in Cubic Fbet per Second. Water Year October
I 9 I4 O to September 191*1 in the M issouri River System.
Gauging S ta tio n
M issouri River Main Stem
M issouri River
Montana
M issouri River
M issouri River
M issouri River
M issouri River
M issouri River
Maximum
o .f .s .
Minimum
o .f .s .
Mean
o .f.s .
15.100
*
3 !+, 0 0 0
950
3 .2 0 0
I*. 190
Il*, 6 6 0
19,180
19,930
23,650
32.1+70
below Fort Peck Dam,
near W illis to n , N. D.
a t Yankston, S . D.
a t Sioux C ity , Iowa
a t Nebraska C ity , Nebr.
a t Kansas C ity , Mo.
1 2 , 0 0 0
1
1 2 0 ,0 0 0
1 0 5 ,0 0 0
2 0 6 ,0 0 0
2 , 7 0 0
3 ,9 0 0
i*,380
6 ,3 8 0
Y ellow stone River Basin
Y ellow stone River a t Y ellow stone Lake
O u tle t, Y ellow stone N ation al Park
Y ellow stone River a t B i l l i n g s , Mont.
Y ellow stone River near Sid ney, Mont.
2 ,7 5 0
21,800
39,1*00
3 5 0
1 , 7 0 0
921
U.899
1 0 ,0 5 0
P la tte River Basin
P la tte River near Odessa, Nebr.
P la tte River near Dunoan, Nebr.
82
11*2
9 0 5
1,010
Source*
I S
Kansas River a t Topeka, Kansas
Kansas River a t Bonner S p rin g s, Kansas
3%
Kansas River Basin
268
511
4 ,915
5.871
U# S . G eo lo g ica l Survey, Water Supply Paper 926, 191+1.
There are oth er f a c t s such as the q u a lity o f water th a t have
to be taken in to co n sid era tio n fo r ir r ig a t io n purposes.
Many o f the
streams o f the M issouri River Basin carry co n sid era b le q u a n titie s o f
d is s o lv e d m in era ls, and, in c e r ta in stream s, la r g e amounts o f suspended
' '
s ilt*
'
'
- 9 t-
'
'
fhs -M nem ls are c h ie fly carbonates' and gtilphete^s w ith b iesr* "
boaateo o f
eaicium and miaghesitm ^reiOfflinatinge
For th i'f
reaeon, i t i s necessary th a t drainage aystems on: ir r ig a tio n projects'
W adequate enough to dispose o f ©loess' I r r ig a tio n w atera; Otherw iws
continued evaporation of the w ater from s o il surfaces w ill deposit
Ooncentra-li, one of Suit*
ir r ig a b le land*
Rlgurep t h a t in d ic a te how many acres could be
put under i r r ig a ti o n In the M esouri S iyer S a tin are not re a d ily
a v a il able o
fhe Ureaj, Ioweyers is- large*
Topographic eoaditions w ill
perm it i r r ig a tio n o f a s i sable a re a sin c e most of the M sso u rl B iter
B asin i s p la in s o But w ater resources e ith e r in th e form of rsdh#- sn o #
o r underground w aters &re« i n g # e r d l s In a u ffM lp n t to p e w i t th e '
i r r ig a ti o n of @il th e possibly ir r ig a b le lands®
therefore* la n d . la
n o t Me lim itin g fac to r-'In i r r ig a ti o n deyelppment .in !the .M a so u rl.
Basin*-
'The only fa c to rs th a t r e s t r a i n I t - a r e 'Ooat o f'd w e lo p M h t of'
ir r ig a tio n worM$ th e amount -of w ater ayallabie# and preferen ces .
f o r o th er se rv ic e s t h a t the- w ater may provides such as navigation^
recreation.-, and so M rfh 6 •
OEfiPfEE T I*' THB QGAW
I r. The M sso u ri Easiii
& o p rin c ip a l goal o f the M issouri E iver Baaih P ro je c t may he Sum*
Siarised. in a sh o rt sentences A h e tt e r and more sta b le stan d ard o f liv in g
f o r th e people, w ithin th e Basin must he a tta in e d « Qbviously2, previous
ste p s have to be worked out in order t o .a tta in th a t goala
$n turn* th e
Steps to be worked out a re C haracterised by t h e i r d if f e r e n t grade o f
importance and the p r i o r it y Which they have in th e o v e rfa ll development=,
the degree of importance and p r io r ity a tta c h in g to .d iffe re n t p a rts Cf th e
o v e r-a ll development depend la rg e ly upon the philosophy of the in stitu tio n s,
in charge o f Carrying out the Missouri 'Bhein P ro je ct and upon th e
thought o f the so c ia l groups which, in a moral or economic way.# may
support EuCh developmento Ihust; whereas an in s titu tio n o r a so c ia l
group may th in k t h a t ir r ig a tio n should be th e major aim* another
i n s t i t u t i o n may b e lie v e t h a t flood control should -be th e f i r s t o b jec tiv e ,
fhe d iv e r s ity o f opinions as to what th e p rin c ip a l o b jective of the
M issouri HiVer Basin P ro je c t should be- le a d s us to th e conclusion t h a t
tb s b e s t p lan to c arfy out th e p ro je c t i s th a t one which w ill harmonise a l l th e opinions and conserve and use th e w ater resources o f th e Basin
i n a harmonic p lan .
Thus far- the Missouri Basin P ro je c t i s a compre­
hensive plan sin ce i t provides no t only f o r i r r ig a ti o n b u t fo r flood
Control# navigation# power*,-and SO f Ofthd
,fp .I rrig a te . More Banda AS ■Stated above# ir r ig a tio n i s one- -of th e o b jectiv es pursued in the development o f the Missouri EivCf Basin
,
- 93 *
Project* ■ !?huS- f&r* I r r ig a tio n i s n e ith e r th e so le nor the most
im portant objective=
n e v e rth e le ss^ the importance o f the ir r ig a tio n
e n te rp ris e i s se lf-e v id e n t =. The f a c ts t h a t a g ric u ltu re In th e Missouri
Hiver Basin I s of unquestionable importance} t h a t development of a sue- ■
c e ssfu l a g ric u ltu re r e t i r e s water} t h a t w ater in th e Basin i s undepend­
ab le u n le s s i t Can be sto red lead to th e conclusion t h a t w ater from r a in ,
from stream flow s, and from snow should be impounded whenever and
wherever it. may be possible=
Jhe M issouri S v e r Basin P ro je c t
contemplates, ir r ig a tio n o f 5^233,000 new a cres and provision Of
supplemental w ater fo r another 1, 914.3*000 acres=
The i r r ig a ti o n works
are advocated and supported by th e Bureau of Reclamation=
Because
th e n orthern p ortio n of the. Basin i s the most a rid region, th e land
to be brought under i r r ig a tio n I a In th e middle and th e upper p a rts
Of the Basin=
I t has been, estim ated th a t the ir r ig a tio n work# 'w ill
be completed In approxim ately the year 1975 s and th a t the rate , of
development w ill take place as follow s 1 19 percent before ■1955«
IiB p ercent during th e 1955*1964 p erio d , and 33 percent .a fte r 1965=,
T h e 'irrig a tio n asp ect of the M issouri River Basin P ro je c t ha#
receiv ed some criticism *
The main c ritic ism s are*
lack of coordi­
n a tio n In the development of th e project# s t e r i l i s a t i o n o f some land#
where ir r ig a tio n has been practiced# and th e vague way in which
b e n e fits to be obtained from ir r ig a tio n have been determined=.
.
These
arguments .lack firm grounds since la c k of coordination i s a m atter
o f a d m in istratio n th a t ha# no.regard fo r th e objectives and n e c e s s itie s
# 9 4 ■**
fat ir r ig a tio n s s t e r i l i s a t i o n o f the ir r ig a te # lands cm he cor­
re c te d w ith appropriate drainage m d ©sod knowledge of the p rin c ip le s
involved i n the rig h t p ra c tic e s of ir r ig a tio n s
As f a r as. th e th ird
argument is Cmoemedj in g e n eral, i t i s tru e th a t in most o f the
eases p rec ise computation of th e b e n e fits derived from i r r ig a ti o n Ic
lackingc»
But t h a t happens because of the complexity o f such deter*
m ination In I t s e l f 0 indeed». th ere is m im perative n e c e ssity f o r
working o u t the appropriate mathematical methods which m f allow a
more p rec ise computation o f b e n e fits due to i r r ig a tio n only*
Control of Floods*
Gontrol of flo o d s Ie another o f th e impor­
tant o b jec tiv e s pursued I n th e development o f th e H e s o u rl S iver Basin
Pro j oeto
Judged by the amount of money appropriated by Oongress so
f a r fo r flood c o n tro l and f o r I r r ig a tio n j, we cannot decide which one
o f th ese two o b je c tiv e s i s more Important^ since the funds appropriated
f o r i r r ig a ti o n development ■are equal t o th o s e appropriated f o r flood
co n tro l objectives*
Hegardless of the degree o f Importance t h a t flood
co n tro l occupies in the development of th e Missouri Basin Project* the
t r u th i s th a t i t is a very im portant objective*
flood co n tro l ad one
o b jec tiv e o f the p ro je c t i s e n tir e ly j u s t i f i e d i f we r e c a ll th a t
flo o d s are as d e stru c tiv e as drouths may be* and th a t they appear o fte n
in th e BaSin0 HlOod co n tro l is demanded by th e Army Gorp o f Engineers
and will be provided m ainly in the lower portion, o f th e Baala#
B ta b llM atjo n p f th e Agr ic u ltu r e 0 S ta b ilis a tio n o f a g ric u ltu re
i s one o f the ends pursued b y the development of the Basin P rojects
S tab ililg ^ tio n o f a g rie u ltu re w ill be a. lo g ic a l r e s u lt of t h e ir r ig a tio n
and o f the flo o d control -prorisioneo
S ta b ilisa tio n of a g rlo u ltu ro ;w ill
do away W itt some o f .the ^rohleW of ^ t k -AssOB'ri/.Sawin.d
# s t# ili%
of' a g ric u ltu re has caused m a r trouble® f o r th e S a tin s® faraerse- such ■
a s farm foreclosures* i n s t a b i l i t y o f farm, income* and m igration out o f
th e Basin=.
.. ■
S ta b ilis a tio n of , Farni, Inoome*
S ta b ilis a tio n o f farm income i s
another end sought in the development Of the IE ssouri Basin P ro je c t,
S ta b ilis a tio n of farm income may depend on many facto rs* such a t
s t a b il i s a ti o n 's ? p ric e s end economic c o n d itio n s.in general,.* but'w e ■
wi I X not make, a mistake by considering t h a t s ta b ilita tto n , o f f a m
income w ill be, # g n lf ic a n tly ,aw ed b y the: ^ ta M iita tlO B o f agrionl-*
turd*
fbiSfl s ta b ilis a tio n of' a g ric u ltu re by the M issouri Basin Prov
j e s t w ill co n trib u te sig n ific a n tly to s t a b il i s a ti o n of' farm income in
th e Bacia9 although i t alone w ill not com pletely s t a b i l i s e farm income
in .th e a re a ,
Other ObjectiyeSo
the comprehensive c h a ra c te r of th e IEpsour!
B iver B afin P ro je c t includes, other O bjectives besides thc.se o f i r r l » •
gOtion5, flood controif and s t a b ilis a tio n o f ag ricu l ture. and farm inoomo,
th ese o th er O bjective# a r e n av ig a tio n * power
lopmcnt of' m unicipal w ater supplies®
W
deW "
i l l o f these other o b jectiv e#
have a d e c isiv e im port i n t h e ' development of th e Basin Project* b u t
perhaps most im portant among them l a power developments
Power th a t
has' been developed in. the Basin thus f a r M s been b oth in s u f f ic ie n t
■■•
es
smd ©spoasiTQo
Ihs oomrenienoe o f power doToXopasat i s naqaestlenable#
Pot«jr de-relopznsnt w ill senro the a g ric u ltu re of the Basin by pumping
tm te r fo r i r r ig a ti o n purposes and w ill c o n trib u te to fu r-tie r developmeat o f the In au etH ee of the. Basin#
Of equal importance i s the f a c t
t h a t th e power generated w ill allow lower co sts of irrig a tio n ? elnde
i t w ill c a rry a p o rtio n o f the development costs#
S atigation, i s another phase in th e development of th e M ssouri
Basin Project#
Ifarig atien w i l l be provided along 'the M e to u ri M w
Stem and i t s major tr ib u ta r ie s p rin c ip a lly in the lower p o rtio n of
the M issouri M w r Basin#
N avigation development t r i l l be afforded by
reg u la tin g high flows, and releasin g stored w ater a t uniform r a te s
in order to provide s steady flow fo r irrig a tio n #
Ihe tra n s p o rta tio n
systems alre ad y e sta b lish e d w ill bo supplemented by navigation#
As
i n the ease of power devdopm ont, n avigation w ill share a p o rtio n of
the development co sts allowing# in consequence,, a lower c o s t fo r the
p ro sp ectiv e u se rs of i r r ig a ti o n w aters« lhose eormasnts on navigation
a re given according to the provisions made in the o f f i c i a l programs*
HOwver6 some arguments questioning the reasons fo r i r r ig a ti o n m y
arise#
gabion#
Some may soy th a t n avigation may s u b tra c t w ater from I r r l ^
Other arguments a re as follows#
a s r a ilro a d tra n s p o rta tio n ?
tra n s p o rta tio n faro s?
i s navigation a s -effective
Xs navigation going to e ffe c tiv e ly reduce
W ill navigation reduce- the actual e ffic ie n c y
o f th e r a ilro a d e n te rp ris e s already estab lish ed ?
In
■■■
tsThe Hexionn PrpjeotB of ir r ig a tio n 5* which
.
used as the t i t l e of this, th e s is i s n o t q u ite c o rre c t^ sine© th is
*aae
that wo ohly are ooooarhM with the lfrlgatlae wWke
alread y aOoomplishei or now. under way in Mexico*
Eoweyer* my. in te a tio a
i s 1to aiaKe referen ce n o t to ir r ig a tio n w prkt Onlyp hat a l # t o I t #
re la te d o r derived phase#' such as power# flood, co n tro ls s ta b ilis a tio n
Of. a g ric u ltu re and of farm income# and m iscellaneous o th er objeotiw e'a ■
If. I t f l g a t e # r e i>and.a
Irrigation works' w ill occupy my . ' . ,
a tte n tio n f a r more than w ill the o th er objectives# because these
Other objectives h a w l i t t l e Importances and- because irr ig a tio n i@
the e n te rp ris e t h a t th e Federal Government of Mexico should undertake
In order to solve o r am elio rate c e rta in a g ric u ltu ra l problems such
-
m In su fflo ien e y o f crop I and 0. in s t a b il I ty o f a g ric u ltu re and of •'
farm income &
"
I f 51. in the S s s o u r i S w r b d slh P r# e c.% th ere ie room t# doubt
whether i r r ig a tio n o r oth er o b je c tiv e s should, have p rio rity # th ere
' e x is ts no Such doubt In
Of the rep u b lic 1# arid# and.
g & lg -p e rc e n t of th e t o t a l a re a
percent l b semi-arid*
A lsofi
BtexiOO' has no a g ric u ltu ra l surpluses# and i t s a g ric u ltu re has not y e t'
//
achieved the stag e o f development which the American a g ric u ltu re b #
reached^
I r r ig a tio n i s m e o f the e n te rp ris e s which needs to be
c a rrie d out i f h o t te r conditions: a re to be achieved, in Mexiow
i r r ig a ti o n enterprises in ,Mexico a re divided in to sm all end
la rg e p rejeat**
##
&*rg* '%**lg*t&oa P W e e te ' -
a r e W drtdbG a by the O b w siw a t exelu-8iwly» whereas th e $m&% Ujapjt*gatiOB P ro je c ts are undertaken jo in tly 'by th e Ooyeraadnt and p riv a te
en te rp rise^
Tlm second type of ir r ig a tio n rep re se n ts only a very small
p a r t o f th e whole program, (approximately I percent ) Q
.4 w
r y Im portant
c h a r a c te r is tic o f th e Small i r r ig a ti o n P ro je c ts i s t h a t investm ents
Iaaina a&t boSn repaid*
1
1
'•
% # w r^ - &. TLsyfgf? percentage of th e .# in w ^ t-
.
>
-
i
m w # I# now being f i n # # * % o f f i c W o r e d it Imadwalgr through the
STational Sazih o f A g riculture an# h ifesfo o k
Seeauee o f clo ser
supervision, lower i n t e r e s t rates, end lo n g er te rn s fo r repayments- a
la r g e r p a rt o f t h i s investm ent may be rep aid In th e fu tu re e
Other -QbjeetiWhiS- I group under tid e, heading power, a g ric u ltu ra l
s ta b ilis a tio n s ' .s ta b ilis a tio n 'o f farm Income,, n a v ig a tio n , and
go
f o rth .
Indeed, I should devote ■sp e c ia l sectio n s to each o f them, b u t $ am
Inqkiag- tu b s tW lh l- s t h t l # t i # l d&ta.
'
% d r.o -e le c tric development m ill take p lace .simultaneously «Sth
the- development o f i r r ig a ti o n ,
Ite importance Cf t h i s o b je c tiv e -is1
unquestionable when th e d e c is iv e . importance of-power ;|n -in d u s tria l
development i s recalled ,, and^when i t I S , remembered t h a t l e t i c o inj u s t becoming l& d u striallaed a
,
'
■
the long-tim e power program, in c id e n t
■
,
,
^
■ -
'
-
'
-
■
'
to- i r r ig a ti o n development and erelusive- o f ,ether e le c tr ific a tio n
plant,- contemplates the possibility' o f building ,seventeen hydro- '
e le o trio statio n s with s to ta l in stalled capacity, of EQ9 9-G0E> S®< .Many
o f the works0 however, t i l l not be b u ilt in the very near future.
eontrssMng titb / the
Basin Prbj^tits- aatigation %%
aot o f great importance in EesiQby
With few ex8eptioQ.sp the StreaiW
are not suited to R arigationv
• -'B taM iitatibn-of f a m iiiom e i@ m& o f the major ends i#
dereloplng the M sso n ri Basin*
W tbuhtedlys Meideo a ts e seeks ,
e t a h i l i g a t i m of faW, income, hut- equaily important i t the imptere*'
meat ra th e r than the s t A i l l a a t i e n of f a m Intiemes Sinees g e n erally
Speahing., It'has. he&a re^y lowo
S-
98387
.|a g en eral, t h i s th e s is d eals w ith a g h im ltu .fal problems
itobted iti Olimatie en^i.romnent aad oonfraatsd. s im ila rly ■by th e Bid*
so u ri -BiYer B asia area and th e BepaTblie o f Mexico o
Beoaase andepenlaM Ii t y o f p re c ip ita tio n i s Characteristic ■&£
th e E is so n ri Basin and of Me&ice# irrig a tio n , i s th e .principal to p ic
diSoussodA and* eonsequetitly* a l l the C dnsiderations5. Cofeuientss. 'and ■
comparisons # e re centered on irrig a tio n *
As was pointed out- in -th e ■
f i r s t two paragraphs o f the f i r s t chapter# th e Basin has sim ila r itie s
t o , as w ell a s d iffe re n c e ; from# #%loo*
The s im il a r it i e s have- le d
t o adoption o f p o lic ie s t h a t a re -e sse n tia lly th e Samoj, end th e ■
d iffe re n c e s c a ll fo r d is s im ila r itie s in, the programs adopted# fheiftimings, t h e i r adm inistration# p r i o r i t y among d iffe re n t uses o f th e
water:# #nd the hufean n e c e s s itie s to 'he s a t i s f i e d w i#i the goals;
.
aohiefeed*
This concluding chapter w ill point out some, of the more,
n otable d ifferences 'in th e programs adopted-^differendes in -t h e i r
.scope and in th e o b jec tiv e s to be a tta in e d by thorn,
Miereas Mexico i s developing its . w ater resources c h ie fly fo r
i r r ig a ti o n purposes# th e i& ssouri S-Yer Basin emphasises hydro'**
e le c t r i c energy# navigation#, municipal water- supply# and O ther pro*je o te in a d d itio n 'i c Ifrig a tlp n * ;
- "■"' . i
Mbereai the ,Missouri Elver Basinit g e n erally speaking# has rein?
'. ' ' '
•
*i ■
V1 ,,
1'I' , , • ,
tiv a ly p le n tif u l irrig ab le- lan d w ith Wtioh to cops w ith i t s dry
'
.» 1#
tionditioniBj, Mexico's ir r ig a b le lead i s d i s t in c t ly lim ite d , and,, th e re * .
f p r e , i t s shortage of: cropland and i t s undependability o f p r e c ip ita tio n '
must be a lle v ia te d , in the long ru n , by re s o rtin g to oth er measures
b esid es ir rig a tio n ^
Whereas th e M issouri Biver Basin attem pts to s a t is f y wants
above th e b are n e c e s s itie s o f l i f e such as minimum food, clothing*
and s h e lte r by expanding ah already ra th e r comfortable liv in g standard#
Mexico i s attem pting to s a t is f y subsistence n e c e s s itie s of i t s popu* '
la tio n —foodi c lo th in g , s h e lte r, etc* by developing i t s program Of
i r r ig a ti o n ,
. ;
Prom th e l a t t e r conclusion i t would seem to fo llo w ,,th a t#
■since i r r ig a tio n e n te rp ris e s of Mexico a re aimed a t f u l f i l l i n g b asic
human n e c e ssitie s# th e m arginal u t i l i t y Of i t s investm ents w ill be ,
g re a te r than the m arginal u t i l i t y fo r th e investm ents in th e Missouri
Basin,=
.Tilhereas i r r ig a tio n in th e M issouri Idver Basin embraces pur«= ■
poses Other th an m erely expanding'cropland,, ir r ig a tio n in ' Mexico,
although i t a ls o seeks o th er o b je c tiv e s, i s concerned p rin c ip a lly
w ith in creasin g th e lim ite d amount of cropland in th e country1=
IhereaS the M issouri River Basin P ro je c t loolcs to, th e ,expanding
o f in d u s trie s ' in th e area and to th e supporting of already e x is tin g
in d u s trie s as w e ll, Mexico, although i t does n o t overlook in d u s tr ia l
development, i s concerned p rim arily w ith a tta in in g a secure and vigorous
a g ric u ltu re in order to l i f t the d ie t of i t s people to a h e a lth fu l le v e l.
LiTEm m m
consulted
th e Missouri .IaSia
2,«- Clawsoai t e r ion o Atigusti
SEQUENCE W EAHtATIOS CE ABIUAL.
PmclFITATIOS IS THE WESTEES USlTED STATESe (jQWAL OP IASD ASD
PUiLic uTiLiTi Ecosomicsl#
■'
&•
Croat PlAius- Committee RepO-rt'®- DecSmlOri 19^6« THB W W m OP TgE
W AT PLAlHS,. •
Coverameat P ria tiu g Q ffioei WasMngtogi I * Cd
3« United S ta te s Department- of A g ricu ltu re » 1918= AOHIOULWBAL STA*
TISTICS,
government P rin tin g O ffioei Washington.# D* Cd
k°
United S ta te s Department of A griculture= 19|l »
(YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTUm).
government P rin tin g Office* Washington.*- D= Co-
CLIteTE AND MAN*
9 * Uaited S ta te s Department of A griculture^ , April.# 1 9 0 ° . MISSOURI
RIVER BASIN AUHXCULTURAL PROCmM.
Covernment p rin tin g O ffioei Washington# D» 0«
6= United S ta te s Department o f A grieultured Bureau of Agrioultural
EeottOmieSo September# 1 9 0 « AUHICULIURAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROBLEMS
QP TEE MISSOURI VALLEY=
.
■
Washington* Dd -Co.
'
■
.
:
.
7° United S ta te s Department.o f A griculture= 'Bureau.of A g ricu ltu ral
Economics= February* 19$CL CHANCES' IN CROP PRODUCTION ANTICIPATED
PSQM-PROPOSED IRRIGATION AND RESERVOIR DEVELOPMENT IN THE, MISSOURI
W ER ®ASIN,».
Mimeograph= Washington* D= C=
Bd United S ta te s Department of Agriculture= Bureau of th e Census= 1 9 0
SIXTEENTH CMSUS OF THE UNITED STATES= (POPULATION) =
Government P rin tin g Q ffioeii, Washington# D« C#
.
9 ° U nited S ta te s Department of Commeroed Bureau of the Census=
UNITED STATES CENSUS OP AQRICULWm=
Government P rin tin g Office* Washington# D= C=
190«
IQ=- United S ta te s Department of th e interior= . Bureau -of Reolamatidnd.
78th Congress* 2nd Setsion= ■ A pril* 1 9 0 « ' CONSERVATION- CONTROL ANDUSE OF WATER RESOURCES= ' (SENATE DOWNEENT NO,=-. I # ) '#
Government P rin tin g Office* Washington:#., D= Cs-
'
14% -
L ite ra tu re Gpntulted (Gontvd)
Ho
United S tate# Department o f the I n t e r i o r 0 Bureau of Reolamation.
PUTTING TSB MISSOURI TO WORK.
. Washington# D. 0.
,
12c
United -States GeoiogIoalj Sunrey0 191*1* WATER SUPPLY PAPER 926,
Ror- Meicl OQ-
1+
Brawn* S o r a o e . m h r u a r y * i p i # . YRRIGATIOU IR M B K im , IU G U m W
RELATED RYDH)-ELEGTHC DEVELOPMENTS.
Embassy o f th e United S ta te s of M e rio a » Mexiop# D. P*
2.
Oomlsion del' Papaloapau. EL PAPALOAPiR» 'GBSA DEL PRESIDENTE
aum #,
. /
S e e re ta ria de Heoursos SidrauIiobWc 1 EexiOo,, D. R.
^ 0 Duran, Ihgeaiero Maroo Antonio.
SEVOLUClOK AGRICOLAc
T aile res G rafidea de l a HaeiOru
Iu
XSk1Ja
RBL AGRARISMG A LA
Mexido, D. R. '
Rinoon, Tomas Cepeda., %<M* LA REPUBLICA M lC A B ..
E d ito ria l Progreso# Republioa Ae Cuba*, 85* Mexico, D= Es
5 o S e o re ta ria de Eoonomiac 19W* COMPBHDIG ES TADISTI CO.
Dlreolon General de E a ta d is tio a .' Mexico, D. P.
6.
Simpson# E yler I , 1937» THE EJIDO3- MEKICOtS B Y OUT*
The U niversltY o f North Carolina P re ss. .
7.
United S ta te s Department of A griculture* 191*1»
(YEARBOOK OP AGRICULTURE).
Government P rin tin g Office'# Washington# D. C=
8.
Whetten#, Nathan L. 19W » RURAL MERlCO0
The U n iv ersity o f Chicago P re ss, Chicago, I l l i n o i s .
CLIMATE ASD ISN0-
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
762
001 4500 O
date
9R3R7
L551m
c o p .% .