Quoted By:
Garrett: Leather is cheap here, relatively. It would be expensive to process the leather here, ship it West and then back here.
Lewis: That stuff looked sturdier than what we wear around here, I’d love to give my boys some of the gloves they were making.
[That’s why I brought you to the boonies out here, I thought it would be good to see the results of our labor. Our investment helped get them started and they’re producing something for our citizens, the NCR and even the Legion.]
Garrett: It remains to be seen how much waste and corruption came from that investment, as well as who will ultimately be able to stay afloat, but the short-term benefits are amazing.
[I’ll expect a council report from each one of you next month but for now, how has the RMRP progressed in your views and what else can be done?]
Ted: I know we’ve moved past the agricultural aspect of it, but it’s still important to keep an eye on it. It took me a while to realize it but we’re close to our capacity here in the Mojave. There’s not much arable land and it’s just about all claimed now. What grazing land is taken by my father or the few independent ranchers left. There’s still a lot of possibilities to use Lake Mead to fish, farm and hunt but the lakelurks scare people off.
Lewis: I’m familiar with phosphate mining, we did a lot of it back in the NCR. I’m not sure if there are sources of potash or potassium-something but that would be a good idea to look into.
Ted: Between those toilets at Freeside and the manure from the livestock, we have a good supply of natural manure but that only goes so far. Otherwise, a complete overhaul of the irrigation systems in the Mojave would really go a long way for improved yield.
Garrett: I have seen an increased import of farming equipment, how has that helped?
Ted: A lot, but there’s a limit for hand tools. If we can start providing the larger farms with mechanized equipment, or even quality plows and draft animals, that’s another way to squeeze out everything we can from the land. I guess that’s my input, the easy food is done and now we need to start thinking creatively.
[Thanks, Ted. Keep me apprised of any dramatic changes. Who’s next?]
Raul: I have something, boss. I don’t have an answer on what we can do about the roads yet but I think we can work with the Postmaster to build more stops along the way. Some people have opened roadside rest stops on the busier routes but that’s a way to make traveling safer. Otherwise, we should try to fix up more of those rails through here. They cover most of the desert and it would be easier than fixing up roads and building cars.
