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<br />i' -~- ;'; 'i"'- <br /> <br />elimination of profits. All but one of the factories had closed by 1967 and all are <br />presently closed. <br /> <br />Although the "Rocky Ford" cantaloupe and sugar beet were largely responsible for <br /> <br /> <br />development of the valley, other crops have proved to be ~adaptable to the area. <br /> <br /> <br />Crops currently soiA€! grown include corn, grain sorghum, alfalfa, soybean, dry bean, <br /> <br /> <br />wheat, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, honeydew, cucumbers, cantaloupe, <br /> <br /> <br />chilies, wine grapes, cabbage, apples, sweetcorn, raspberries, pumpkins, black-eyed <br /> <br /> <br />peas, green beans, squash, cherries, plums, okra, barley, parsnips, winter turnips, <br /> <br /> <br />garlic, and zinnia flowers for seed. <br /> <br />Two seed companies remain as leaders in the development, culture, and marketing of <br />curcurbit and other specialty seeds worldwide. Melon development continues as well. <br />The "Rocky Sweet," a cross between a cantaloupe and honeydew was grown <br />commercially for the first time in 1985 and is steadily becoming a favorite for the melon <br />connoisseur. <br /> <br />Development of the water resource in the basin can be divided into four distinct, <br /> <br /> <br />chronological, and progressive stages: 1. direct diversion development; 2. water <br /> <br /> <br />storage; 3. trans-mountain diversion; and 4. development of groundwater. <br /> <br />The earliest record of irrigation and farming in the basin is 1847. A settlement of <br /> <br />French-Canadian hunters and their Indian wives were reported farming in the <br /> <br />Greenhorn Valley. In the same year, an irrigation ditch was dug by the Bents, of Bents <br /> <br />Fort, downstream of present day Trinidad on the Purgatoire River. In 1853 a report by <br /> <br />~. <br />