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<br />-- <br /> <br />, ~~ <br />~,:;;:!r.. <br />~11 <br />N <br />I,,,".) <br /> <br />AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMICS <br /> <br />Present Land Utilization <br /> <br />;;;;". <br /> <br />Settlement in Conejos County began with the establishment of a colony <br />at Guadalupe in 1854. The site selected for the town pf Guadalupe proved <br />undesirable as a permanent location because of the danger of flooding. <br />Consequently the colony later moved to the site of the present town of <br />Conejos. During the ensuing years through 1877 the county was slowly popu- <br />lated and developed by Spanish-speaking peoples migrating from the territory <br />of New Mexico to' the south.' , <br /> <br />The earliest settler~recognizing the necessity of irrigation to sus- <br />tain agriculture, began to tap the rivers and creeks by means of small <br />canals and ditches. The first priority for the diversion of water from the <br />Conejos River, dated March 1, 1855, was granted to Irrigation District No. <br />1 Which built and operates the Guadalupe Main Ditch. <br /> <br />Agricultural development of the county and the project area received <br />its greatest impetus with the arrival of a group of "Mormon" settlers in <br />1878. This group, and'thos8 follOWing, began the construction of canals and <br />the establishment of tmms and Villages. It was chiefly through the efforts <br />of these people that the present agricultural economy was established. <br /> <br />The canals and ditches constructed in the project area have generally <br />been community enterprises, each obtaining water by direct diversion from <br />the Conejos River, without storage to satisfy late season requirements. As <br />is common in most irrigation areas not having'storage facilities, the result <br />has been peak diversion in the s pring and early SUllllI1er months and critical' <br />shortages in late season. <br /> <br />With this condition limiting the cropping pattern,'together with the <br />availability of public grazing lands and native meadows, land utilization <br />closely related to the livestock industry has evolved. Alfalfa, clover, <br />native hay, small grains and pasture are the principal crops at present. <br />Potatoes, green peas, cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce can be produced <br />satisfactorily, but the inadequate late season water supply restricts their <br />extensive production. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />Of the total acreage in the Conejos Water Conservancy District, 91.9 <br />percent is owned in adequately-sized, well-managed farm units operated <br />principally by people of Anglo-American descent. The remaining 8.1 percent, <br />h~Never, consists of farm holdings of less than 60 acres. The average size <br />of these ownerships is 20.7 acres with 48.4 percent of them containing less <br />than 15 acres. The development of this ownership pattern has followed the <br />same course as in the southwest, estates being perpetually sub-divided among <br />heirs. Of 793 farms classified by value of farm products in Conejo~ County, <br />the 1945 census of agriculture shows that 358, or 45.1 percent, each pro- <br />duced farm products valued at less than $1,000, and for 25.3 percent the <br />value of farm products was less than $250 on each farm. Similar data for <br />1940, which more nearly represents normal conditions, are even more impres- <br />sive. In that year 61.6 percent of the farms in Conejos County produced <br /> <br />1 <br />