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<br />CDIVI <br /> <br />SWSI Phase 2 Technical Roundtable <br />Agricultural Transfer Alternatives to Permanent Dry-up <br /> <br />certain change decrees, transferred water can still be used for irrigation if the use is <br />designated prior to irrigation season. <br /> <br />A more detailed discussion of Colorado Water Law as it applies to agricultural <br />transfers can be found in Section 4 of the SWSI Report. <br /> <br />In some areas of the state, and particularly the Front Range, agricultural transfers are <br />commonly used to develop supplies to meet M&I needs, and are important options <br />included in the SWSI process. As development of new water supplies becomes more <br />difficult due to permitting and limited available supply, M&I water providers are <br />predicted to increase their acquisition of senior agricultural water rights as a way to <br />meet future demands. <br /> <br />3. Colorado Agricultural Economy <br /> <br />Section 2 of the SWSI Report discusses the Colorado agricultural economy and <br />information on other economic sectors and their role to Colorado's overall economy. <br />The following information on Colorado's agricultural economy is taken from <br />Section 2.2.2 of the SWSI Report <br /> <br />Irrigated Farmland in Colorado <br /> <br />Agriculture is the largest consumptive user of Colorado water, and is one of the state's <br />most significant economic sectors, encompassing a large share of the land in the state. <br />Table 1 is a summary of irrigated farmland trends in Colorado from 1987 to 1997. The <br />U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service <br />(1997) reports that irrigated farmland in Colorado rose from 3,013,773 acres in 1987 to <br />3,430,129 acres in 1997. Note that these estimates differ from the estimates of irrigated <br />acreage reported in Section 5 of the SWSI Report due to the use of different sources <br />and methods. The number of farms with irrigation increased from 14,913 in 1987 to <br />15,470 in 1997, while the average irrigated land per farm increased from 202 acres per <br />farm to 222 acres per farm over the same period. This increase in irrigated land is <br />largely attributable to the increase in the numbers of farms with less than 50 irrigated <br />acres (rising from 5,753 farms in 1987 to 6,685 farms in 1997) and those with more <br />than 500 irrigated acres (rising from 1,484 farms in 1987 to 1,820 farms in 1997). <br /> <br />Table 1 Trends in Irrigated Farmland in Colorado: 1987 to 1997 <br />I .- .- <br />Total Irrigated Farmland (acres) I 3,013,773 I 3,430,129 I <br /> <br />Total Farms with Irrigated Land (# of farms) 14,913 15,470 <br />Farms with less than 50 Irrigated Acres I 5,753 I 6,685 <br />Farms with 50 to 500 Irrigated Acres 7,676 6,965 <br />Farms with more than 500 Irrigated Acres I 1 ,484 I 1,820 <br />Average Irrigated Land per Farm (acres/farm) 202 222 <br /> <br />Source: U.S. National/Agricultural Statistics Service <br />(www.nass.usda.gov/census97/volume1/co-6/c01_08.pdf) <br /> <br />DRAFT <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />S:\MEETINGS\TECHNICAL ROUNDTABLE\TRT MEETING - SPECIFIC\AL TERNATIVE AG TRANSFERS\SWSI TRT ALTERNATIVES TO PERMANENT DRY-UP BRIEFING 9-6-05_CJEDOC <br />