C150150 Market Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 inches, with annual precipitation varying from 7 to 17 inches. The greatest precipitation occurs in May and June, with an average precipitation of2.0 inches in Lamar. The mean temperature at Lamar is quite variable with a mean January temperature of 45 OF, and a mean July temperature of 94 OF. Daily temperatures can range from about minus 300F to about 11OoF. Bent County is mainly agriculture, with approximately 270 farms containing 784,273 acres of which approximately 62,709 acres are irrigated cropland. This land is irrigated with surface water from the Arkansas River and its tributaries and from wells. The farms account for twenty-fIve percent (25%) of market value of agricultural crops in the county. Livestock sales account for the remaining seventy-fIve percent (75%) of the market value. Prowers County is also mainly agricultural with some 522 farms encompassing some 862,953 acres. There are approximately 445,365 acres of cropland of which approximately 111,091 acres are irrigated with surface water from the Arkansas River and its tributaries and from wells. Irrigated crops provide the largest and most stable farm income, but dryland wheat is grown on the outer fringes of the Arkansas Valley. The Arkansas River drains much of southeastern Colorado as well as the area from the Palmer Divide to the south and from Leadville east. The Arkansas River is fully appropriated with most of the available water diverted into irrigation ditches, canals, and reservoirs. Several streams flow into the Arkansas River in Bent and Prowers Counties. Most of the tributary streams are intermittent: they flow only seasonally or after heavy rains. B. Area Economy The economy of the entire lower Arkansas Valley has historically depended upon agriculture, consisting mainly of irrigated crops on the fertile valley land and livestock raising on lands that surround the valley. Because of the abundant livestock in the area and the feed grown on the irrigated land, cattle feeding, and more recently swine feeding, are important industries. Southeastern Colorado does not produce all the grain needed for the area's livestock industry, and as a consequence, grain, principally corn, is imported from northern Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. The present and projected population ofProwers and Bent Counties, according to the most recent Colorado Department of Local Affairs' statistics, is as follows: July 2000 July 2005 July 2010 July 2020 Bent County Prowers County 5,971 14,434 6,158 14,292 6,308 14,550 6,616 15,900 These projections estimate only 2,091 new residents for Bent and Prowers Counties between 2000 and 2020, or a growth rate ofless than one percent (1 %) per year. If correct, these projections indicate that Page 8 of 66