C150363 Feasibilty Study - Laserfiche WebLink

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Feasibility of the Petrocco Farms Water Rights Purchase Proiect Purpose The purpose of the proposed project is to purchase available shares of irrigation water from two sources, the Fulton Ditch Company and the New Cache La Poudre Irrigating / Cache La Poudre Reservoir Company, in order to replace water sources lost to municipal purchases of water historically leased by Petrocco Farms. By acquiring shares of irrigation water, rather than leasing water, the Petrocco Farms will be better able to guarantee an annual water supply for more of their agriculture operation and enhance their ability to provide marketable produce at a reasonable cost. Proiect Sponsor /Owner Petrocco Farms is a family owned and operated produce business located in Brighton, Colorado. Petrocco Farms operates under two related entities, the Petrocco Family Limited Partnership (Partnership) and David Petrocco Farms, Inc. (Corporation). The Partnership owns land, water rights, equipment and 110,000 square feet of buildings /warehouses used for product packaging, cooling, storage and shipping. The land, water, equipment and buildings are leased to the Corporation, the operating entity, which in turn farms the land and produces and sells the product. The Partnership Agreement and the Corporation's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws are included in Appendix D. Petrocco Farms has been growing produce since 1916 when Maria and Dominic Petrocco began farming in Hanna, Wyoming shortly after their arrival in the United States from their native Italy. Their sons Albert and John began working on the farm when they were eight and ten years old and greatly grew the farm until they relocated to their present location south of Brighton, Colorado in the 1950s. David Petrocco, Sr. took ownership of the business after his father Albert's death in 1985. Petrocco Farms primary business is the growing and shipping of fresh produce to various distributors throughout the United States. Their products are planted, grown, and harvested by over 300 seasonal employees and 50 full time employees. They ship these products to various supermarkets and food services throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and New Mexico. Customers include Kroger (King Soopers and City Market), HEB (Texas), and Safeway. (See Photos - Appendix A) Petrocco Farms prides themselves on the quality, freshness and safety of their products. For a number of years they have invested in third -party inspections and audits to verify their food safety practices. In 2012 Petrocco Farms elected to have a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked audit. The audits approved by GFSI are the most stringent in the industry and Petrocco Farms was proud to be certified by Global G.A.P. a world recognized auditing program focusing on Food Safety and Sustainability.