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oc ,"On ..U I J The p~ttern of land ownership in the Co~ejos area has renained un- changed for the last thirty years or lo:tger. For the most part tJle far!nen: and water uSJrs are the original settlers and t~eir descendants. T.lere have bee~... fe~l recent il11nigra.,ts or new-corners into the Valley and there have bee~ ~o attempts to develop farming operations on a oorporate or oompany basis. This staternent may be easily corroborated by cheol: of the county records. ~.fuile there are, of oourse, frequent land tra.!lS&otions thoy mny be 1nrsely o:1aracterized as resulting fro~ the desire of a young, vigorous far~er to expa.~d his operations as his capital permits ~~d from the desiro of the older f~rmer to reduce his opcrutions es his age and physioal o~ndltioil dic~ate. Land speculation is virtually unknown. There are severnl large traots with s~ll irriGated aoreage. These are devoted largely to the ralsL~ of oattle and s:leep and the water rights a.re used e.1most wholly for the ?roduction of native hay nnd alfalfa. Some of these traots are included within the CO:lejos District and this fact is to the adva:~a~e of the Distriot as it illcre~ses tho land upon w~icl1 an ad valorem tax may be leviod as permitted by the Colorado law. Tho climnt1c conditions of the area are c:l9.raoterized by meaGer rain.. fall, a short period between killiDg frosts, and an abrupt tra~ition from season to season. It is a paramount necessity that the ground be prepared and seeded within the minim\U1l possible period. This necessitates a short maturing orop that l';".3.~r be harvested in the s!1.crtest possible time. This is especially true in the production of potatoes and sugar beets where the crop must be harvested quio~ly to prav~nt freezing in the ground. ~der such oo~d~tio~s far::lL'lg o:parations are highly ~eohanized a.'1d such moohaniu.tion requires a lar6c additlo~el &mou.~t of invested capital. 7he resul~ is that f~~ni~ opero.tiO:1S :u'.Vo doveloped U1to large-scale i:ldividual far::l.i:1.:;. It;.s wall - 10 .