Laserfiche WebLink
<br />I <br />I, <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I, <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I, <br />I <br />I <br />1\ <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />2001 <br />6.2.1 Alfalfa <br />Alfalfa is the most important forage crop, in terms of production and <br />value, produced in Colorado. Based on Colorado Agricultural <br />Statistics published by the Colorado Department of Agriculture, <br />Colorado ranked fifteenth in the United States in alfalfa hay <br />production during 1984 with approximately 2,387,000 tons harvested <br />from about 770,000 acres. The average state yield was about 3.1 <br />tons/acre for all alfalfa production (irrigated and dry land ) in <br />1984. About 86 percent of Colorado's harvested al fal fa hay crop was <br />irrigated in 1984. Areas planted to irrigated and dry land alfalfa <br />hay in Montezuma and LaPlata counties in southwest Colorado totaled <br />about 30,000 and 17,500 acres in 1984, respectively. Of these <br />totals, Montezuma County had about 13,500 acres of irrigated alfalfa <br />and 16,500 acres of dry land alfalfa. La Plata county had about <br />14,000 acres of irrigated and 3,500 acres of dryland alfalfa. <br />Alfalfa yields in Montezuma and La Plata county in 1984 averaged 2.25 <br />and 1.7 tons/acre, respectively. <br /> <br />Alfalfa is grown as both an irrigated and dry land forage crop. <br />Although alfalfa has a remarkable adaptability to various climatic <br />and soil conditions, it grows best in relatively dry climates where <br />water is available for irrigation. Alfalfa tolerates wide extremes <br /> <br />of heat and cold with some varieties surviving temperatures as low as <br /> <br />-64 degrees Centigrade and others surviving where summer <br />temperatures exceed 120 degrees Farenheit. With this varietal <br />diversity, alfalfa is considered well suited for production on Ute <br /> <br />6- 6 <br />