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 />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />Departrnent of Agriculture, 1979). Aside from Weld County, in which <br /> <br /> <br />irrigated acreage increased substantially from 1959 to 1978 as a result of <br /> <br /> <br />the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, the counties of Morgan, Washington, <br /> <br /> <br />Logan, and Sedgwick each gained from 10,000 to 25,000 acres of irrigated <br /> <br /> <br />lands over this period. In contrast, the counties of Larimer, Boulder, and <br /> <br /> <br />Jefferson each lost from 10,000 to 25,000 acres of irrigated lands. <br /> <br />Land Classification <br /> <br />A reconnaissance-level classification study was made by the U.S. Department <br /> <br />of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service and the Colorado Experiment <br /> <br /> <br />Station (1979) to identify important agricultural lands in the South Platte <br /> <br /> <br />River basin. The four land use categories include prime farmlands, <br /> <br />irrigated lands, prime lands (if they become irrigated), and high potential <br /> <br /> <br />dry croplands. <br /> <br />In general, prime farmlands are lands which are irrigated, having an <br /> <br /> <br />adequate and dependable water supply for irrigation (a dependable water <br /> <br />supply is one in which enough water is available for irrigation in 8 out of <br /> <br /> <br />10 years for crops commonly grown), a favorable temperature and growing <br /> <br />season, acceptable acidity or alkalinity in the soil, acceptable salt and <br /> <br /> <br />sodium content, and few or no rocks. Prime farmlands are not excessively <br /> <br /> <br />erodible or saturated with water for long periods of time and they either <br /> <br /> <br />do not flood frequently or are protected from flooding. These lands <br /> <br />comprise more than 815,000 acres in the basin (Table 2). <br /> <br />Irrigated lands that are not prime farmland are not specifically ~efined in <br /> <br />terms of certain soil characteristics. They are irrigated soils that, for <br /> <br /> <br />one or more reasons, do not meet the requirements for prime farmland. Some <br /> <br />properties that exclude the land from prime classification are: <br /> <br /> <br />(1) surface soils that are highly susceptible to surface blowing, and <br /> <br />(2) an accumulation of soluble salts within the soils often associated with <br /> <br /> <br />a high water table. These lands comprise more than 269,000 acres in the <br /> <br />-21- <br />