2013-01-29_REVISION - C1981008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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farmland" as: "land which has been historically used for cropland and that, in accordance with 7 C.F.R. 657, as amended, has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics of producing food, feed, forage, fiber and oilseed crops, is also available for these uses and as interpreted by the USDA Soil Conservation Service for Colorado. "' 2 C.C.R. 407 -2 § 1.04(95). The referenced federal regulations of the Natural Resources Conservation Service found at 7 C.F.R. § 657 define prime farmlands in qualitative terms as those having "..an adequate and dependable water supply, a favorable temperature and growing season, acceptable acidity and alkalinity, acceptable salt and sodium content, and few or no rocks..." 7 C.F.R. § 657.5(a)(1). In quantitative terms, the soils have, in relevant part, the following characteristics: (B) Xeric or ustic moisture regimes in which the available water capacity is limited, but the area has a developed irrigation water supply that is dependable (a dependable water supply is one in which enough water is available for irrigation in 8 out of 10 years for the crops commonly grown) and of adequate quality;... (iii) ..a pH of between 4.5 and 8.49 in all horizons within a depth of 40 inches 8 The United States Soil Conservation Service is now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). 9 The pH figure of 8.4 was enacted into the Code of Federal Regulations on January 31, 1978, as published in 65 F.R. 57538. This limiting pH figure is a central issue in this case in that the soils on the Morgan Property qualify as prime under this definition. WFC offered (and DRMS accepted) a negative prime farmland determination as to soils on the Morgan Property, purportedly based upon a different pH figure in another publication. DRMS apparently did not rely upon the standard published in the federal regulations, despite the requirement in 15