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Hokestra SWSP Page 6 of 11 <br />March 20, 2017 <br /> <br /> <br />Based on the information provided by Weld County the specific information required to <br />determine the actual farm efficiency was not available for most of the farms. For Adler Farm in <br />case no. 2003CW306 a decree farm efficiency of 65 percent was used. For the rest of the farms the <br />Applicant also proposed a 65 percent irrigation efficiency. <br /> <br />Information on the estimated ditch loss for each farm was provided by Mr. Norm Anderson, <br />the Rural Ditch operator. According to Mr. Norm the ditch loss in the Rural Ditch system is <br />approximately 10-12 percent. In prior change of use cases for the Rural Ditch, case nos. 2003CW306 <br />and 2001CW255, the decreed ditch loss was 10 and 15 percent, respectively. Therefore, for the <br />historical consumptive use analysis of the four farms, a ditch loss between 10-12 percent was used <br />which is consistent with information provided by the Rural Ditch operator. <br /> <br />According to the terms of the previous SWSP the Applicant was required to provide <br />additional documentation as to the historically irrigated acreage. Therefore, aerial imagery from <br />1948, 1953, 1967, 1971, 1978, 1988 and 1991 of the four farms that shows evidence of the historical <br />irrigation practices have been provided. The aerial imagery provided show that the farms were <br />flood irrigated and furrow irrigated. Flood irrigation was accomplished using gravity by controlled <br />release from ditch sections. Furrow irrigation was done using siphon tubes. Based on historical aerial <br />photography, irrigation of the fields appears to be uniform and reflects improvements over time <br />including changes in field configurations and leveling. <br /> <br />Details of the changed shares are listed below: <br />Adler Farm – The Adler farm was historically irrigated using 5 shares of the Rural Ditch of <br />which Weld County owns 1 share. The 5 shares were historically used to irrigate 149.65 acres of <br />corn, 29.93 acres of alfalfa, and 119.72 acres of pasture grass, all of which has been taken out of <br />production. The historic consumptive use for the 1 share subject to this SWSP is based on the final <br />decree in case no. 2003CW306, in which two of the five shares of the Rural Ditch used on the Adler <br />Farm were changed. As mentioned above crops grown on this farm were pasture, alfalfa, and <br />corn. The corn was furrow irrigated and the pasture and alfalfa were flood irrigated. Pipes were <br />used to convey the tailwater over the ditch to irrigate the pasture. Delivery of irrigation water <br />began in the spring, and the water was run continuously for the rest of the season. The historical <br />study period for this parcel was 1950 through 1998. The ditch loss was determined to be 10 percent <br />for this parcel. The pro-rata historic consumptive use for 1 share is 63.65 acre-feet. <br />Gould Farm – The Gould farm was historically irrigated using 2 shares of the Rural Ditch of <br />which Weld County owns 1 share. The 2 shares were historically used to irrigate 24.73 acres of <br />corn, 10.53 acres of sugar beets and 10.53 acres of pasture grass, all of which has been taken out of <br />production. Based on aerial photos, irrigated fields consisted of furrowed and/or bordered fields <br />until 1975. After 1975, the entire Gould Farm was irrigated using furrows. Irrigation methods <br />ranged from furrows, borders with contour ditches that appear to collect water applied to flood <br />irrigated areas for reapplication to fields down gradient, and flood irrigated areas. Furrow lengths