Raised in Weld by The Greeley Publishing Company

RAISED IN WELD

THE TRIBUNE / SEPTEMBER 2010

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THE TRIBUNE / SEPTEMBER 2010

RAISED IN WELD

RAISED GREEN INDUSTRY IN

STORIES BY

BILL JACKSON

bjackson@greeleytribune.com

VEGGIES ............................ 4 BEETS................................. 6 BARLEY/GRAINS ................ 7

IMPACT .............................. 8 RECORDS ........................... 9

LIVESTOCK ...................... 10 HAY.................................. 11 DAIRY .............................. 12 BEANS ............................. 12 WHEAT ............................. 14

AGRITOURISM ................. 15 CORN ............................... 15

Cover Photo by: JIM RYDBOM / jrydbom@greeleytribune.com

Agriculture.

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the value of sales nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod in Weld was $73.8 million, ranking it second in the state and 45th in the U.S.

greenhouses stretching from Maine to California and from Florida to It’s a word that conjures images of Washington. The Pierce operation tractors, fields of wheat, corn, sugar is one of two it has in Colorado. beets and a variety of other crops. According to the company’s But that’s only a part of the diverse website, it has 450 sales industry that is Weld County. representatives who Several flowers and deliver vegetable and vegetables are grown HOW WELD RANKS IN COLORADO fl ower plants within a under glass in Weld, Total value of products sold 1 specifi ed sales area of making the green Value of crops, including nursery & greenhouses 1 30-50 retail accounts. industry — which Value of livestock, poultry & their products 1 Those accounts number encompasses nurseries, Grains, oilseeds, dry beans & dy peas 3 more than 13,000 greenhouse operations Vegetables, melons, potatoes & sweet potatoes 3 and include mass and sod farms — an Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture & sold 2 merchandisers such as important part of Cut Christmas trees, short rotation woody crops 5 Walmart, Kmart, Home agriculture in the Other crops & hay 1 Depot and Lowe’s. county. Poultry & eggs 1 The Pierce station According to Sharon Cattle & calves 1 was the 33rd for the Harris of the Colorado Milk & other products from cows 1 company, which started Nursery & Greenhouse Hogs & pigs 10 as a small cabbage garden Association, there are Sheep, goats & their products 1 in a Florida backyard in almost 3.2 million square Horses, ponies, mules, burros & donkeys 2 1918. feet of greenhouses in Aguaculture 8 The company was Colorado, but not all Other animals & animal products 1 bought by the Alabama greenhouse operations, Farmers Cooperative she said, are a member in 1975 and during the TOP CROP ITEMS of the association. So next 20 years it realized 1 the number is probably Forage crops (hay, grass silage, greenchop) rapid growth to a point Wheat for grain, all 11 higher. that by 2000 it had 24 4 The most recent figures Corn for grain growing stations and a 1 indicated that Weld is Corn for silage sales force of 175. By 4 the second largest in the Vegetables harvested for sale 2009, that grew to the state when it comes to present 62 growing the green industry. The stations with accounts county has more than TOP LIVESTOCK INVENTORY throughout the United 20 percent of all the Layers 1 States and in two greenhouses in the state Turkeys 1 Canadian provinces. with 25 percent of the Cattle & Calves 1 The Pierce station sales, making it a leader Pullets for laying flock replacement 1 provides accounts in in the state along with Sheep & lambs 1 Colorado, Wyoming, Adams and Jefferson South Dakota, Nebraska counties, according to Th ere are several long-established and Kansas, with vegetable and herb the latest figures from the Colorado nursery operations in the county plants beginning in late winter. office of the National Agricultural and a few that are new. That operation joins the more Statistics Service. The newest is the Bonnie Plant established large operations such The county is also dotted with several sod farms, but with the Farm Pierce Growing Station, which as Tagawa Greenhouse Inc. of downturn in the housing industry is owned by an Alabama company. It Lochbuie, but at the same time the in the past few years, that part of has about 25 acres under greenhouse county has lost Kitayama Brothers the industry has suffered along production southeast of Pierce and and the Colorado Greenhouse in with some of the bigger greenhouse has been in operation for about six southern Weld due to the economy, years. The company now has 62 Harris said. operations.

RAISED IN WELD

There’s been a saying in Weld County for years that goes something like this: If it’s not grown somewhere in the county, then it may not be needed. When it comes to vegetables, Weld farmers grow about everything from asparagus to zucchini. In 2009, according to the Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the state’s vegetable growers produced more than 596 million pounds from four fresh market crops — onions, sweet corn, cabbage and cantaloupe. They had a value of $75.8 million.

In Weld, vegetable farmers dealt with severe weather conditions in 2009 and again this year, as early season hail and wind storms took their toll. In many cases, however, some of those crops were replanted and as the harvest season got started, the quality of those crops was at least average. The state statistics office does not track vegetable acreage by county because of disclosure requirements of individual operators. While the acreage of vegetables took a downturn at the beginning of the century due to a lack of irrigation water, some of that has returned in the past two years when that water was more readily available after average to above-average snowpack in the mountains and higher

THE TRIBUNE / SEPTEMBER 2010

amounts of precipitation from rain. As a result, the state was ranked in the top 10 in the nation in production of the four fresh market crops in 2009, led by cantaloupe (ranked No. 4), storage onions — the majority of which are produced in the northern part of the state — at No. 5 and cabbage and sweet corn, both at No. 7. Both those crops are also significant in northern Colorado. In addition, the state ranks high in potatoes, but the majority of that crop is now produced in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, while there are only two large potato producers left in Weld. Onions, however, are a major player in vegetable production in Weld. Wayne Mininger, executive vice president of the National Onion Association based in Greeley, said traditionally 60 percent of the storage onion crop is grown in northern Colorado, which includes Weld, Adams, Larimer and Morgan counties. In 2009, he said, onion acreage in the state was around 7,800 acres while this year that increased to about 8,200. “Most of the guys out in the onion patch, if they avoided the early hail storms, are pretty happy with this year’s crop. The prices seem to be holding up, so most of them are cautiously optimistic,” Mininger said. In the past, there were two types of onions grown in Weld — a crop that was transplanted from starts in southern climates such as Texas or Arizona, which is sent to market right after harvest — and a second that is produced from seed and can be stored to be marketed over the fall and winter months. Mininger said, however, that transplant onions represent only a small percentage of those grown in northern Colorado, probably 5 percent or less. The Western Slope once had upwards of 3,000 acres of onions, he said, but that has declined to between 500 and 1,000 as growers in that part of the state deal with early frosts, which onions just can’t stand, and

transportation problems. The state, he said, ranks fifth in the nation in onion production, trailing Idaho, Washington, Oregon and New York. There are more than half a dozen produce companies in Adams and Weld that grow and market onions, he added. Weld also is home to Community Supported Agriculture farms that offer a wide variety of produce to their members. Those farms offer a wide selection of organically grown vegetables, along with eggs, meat products and honey. They also bring those products to area farmers markets and some take online and/or telephone orders. In addition, several roadside stands around the county offer seasonal products. Weld is also home to Hungenberg Produce, the only commercial carrot producer in the state, with close to 1,000 acres. The company also grows cabbage and onion sets, both of which are shipped

to various markets in the state and nation. There were 2,700 acres of cabbage harvested in the state in 2009, according to the statistics office, which produced almost 1.3 million pounds that had a value of $13.9 million. The area’s largest commercial producer of sweet corn is Sakata Farms of Brighton, which grows the crop in Adams and Weld counties. Sweet corn, also produced on the Western Slope, saw 6,800 acres harvested in 2009, producing more than 1 million pounds with a value of $14.9 million. Martin Produce of Greeley and Strohauer Farms of La Salle market potatoes, with Strohauer offering a wide range of fingerling potatoes in addition to those sent to supermarkets that show up on the dinner table as baked or mashed potatoes. Both operations also grow and market onions, while Strohauer also has a line of broiler onions, pearl onions, shallots and cipollini onions.

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RAISED IN WELD

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RAISED IN WELD

Sugar beets have a long and colorful history in Weld County and northern Colorado. That crop is said to have bought, and paid for, more farms in the region than any other. The crop has been a part of the agricultural scene in Weld for more than 100 years, but it no longer carries the significance it once held. Despite that, Weld continues to lead the state in the production of the crop, and in 2009 there were 12,500 acres of sugar beets harvested, producing 376,000 tons — which translates to a lot of sugar. That led the state by a wide margin. Yuma County was second last year with 5,800 acres producing about 136,000 tons, followed by Logan County with 4,300 acres and 115,000 tons, Phillips County with 2,900 acres and 69,000 tons and Larimer County with 3,300 acres and 97,700 tons, according to the Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Statewide, there were 35,000 acres harvested that produced 963,000 tons. In 2008, 28,600 acres produced 758,000 tons. The increase last year was due to a number of factors — weather being the biggest, as the Western Sugar Cooperative, which contracts farmers to grow sugar beets, said it lost only about 100 acres of beets to weather-related problems. Earlier this year, Western officials said last year’s harvest was boosted by the advent of Roundup Ready seed and a seed treatment against insects that revolutionized the industry. Farmers were able to spray Roundup Ready on beets and not kill the plants, while the insect seed treatment nearly eliminated disease and insect problems. A lawsuit by environmental groups opposing the use of Roundup Ready seeds, however, could have an effect on next year’s crop and whether that seed will be allowed to be planted. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is conducting an environmental assessment and Monsanto, the company that developed the seed, and beet growers across the nation are anxiously waiting for a final determination, which they hope comes before the start of next year’s planting. Sugar beets were introduced to northern Colorado in the early 1900s, and sugar beet processing plants dotted the landscape from Longmont to Fort Collins, from Brighton to Eaton and east to Fort Morgan, Sterling and Ovid. Now, however, only the Fort Morgan processing plant remains, and it processes the majority of the region’s beets. The Greeley plant was razed to make room for Leprino

THE TRIBUNE / SEPTEMBER 2010

JIM RYDBOM / jrydbom@greeleytribune.com Sugar beets have been a large part of the success Weld County farmers have had throughout the years. Weld continues to lead the state in the production of the crop and in 2009 there were 12,500 acres of sugar beets harvested, producing 376,000 tons - which relates to a lot of sugar.

Foods’ new cheese processing plant, which is now under construction in east Greeley. Greeley and Eaton opened the first two sugar factories in Weld in 1902, and others followed in Windsor (1904), Fort Lupton (1920) and Johnstown (1926). At one time, there were 13 factories operating in northern Colorado. According to the Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the record high acreage for sugar beets in Colorado was 242,000 in 1930 and the record low was 2,500 in 1985. It has been tracking sugar beet production in the state since 1905. The low came during a time when the former Great Western Sugar Co. was in bankruptcy. It was purchased out of bankruptcy by Tate & Lyle, a British company, which renamed it the Western Sugar Co. In the late 1990s, Tate & Lyle began looking for a buyer because of the volatile sugar market in the U.S. and in April 2002, the sale to the Western Sugar Cooperative, a group of more than 1,000 sugar beet growers in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana, was finalized. The cooperative, which is based in Denver, contracts

beets to growers in the four states. Sugar beets are usually the first crop planted and the last harvested. They are planted as early as late March to early April, depending on soil temperatures. Harvest usually starts in late September with enough beets going to processing facilities to get them up and going. That harvest can continue into November, but it will be February or March of the following year before all of them are processed into sugar. The Western Sugar Cooperative, according to its website, produces retail lines of sugar products under the label, as well as several private label lines. Products include fine granulated sugar in sizes from 1/10-ounce packets to 25-pound bags, as well as powdered sugar and light and dark brown sugar. The cooperative also ships sugar to industrial customers. For that market, Western packages sugar into bags ranging in size from 1 pound to 100 pounds, and packages super sacks with weights up to 2,300 pounds. The sugar is transported by truck and rail and sugar produced by Western may be found in all 50 states.

THE TRIBUNE / SEPTEMBER 2010

RAISED IN WELD

AND OTHER SMALL GRAINS While winter wheat is the major small grain crop in Weld, others also dot the landscape, including barley, sorghum, millet and oats. Sunflowers, although down in acreage this year, have seen an increase in popularity in the past few years since it is a crop that needs little water and is a good rotation crop used by wheat farmers as the deep root system aerates the soil while bringing those dryland farmers another source of income. In 2008, Weld ranked second in the state in the production of sunflowers, trailing only Kiowa County in the southeast part of the state. The majority of the crop is grown in northern and eastern areas of the state. The Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service reduced data in 2009 from a number of counties and districts,

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including Weld, to avoid disclosure of individual operations. But in 2008, it reported Weld produced more than 10.6 million pounds of sunflowers from more than 7,000 acres. Sunflowers are grown for their oil and for birdseed or other similar uses. In Weld, most of the crop is the oil variety; the county produced more than 5 million pounds for that purpose in 2008. Much of the county’s barley is grown under contract and is used for the brewing of beer at the Molson-Coors plant in Golden. In 2009, Weld farmers harvested 12,400 acres of barley and produced almost 1.2 million bushels, ranking fourth in the state behind Rio Grande, Saguache and Alamosa counties, all in southern Colorado. That crop grown under contract must meet strict

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requirements by the brewing company; if it doesn’t, it is used as an animal feed under considerably less price than brewing barley demands. Sorghum for grain is one of the lesser crops in Weld, as is millet, but both those crops can be planted on wheat ground that is heavily hailed early in the season, allowing farmers to get a crop off those fields. Oats is another of those crops that is limited in acreage, and in all cases, those crops are used as livestock feed. In 2008, the agricultural statistics office reported sunflowers had a value of $35.1 million statewide in 2008; barley was valued at $44.9 million; millet was at $24.7 million; and the combination of grain and silage sorghum was valued at $18.9 million.

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RAISED IN WELD

THE TRIBUNE / SEPTEMBER 2010

RAISED IN WELD JIM RYDBOM / jrydbom@greeleytribune.com Farmers in west Weld County cut alfalfa during the seasons harvest. The 2008 alfalfa crop was valued at $443.7 million in 2008 and that went up to $457.5 million in 2009, according to the statistics office.

RECORDS CROP BARLEY

Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

CORN

IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE

eld County ranges from fertile irrigated farmlands around Greeley to extensive rangeland to the north and east with dryland areas coming in above the valley floors. The county, according to the latest Census of Agriculture, ranks eighth in the nation in value of agricultural products sold. That includes almost $273 million in crops and $1.26 billion in livestock. Weld is home to two JBS USA Five Rivers Cattle Feeding feedlots, which are among the nation’s largest, as well as beef and lamb packing plants in Greeley. JBS averages about 180,000 cattle on feed at its Gilcrest and Kuner feedlots. The cattle and calves inventory in Weld for 2010 was estimated at 530,000 head, according to the Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, which ranks it first in the state. Morgan County, at 192,000 head, and Logan, at 180,000 head, are second and third in the state.

ERIC BELLAMY / ebellamy@greeleytribune.com

IN WELD COUNTY

In addition, Weld is also a large lamb feeding county, with feedlots containing in excess of 300,000 head on a one-time basis. JBS USA operates beef and lamb packing plants in Greeley. The majority of the state’s dairy cows are also located in Weld, with almost 70,000 in 2010, according to the statistics office. Of the state’s 123,000 dairy cows, close to 100,000 of them are in Weld, Morgan and Larimer counties. Weld encompasses more than 2.57 million acres of land. It is the third largest county in Colorado and is the third most populous area outside the Denver metropolitan area with a population of 254,759, according to 2009 Census figures, which represent a 41 percent increase since 2000. Eighty-five percent of Weld County is privately owned with the other 15 percent held almost equally by the federal and state governments. More than 74 percent of the county’s total

acres, a little more than 2 million, are in agricultural use and if you look only at the privately held land, more than 87 percent of those acres are in agriculture. During the 1980s and 1990s, Weld saw an explosion in population and several thousand acres of land were taken out of production to be replaced by new homes. But by 2007, the latest Census of Agriculture, that trend changed drastically, as the number of farms increased by 26 percent and the land in farms went up 15 percent from 3,121 farms to 3,921 farms in Weld with 2.08 million acres, up from 1.8 million acres. The average size of farms in the county, however, decreased from 581 acres in the 2002 census to 533 acres in the 2007 census. The market value of agricultural products continues to increase across farms in the county. The history of most of Weld is inseparably bound up with the development of irrigation (Greeley

Tribune, October 1930). In 1870 one of the first agricultural colonies in Colorado was established where the Poudre River meets the South Platte. Originally it was known as the Union Colony, but was later renamed Greeley. The colonists pooled their resources and moved quickly to build irrigation ditches. Ten miles of ditch were completed the first summer, 27 more miles the following year irrigating 25,000 acres. (Rocky Mountain News, Colorado Milestones). Currently there are 34 river headgates that provide 940 miles of irrigation canals irrigating more than 393,000 acres, which contributes to it being ranked first in the state for agricultural products sold and eighth in the nation. The production of agricultural products on farms and ranches is how most people think of agriculture. The economic contribution of farms and ranches is often referred to as “farm production” or “production at the farm gate.”

However, the impact of agriculture on the economy is much broader than just the production from farms and ranches. Agribusiness encompasses the traditional farm production of commodities such as wheat, corn, and livestock, green and horse industries with linkages to the agricultural inputs necessary for their growth. Agribusiness also includes the processing and marketing necessary to bring the final goods to the consumer. The agricultural inputs sector includes chemicals, seed, fertilizer, feed, fuel, machinery and veterinary services. The processing and marketing sectors include businesses such as grain elevators, meat packinghouses, warehousing and transportation of food products. In Weld, the market value of agricultural products sold increased 36 percent from 2002 to 2007 to more than $1.5 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2002.

Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

RECORD HIGH YEAR RECORD LOW 791,000 1945 135 bushels 2009 22.54 million bushels 1945

ALL HAY

Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

ONIONS

Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

ALL POTATOES Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

SUGAR BEETS Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

ALL WHEAT Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

1879/80 1925 1879

YEAR RECORDS BEGAN

COLORADO LIVESTOCK RECORD HIGHS AND LOWS

1879 1879 1879

LIVESTOCK

CATTLE

1933 1988 1999

23,000 6.6 bushels 400,000 bushels

1879 1934 1881

1879 1879 1879

1972 1998/99 1972

30,000 2.5 tons 127,000 tons

1928 1934 1925

1919 1919 1919

HOGS

460,000 1943 2,170 pounds 2002 427.5 million pounds 1990

5,000 174 pounds 29 million pounds

1909 1932 1909

1909 1909 1909

1.68 million 3.26 tons 4.78 million tons

1.17 million 1.16 tons 1.45 million tons

1910 1934 1934

1909 1909 1909

17,800 1995 50,000 pounds 2004 614.1 million pounds 1995

700 12,000 pounds 9.7 million pounds

1918 1934 1918

1918 1918 1918

136,000 4,000 pounds 3.25 billion pounds

1922 2009 1996

6,000 3,300 pounds 21.6 million pounds

1879/80 1889 1880

1879 1879 1879

242,000 27.5 tons 3.3 million tons

1930 2009 1930

2,500 9.3 tons 46,000 tons

1985 1908/34 1985

1905 1905 1905

11,000 8.8 bushels 275,000 bushels

1869 1934 1869

1869 1869 1869

1.527 million 160 bushels 159 million bushels 299,000 24 tons 5.23 million tons

ALL DRY BEANS Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

YEAR

All cattle Beef cows Milk cows Annual calf crop All cattle on feed

CORN FOR SILAGE Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

4,000 15 bushels 104,000 bushels

COLORADO CROP RECORD HIGHS AND LOWS FOR ACREAGE, YIELD AND PRODUCTION

1923 1998 2001

3.52 million 1985 43.8 bushels 1999 139.3 million bushels 1985

All hogs Breeding hogs Market hogs Annual pig crop

YEAR NR OF HEAD YEAR

3.75 million head 1.12 million head 300,000 head 1.12 million head 1.2 million head

1973 1974 1934 1973 2001

47,000 head 406,000 head 2,000 head 482,000 head 87,000 head

1867 1927 1867 1927 1935

1867 1920 1867 1924 1928

910,000 head 210,000 head 705,000 head 2.9 million head

1999 1999 2005 2000

2,000 head 20,000 head 143,000 head 377,000 head

1866 1984 1965 1988

1866 1963 1963 1988

1930 1998 1942 1943

360,000 head 165,000 head 180,000 head 175,000

2004 2002 2004-05 2003

1920 1994 1920 1924

SHEEPS & LAMBS All sheep, lambs Market sheep, lambs Breeding sheep, lambs Lamb crop

YEAR RECORDS BEGAN

NR. OF HEAD

3.75 million 335,000 head 1.9 million 1.375 million

RAISED IN WELD

THE TRIBUNE / SEPTEMBER 2010

RECORDS CROP BARLEY

Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

CORN

IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE

ERIC BELLAMY / ebellamy@greeleytribune.com

IN WELD COUNTY

Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

RECORD HIGH YEAR RECORD LOW 791,000 1945 135 bushels 2009 22.54 million bushels 1945

ALL HAY

Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

ONIONS

Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

ALL POTATOES Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

SUGAR BEETS Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

ALL WHEAT Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

1879/80 1925 1879

YEAR RECORDS BEGAN

COLORADO LIVESTOCK RECORD HIGHS AND LOWS

1879 1879 1879

LIVESTOCK

CATTLE

1933 1988 1999

23,000 6.6 bushels 400,000 bushels

1879 1934 1881

1879 1879 1879

1972 1998/99 1972

30,000 2.5 tons 127,000 tons

1928 1934 1925

1919 1919 1919

HOGS

460,000 1943 2,170 pounds 2002 427.5 million pounds 1990

5,000 174 pounds 29 million pounds

1909 1932 1909

1909 1909 1909

1.68 million 3.26 tons 4.78 million tons

1.17 million 1.16 tons 1.45 million tons

1910 1934 1934

1909 1909 1909

17,800 1995 50,000 pounds 2004 614.1 million pounds 1995

700 12,000 pounds 9.7 million pounds

1918 1934 1918

1918 1918 1918

136,000 4,000 pounds 3.25 billion pounds

1922 2009 1996

6,000 3,300 pounds 21.6 million pounds

1879/80 1889 1880

1879 1879 1879

242,000 27.5 tons 3.3 million tons

1930 2009 1930

2,500 9.3 tons 46,000 tons

1985 1908/34 1985

1905 1905 1905

11,000 8.8 bushels 275,000 bushels

1869 1934 1869

1869 1869 1869

1.527 million 160 bushels 159 million bushels 299,000 24 tons 5.23 million tons

ALL DRY BEANS Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

YEAR

All cattle Beef cows Milk cows Annual calf crop All cattle on feed

CORN FOR SILAGE Acres harvested Yield per acre Production

4,000 15 bushels 104,000 bushels

COLORADO CROP RECORD HIGHS AND LOWS FOR ACREAGE, YIELD AND PRODUCTION

1923 1998 2001

3.52 million 1985 43.8 bushels 1999 139.3 million bushels 1985

All hogs Breeding hogs Market hogs Annual pig crop

YEAR NR OF HEAD YEAR

3.75 million head 1.12 million head 300,000 head 1.12 million head 1.2 million head

1973 1974 1934 1973 2001

47,000 head 406,000 head 2,000 head 482,000 head 87,000 head

1867 1927 1867 1927 1935

1867 1920 1867 1924 1928

910,000 head 210,000 head 705,000 head 2.9 million head

1999 1999 2005 2000

2,000 head 20,000 head 143,000 head 377,000 head

1866 1984 1965 1988

1866 1963 1963 1988

1930 1998 1942 1943

360,000 head 165,000 head 180,000 head 175,000

2004 2002 2004-05 2003

1920 1994 1920 1924

SHEEPS & LAMBS All sheep, lambs Market sheep, lambs Breeding sheep, lambs Lamb crop

YEAR RECORDS BEGAN

NR. OF HEAD

3.75 million 335,000 head 1.9 million 1.375 million

RAISED IN WELD

LIVESTOCK

Some 50 years ago, large-scale livestock feeding was in its infancy in Weld County. And it was at about the same time that the county moved into its lofty national ranking, moving up to fifth in the nation as determined by the Census of Agriculture in terms of annual receipts of agricultural production.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Census of Agriculture dates back to the 1820 decennial census, “when U.S. marshals began to ask how many people within each household were engaged in agricultural pursuits.” Then, 20 years later, separate census schedules were used to collect data related to agriculture. Another change came in the early 1950s, when the U.S. Census Bureau decided to collect agriculture data in years ending in 4 and 9, beginning in 1954. Then, in 1978, it was changed again when the Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to conduct the agriculture census in years ending in 2 and 7. Weld has been as high as second in the nation since that 1964 census and has never dropped out of the top 10, and, in most census years, has been the only county in the top 10 that is not located in California. Currently, it is ranked eighth in the nation. The livestock industry is the major driver behind that ranking, and it leads the state or is ranked in the top 10 in the state in many categories. In 2007, Weld was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the value of sheep, goats and their products; No. 1 in the number sheep and lambs; No. 2 in value of cattle and calves; No. 3 in the numbers of cattle and calves; and No. 3 in value of all livestock, poultry and their products. In the state, the county was ranked No. 1 in 16 of the 27 categories surveyed by the census. The last few years, however, have been tough on the livestock industry in the state. Higher costs of grain has resulted in increased costs for livestock feed. That has been driven in part by the use of corn as ethanol for fuel combined with a greater worldwide demand for grain feeds. Then the recession hit agriculture

just as it did the rest of the economy, hitting the dairy industry particularly hard. The high cost of feed resulted in Butterball closing its turkey processing facility in Longmont about two years ago, as well as its turkey feeding operations scattered throughout Weld and its grain mill at Platteville. But the county remains home to two of the largest cattle feeding operations in the nation operated by JBS USA Five Rivers Cattle Feeding. That cattle feeding operation, which includes four of its 11 feedlots in Colorado, has a one-time feeding capacity of close to 1 million head. In Weld, it operates feedlots near Gilcrest and Kersey, as well as one at Yuma and another near Lamar in southern Colorado. Those four lots have a one-time capacity of about 364,000 head. According to the markets division of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the current concept of feedlots in the west began with two Weld icons, W.D. Farr and Warren Monfort, who first fed sheep in pens because the sheep coming off pasture in the fall depressed the price. By feeding them, they could

THE TRIBUNE / SEPTEMBER 2010

specific cuts of beef. Adding to Weld’s dynamic livestock industry is that it’s home to about 60 percent of the state’s dairy industry, large lamb feeding operations, family hog and equine operations, three large egg companies and cattle ranching operations. According to the Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, as of Jan. 1 this year there were 530,000 cattle and calves in Weld, 42,500 beef cows on ranches and close to 70,000 milk cows. Since that early start, there are lamb feeding operations in Weld that stretch from Windsor to Eaton to the Fort Lupton area. Lambs are fed 60-90 days, coming into those feedlots at 70 pounds or more. Many of those lambs are processed by the JBS plant which is near its beef packing plant, as well as another processor in Denver. Weld is also a leader in the state for numbers of equine animals — horses, donkey and mules. According to the 2007 agriculture census, there were more than 10,000 horses in Weld and combined with ponies, mules, donkeys and burros, making the county a leader in the state, while there was a value of

2007 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE MARKET VALUE OF PRODUCTION County 1. Fresno, Calif. 2. Tulare, Calif. 3. Kern, Calif. 4. Merced, Calif. 5. Monterey, Calif. 6. Stanislaus, Calif. 7. San Joaquin, Calif. 8. Weld, Colo. 9. Kings, Calif. 10. Ventura, Calif.

Total $3.73 billion $3.33 billion $3.20 billion $2.3 billion $2.17 billion $1.82 billion $1.56 billion $1.54 billion $1.35 billion $1.31 billion

avoid fall price drops and have product to sell yearround. Monfort started what is now JBS Five Rivers by feeding 18 head of cattle in the early 1930s on his farm north of Greeley. The second innovation by Monfort was to bring the packing house to the feedlot and the Greeley beef packing plant now operated by JBS USA. That plant began operation in May 1960, under the direction of Kenny Monfort, who pioneered the concept of boxed beef — cutting various cuts of beef that would fit in a box that could then be shipped to wholesale and retail outlets. Previously, cattle carcasses were shipped by truck to those operations, which then processed them into

Sales Crops $2.5 billion $1.2 billion $2.5 billion $879.3 million $2.13 billion $736 million $991.6 million $272.7 million $651 million $1.3 billion

Livestock $1.2 billion $2.1 billion $652.7 million $1.4 billion $39.1 million $1.1 billion $572.6 million $1.26 billion $706 million $13.1 million

more than $5 million in “other animals and animal products,” which ranked the county No. 1 in the state. The county is also home to three egg operations that produce nearly 2 million eggs per day, the largest being Morning Fresh Farms near Platteville. A family-owned operation since 1978, Morning Fresh produces 700,000 eggs per day, year-round. In April of this year, there were 1 billion eggs produced in Colorado from its five commercial egg production facilities. The value of livestock and livestock products in Weld exceeds $1.26 billion per year, according to the agriculture census.

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HAY Because of its large livestock operations, hay is an important aspect of agriculture in Weld County and, in most years, it is the No. 1 crop grown in the county in terms of acreage â&#x20AC;&#x201D; although there are years when it is surpassed by corn and wheat. In 2009, according to the Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Weld harvested 151,000 acres of hay with 112,000 of that coming from irrigated alfalfa. In comparison, about 128,000 acres of corn were harvested and 119,000 acres of wheat. That ranked the county No. 1 in the state for hay production. The value of all hay produced in the state in 2009 was placed at $633 million, up from $612 million in 2008. The 2008 alfalfa crop was valued at $443.7 million in

2008 and that went up to $457.5 million in 2009, according to the statistics office. Alfalfa hay farmers will get three to four cuttings of alfalfa hay per year, depending on weather conditions. They will average about 1-2 tons to the acre on each cutting. In 2009, Weld produced 528,000 tons of alfalfa hay and 82,000 tons of other hay, which includes grass and other forage hay crops. Alfalfa hay can be ground as a feed source or baled and stored to be added to a feed ration. The harvest of that crop can begin as early as the first week of June and can continue through the end of September to early October, but that all depends on weather conditions and the condition of the crop.

The cutting of other hay crops begins in early July and is usually completed by the end of September. The yield of those crops are typically only a percentage of irrigated alfalfa, but again, wet years can produce a bumper crop. In most cases, that crop is baled and used as winter feed for ranch cattle when pasture grass is dormant. Hay is swathed and put in windrows in a field, allowed to dry and then is baled and moved to storage. Some green alfalfa is chopped and used in the feed ration for both dairy and beef animals. Typically, the first cutting of alfalfa hay goes to dairy operations because of its high quality.

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DAIRY

At the end of 2009, there were 74 dairy farms in Weld County, or more than half the farms in the state. That is about the same as the previous year, as growth in the industry grew stagnant when the recession began in 2008. That comes from the Colorado Dairy Industry Quick Facts, based on 2009 year-end production benchmarks, said Bill Wailes, head of the animal sciences department at Colorado State University. The numbers were provided by CSU Dairy Extension and Dairy Farmers of America. Those Weld dairy operations produced 134 million pounds of milk each month — 1.6 billion pounds for the year — and produced 57 percent of the milk in Colorado. A gallon of milk weighs about 8.6 pounds. That makes it the 17th largest dairy county in the United States in cow numbers — 69,783. There are about 123,000 cows statewide, with the majority of those in Weld, Larimer and Morgan counties. The total value of receipts for dairy products in the state exceeds $516.2 million and in 2009, that was second in the state for leading agricultural commodities. Colorado now ranks third in milk per cow, averaging slightly more than 23,000 pounds of milk per cow. The average herd size in the state, at 946, is ranked fifth in the nation. Milk produced per capita in Colorado is 565 pounds. In comparison, the milk production per capita in California is 1,069 pounds and the average milk produced per capita in the U.S. is 618 pounds. Total production per cow in the U.S. for 2009 was 20,576 pounds, the third time production had exceeded 20,000 pounds per cow. That came from 54,942 dairy farms in the U.S., which

was down from 57,127 farms in 2008. That reduction was the result of a herd downsizing because of the poor U.S. economy and lower prices for milk. Dairy operations are a major consumer of corn for silage, which, along with a large number of cattle-feeding operations in the county, results in Weld leading the state in production of that crop. Corn silage is harvested in late summer and the crop is cut at ground level, then stored in pits to be used throughout the following year as part of the feed ration. A dairy cow will consume about 7.3 tons of silage per year and on the average size of 946 head per dairy, slightly more than 6,900 tons of silage is consumed. Weld farmers average about 25 tons per acre of silage corn and produce more than 1 million tons per year of the state’s 2.6 million tons, according to the Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The state’s dairy farmers fund their own promotional and marketing organization, much like the state’s cattle producers, with a volunteer check-off program where 15 cents on every 100 pounds of milk is taken from a producer’s milk check. The Western Dairy Association, based in Thornton, works in areas of child nutrition and fitness, customizing nutrition activities and events with goals of helping schools to be the health and wellness leaders. Its nutrition works with the National Dairy Council to provide scientically sound nutrition education. The association also collaborates with the national check-off team in working with processors in flavored milk reformulation,

TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO A group of dairy cows wait to be feed at the Galeton Dairy.

to encourage new packaging that consumers demand, develop new products such a smoothies available at Starbucks and the specialty coffee line at McDonald’s. It also helps retailers develop more appealing dairy aisle space, perform tests on new milk flavors, communicate with processors about new cheese innovation and other similar efforts, and with pizza chains such as Domino’s, which introduced its new American Legends pizza last year that contains more cheese than regular pizza.

BEANS

ERIC BELLAMY / ebellamy@greeleytribune.com A recent transplant from St. Louis, Mo., Bob Smith of Water Valley Subdivision grabs a handful of green beans on opening day at Chapman’s Produce on Colorado Highway 257 in Windsor.

The acreage of dry bean production in Colorado and Weld County took an upward swing in 2009, following a decline that started in 1998. That decline was attributed to a variety of factors, the least of which was the drought years of the early 2000s and higher prices for other crops. But, according to the Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the acreage of dry beans — primarily pinto but including light red kidney, great northern, black or turtle beans, Anasazi, garbanzo, navy, pink, yellow and small red beans — went to 53,000 acres across the state in 2009, up from 44,000 a year earlier. Last year, according to the statistics office, there were 6,400 acres of beans harvested in Weld, ranking it fourth in the state behind Yuma, Dolores and Montezuma counties. But indications acreage in Weld may be up by 20 percent

this year and acreage throughout the state has seen an increase. In the past, upwards of 20,000 acres of the crop was grown in Weld, the majority of them pintos. Statewide, there were 155,000 acres of dry beans harvested in the state in 1998, but by last year that had fallen to 44,000. The uptick in acreage is due in part to a return of irrigation water availability and improved prices, driven by export markets. The majority of beans produced in Weld are exported to Mexico. The pinto bean is a staple of Mexican cooking and is widely available dried and canned. Red kidney beans are commonly used in making chili while the other beans are used in salads and a variety of other dishes. In 2009, Colorado produced 848,000, 100-pound bags of beans, valued at about $26.3 million. Weld farmers usually plant their crop

from May 20-July 1, depending on weather conditions. Harvesting starts in late August, although this year’s harvest, like many other crops, is late due to the cool and wet spring months. It will probably be wrapped up by the end of September or early October. Beans grow on vines, which at harvest are cut at the ground. The vines are then put in windrows to dry before farmers move through the fields with a combine. The combine, with a head designed for beans, gathers the vines and shakes the beans out of their pods into a hopper. The combine then ejects the remaining debris back on the field.

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WHEAT

TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO Jerry Cooksey, left, Jim Cooksey, right, and Jim’s son, Dustin, walk in the family wheat field. They farm together in southeast Weld County with Vernon Cooksey, who is Jerry and Jim’s father and Dustin’s grandfather.

Colorado moved up to No. 2 in production of winter wheat for 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And the 2010 crop was forecast to even better. The state produced about 98 million bushels of wheat in 2009, ranking behind only Kansas. Weld County ranked fifth in the state in the production of wheat last year, with 119,000 acres producing 5.66 million bushels, according to the Colorado office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. But the state had another above-average winter wheat harvest this year, with what’s projected to be a record-setting average yield, according to estimates by the USDA. In addition, prices were boosted by a drought that is limiting Russian wheat exports. That meant the Colorado crop could be worth up to $562 million, which would set another record based on dollar value, unadjusted for inflation, said Darrell Hanavan, director of the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee.

“It feels like Christmas in August,” Hanavan said at the time. The USDA projected a Colorado winter wheat harvest this year of 103.5 million bushels, up from the 98 million bushels harvested last year. It would be Colorado’s largest harvest since 1985, before farmers started entering a federal program encouraging them to take some land out of production, Hanavan said. The estimated yield of about 45 bushels per acre would top the previous record of 43 bushels per acre set in 1999. The 10-year average for Colorado winter wheat production is 63.3 million bushels, or 30 bushels per acre. The estimated $562 million value of Colorado’s crop is based on USDA projections of an average price as high as $5.43 a bushel. Winter wheat fetched an average $6.47 per bushel in 2008, which was a record, but Colorado’s crop was just 57 million bushels that year. On a 10-year average, Colorado has been eighth in

U.S. winter wheat production, and was ranked 10th last year in 2008, Hanavan said. The No. 2 ranking in 2009 was the highest the state has reached, Hanavan said. He added Colorado has never before been ranked so high and attributed cool June weather during grain filling and abundant moisture that helped produce a large crop. Crop failures in Texas and Oklahoma helped move Colorado up in the rankings a year ago, Hanavan added. Winter wheat is grown on the dryland regions of the county, ranging from one end of the county to the other. Winter wheat farmers depend on Mother Nature to grow their crop, which is planted in early fall. It emerges, hopefully, then goes into dormancy over the winter months. In the spring, once soil temperatures warm, the crop begins growing, depending on rain for moisture, and traditionally, in Weld, harvest starts around July 4 and can continue into early August in the northern part of the county.

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RAISED IN WELD

AGRITOURISM The word hasn’t been around that long, but the idea has established a foothold in Weld County. Agritourism, according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, covers a wide variety of recreational, educational and other leisure activities and services related to agriculture that take place on or off the farm or ranch and that connect consumers with the heritage, natural resources or culinary experience they value. There are three general classifications of agritourism activities — on-farm/ranch, food-based and heritage activities. Wendy White, a marketing specialist for the agriculture department, noted in a news release from the department last year that agritourism has provided families with fun

fall activities close to home, which helps when money is tight as it has been for the past couple of years. According to the latest Census of Agriculture, released in 2007, there were 679 Colorado farms that offered agritourism and recreational services, totaling almost $33 million in farm income. But it’s a good bet that number has increased in the past three years. In 2006, the department and Colorado State University economists, Colorado agritourism locations hosted 13 million visitors which resulted in a $2.2 billion economic impact. White said there are no updated figures available from that original survey conducted by CSU with grant funding.

WELD COUNTY AGRITOURISM LOCATIONS: Anderson Farms 6728 Weld County Road 3.25, Erie (303) 828-5210 www.andersonfarms.com

Colorado Cattle Co. & Guest Ranch 70008 Weld County Road 132 New Raymer (970) 437-5345 www.coloradocattlecomany.com Colorado Wingsport 41132 Weld County Road 13 Fort Collins (970) 482-7574 www.pawneesports.com Ewe Bet Ranch 1850 E. Colo. 60, Loveland (970) 635-2379 www.ewebetranch.com Fritzler Family Corn Maze 15630 Colo. 256, La Salle (970) 737-2129 www.FritzlerMaze.com

Miller Farms 9040 Colo. 65 Platteville (970) 785-6133 www.millerfarms.net Monroe Organic Farms 25525 Weld County Road 48 Kersey (970) 284-7941 www.monroefarm.com Pawnee Sportsmens Center 40419 Weld County Road 71 Briggsdale (970) 482-7574 www.pawneesports.com Rocky Plains Bison Ranch 4022 Weld County Road 11 Dacano (303) 833-3791 ww.rockyplains.com Windsor Dairy 6427 Weld County Road 68.5 Windsor (970) 674-0571 www.windsordairy.com Mazzotti Farms & Pumpkin Patch 2628 Weld County Road 49 Hudson (303) 536-4089 www.mazzottifarms.com

SOURCE:

www.coloradoagritourism.com - Colorado Farm Fresh Directory

TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO In 2009, according to the Colorado Agricultural Statistics Service, there was about 83,000 acres of corn for grain harvested in Weld, which produced 10.5 million bushels. That ranks it second in the state behind Yuma County, which leads the nation in the production of corn for grain.

There are two types of corn grown for livestock feed rations in Weld County. Corn for grain, historically, has taken more than 100,000 acres of farmland in Weld on an annual basis, while corn for silage is around 40,000-45,000 acres each year. Taken together, corn is among the top three crops grown in the county on an acreage basis. Winter wheat and hay crops are the other major crops. In 2007, corn moved up to the leading crop produced in Colorado in terms of total value and production. Corn for silage is the first of the two corn crops to come out of the ground each year, and because of Weld’s large livestock operations, it leads the state in the production of silage each year, producing in excess of 1 million tons per year. The easiest way to distinguish the two types of corn is by its stalk height and size of the ear. Corn for grain has a shorter stalk and fuller ear; corn for silage grows to be 10 feet or taller, but it has a very thin ear. Corn for silage is cut at the ground by a harvester that cuts the stalk and ear and throws the mixture into waiting trucks. There is a small window in late summer or early fall that the crop can be harvested with the right moisture content. It is then taken to pits where it can be stored and used as part of the feed ration for beef cattle, dairy and other livestock operations.

Corn for grain is harvested by a combine and the kernels are collected by the machine are then flaked to be used in livestock feed rations, and in recent years for the production of corn ethanol which is mixed with gasoline and used in vehicles. The by-product from those ethanol plants, however, goes back to livestock feeding and dairy operations to be used as part of the feed ration. But because of the large number of beef cattle and dairies in Weld, the county continues to be a corn-deficient area. As such, it imports corn from other counties in the state as well as from those out-of-state. Both crops are planted from mid-April to early June, depending on weather conditions, and the harvest of corn for grain usually starts in the later part of August and is complete by early October. In 2009, according to the Colorado Agricultural Statistics Service, about 83,000 acres of corn for grain were harvested in Weld, producing 10.5 million bushels, ranking it second in the state behind Yuma County, which leads the nation in the production of corn for grain. There were another 45,000 acres of corn for silage harvested in Weld. The price of corn for grain during the year ranged from $3.51 per bushel to $4.37, according to the statistics office.

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