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Yuma Conservation District’s PATHWAYS PROJECT

Yuma Conservation District’s PATHWAYS PROJECT. A brief comparison between Yuma and Washington Counties. All data taken from the 2002 Census of Agriculture, available at www.nass.usda.gov/census. Why is Irrigation so Important?. Consistent production for farmer

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Yuma Conservation District’s PATHWAYS PROJECT

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  1. Yuma Conservation District’sPATHWAYS PROJECT A brief comparison between Yuma and Washington Counties. All data taken from the 2002 Census of Agriculture, available at www.nass.usda.gov/census.

  2. Why is Irrigation so Important? • Consistent production for farmer • More production equals more gross revenue • More gross revenue equals a healthier local economy • The producer lives on the net dollar, the community lives on the gross dollar.

  3. All data taken From 2002 Census of Agriculture

  4. What do these numbers mean? • The counties are very equal in numbers of farmers and average size of farms. • The main difference is an extra 210,000 acres of irrigated ground in Yuma County. • Without irrigation, Yuma County would not have the cattle numbers that it does. • An extra $470 million in Ag sales can be directly attributed to the presence of irrigation in Yuma County. • An extra $420 million in Ag dollars spent is due to irrigation. • If you figure the average dollar gets spent 5-7 times in a rural community, that is an extra 2.2 to 3 BILLION dollars circulating in our local economy. • THAT is why keeping irrigated acres in our county is so important.

  5. Major Issues affecting Producers • Republican River Compact • Curtailment zone • Currently at 3 miles, no guarantee it will not expand • Metering and Allocations • All wells to be metered by 2009 irrigation season • Next logical step is allocations, most likely 15-18 inches annual use, ability to pool? • Economic Sustainability • If production drops due to less water available, producers needs to get higher return on that production.

  6. How YCD is addressing these issues • Pathways Project • Pathways 2 Market • Low water, value added crops, local marketing • Farm Bill Technician • IWM plans, EQIP, Conservation Planning • YW well test • One of 3 member Districts • PCC tests, flow meter sales, expanding acres • Proposed Cost Share programs • Investigating other grant opportunities

  7. PATHWAYS Project • Contact information • Brian Starkebaum, Project Director • 970-848-5605 Office • 970-630-5999 Cell • brian-starkebaum@yumaconservation.org

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