| PROJECT SUMMARY |
Irrigation water is an important risk management tool in limiting drought impacts and boosting crop yields. Additionally, rural communities are directly dependent upon the availability of water and the sustained tax revenue base of irrigated agriculture. Rapid population growth in urban areas is driving a reallocation of water use. Current and evolving legal institutions, on-going drought conditions, and groundwater depletions have significantly threatened water availability for irrigation.
This project provided education to help producers better answer questions such as: should the farm sell its water rights or maintain its irrigated livelihood? Can the farm become more water efficient using various cropping strategies and implementing irrigation technologies? Also, the project will provide education to members of Colorado’s Water Roundtables which were established to “facilitate continued discussions within and between basins of water management issues, and to encourage locally driven collaborative solutions to water supply challenges...” (Colorado House Bill 05-1177).
|
| NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 566 |
| TOPICS COVERED |
| Product and enterprise diversification |
| Leases, contracts and negotiation |
| Understanding of economic risks associated with new production technologies |
| Ability to manage changes in policy and regulation |
