WATER PLANS

Colo Farmers Can Rotate Denver Into Their Crops

By Headwaters News, 1-17-06

Colorado farmers have a new way of boosting their business while preserving their lifestyle, which to some sounds like a dream come true. A new bill in front of the state Legislature called the Rotational Crop Management Bill gives farmers leverage to do more with their water than just grow crops.

Today’s Denver Post reports on the bill, which allows farmers to sell a portion of their water to cities, keeping enough to continue farming. In the past, cumbersome laws made it easier for farmers to sell all of their water, along with their land, if they wanted to cash in on cities’ needs for water. The new legislation allows for smoother sailing through Colorado water laws, which have dammed some farmers’ ability to sell water.

Proponents of the measure say the law makes good business sense for farmers and cities, especially since it allow farmers to cash in on municipal water demands without giving up their livelihood. It also preserves rural economies and makes water a renewable crop, instead on a one-time deal for farmers and ranchers.

It also encourages rotational farming and ranching, and some say that is good for conservation as well. (Read a perspective on this method in a column on Headwaters News.) The idea here is that farmers and ranchers can take a section of land out of use for a period of time to “rest� the land from overuse. With this proposed bill, farmers and ranchers could sell the water that would have been used for that parcel of land, allowing them to keep an income while practicing good land stewardship.

As quoted in the Post, "It's good for the farmer because he gets a steady income to remain on the land," said state Rep. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, who introduced the bill. "It's good for the community because they have tax revenue to support their schools. It's good for the local John Deere dealer because there are still farmers to buy tractors."

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