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

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.

All data taken From 2002 Census of Agriculture

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.

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 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.

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

PATHWAYS Project Contact information Brian Starkebaum, Project Director Office Cell