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- Incorporated on February 11, 1955
- Organized under the Statutes of the State of
Colorado
- 7 member Board of Directors (all farmers)
- Fiscal year ends January 31
- Annual meeting in April
- 750 members
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Large Grain Trading Operation – 2 locations and
4 put-through locations
Agronomy Sales
RFD – Cenex Refined Fuel Delivery Program
PDC – Propane Delivery Joint Venture with
American Pride
Commerce City Grain – 50/50 Joint Venture with
ConAgra Flour Milling - 7.3 million storage
capacity with a BNSF shuttle loader and unloader.
Watkins Grain – 50/50 Joint venture in a Birdseed
packing operation in Watkins, CO
High Plains Nutrition - Corn flaking operation in
Brush, CO
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- Dry land wheat farmers
- Prospect Valley to Fort Morgan is our main
base of irrigated corn farmers
- Egg laying operations (Land O’ Lakes)
- Beef feedlots
- Dairies
- Urban propane users
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Agronomy gross sales dollars
Irrigated input dollars - $300 to$400/acre
Dry land input dollars - $50/acre
Grain Production
Irrigated corn – 250/bu/ac
Dry land wheat -40/bu/ac
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The water rights have an asset value – some
members look at these rights as their pension
/ retirement plan.
Some members want to pass the farm and
water rights on to the next generation to
continue the family farm.
Some members would like to continue
irrigation farming, but the leased farming
acreage is owned by cities or investors
wanting sell the water rights out of
agricultural use.
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Long term view to building assets.
Your very careful about borrowing money.
Your cooperative neighbors must look to work
together to save capital cost in a declining irrigated
water base.
Your agronomy sales mix is changing between
irrigated and dry land.
Biotech changes in corn hybrid's to allow corn to be
grown on dry land acres changes the production
volume.
Look at opportunities and crops that will use less
water – because this is the trend – do not fight
economics.
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Can the agribusiness industry layout the long term economic
impact of the loss of irrigated agriculture to the state
economy?
Is the housing industry really the economic impact that the
industry tries to credit itself to our political system? Was the
housing credit bubble something that we need to drive our
economy?
Without additional water storage projects, is the Western
United States agribusiness industry going to die a slow death?
Water is getting a lot of press about being a commodity that
is in short supply relative to demand. It is referenced as
“LIQUID GOLD”. If it is a commodity demanded by society,
should it not be priced at replacement value. Replacement
value of water is the cost of building delivery and storage
systems to add additional water supplies to society’s demand.
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Society is getting the water at less than replacement value by
buying up agriculture’s irrigated water at less than long term
replacement value.
Society has the ability to raise finance money through
government water district bond sales and pay those bonds off
through water tap fees and monthly usage fees.
This financial equation puts the irrigated agriculture industry
at a disadvantage.