HomeMy WebLinkAbout20120300.tiff WELD COUNTY
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Annual Farm Management Operations Report
Prepared for the
Weld County Board of County Commissioners
December 6, 2011
2012-0300
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Executive Summary
• Thornton acquired farm land and water rights in Weld County in 1985 for
its Thornton Northern Project water supply proj1a.
• In the last 25 years, Thornton has contributed over( perpll i0 jo,the local
Weld County economy through its Farm Management operations,
including Voluntary Payments in Lieu of Taxes to Weld County agencies,
and the use of local vendors on Thornton's Weld County projects and
operations.
• Thornton owns 104 farms on approximately 17,700 acres in Weld
County.*
• Thornton owns 77 farm houses in Weld County that are leased at market
rates.
• Thornton's Farm House Repair Program has, to date, addressed repair
needs on 57 houses at a cost of $558,000. Thornton will continue with this
project over the next few years as budget allows. Thornton uses local
contractors and vendors for this Program.
• In 2011, there were 6,970 acres included in Thornton's Revegetation
Program in Weld County*. To date, 4,666 acres have been approved as
fully revegetated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
• Thornton's 2011 Revegetation Program successfully continued the
process of converting formerly irrigated land to native grasses by seeding,
re-seeding, inter-seeding, mowing, and weed management.
• The remaining 10,700 acres in Weld County are still in irrigated agriculture
and are leased to local farmers.*
Change in acreage from the 2010 report is due to research of ownership
records and more accurate GIS mapping.
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Introduction
In 1985 and 1986, Thornton purchased over 20,000 acres of farms and
associated water rights in Weld and Larimer Counties. Thornton purchased the
assets for a water supply project known as the Thornton Northern Project (TNP).
Since Thornton's acquisitions of farms and water, Thornton has operated under a
good neighbor policy of working with farmers, residents, businesses and
governmental entities to effectively manage its properties and provide benefits to
the Larimer and Weld County communities. This annual report, which first
began in 2007, provides a summary of Thornton's 2011 operations and activities
in Weld County.
Since 1986, Thornton has operated a local Farm Management Office in Ault. The
function of the Farm Management Office is to oversee the operation, leasing,
management, and maintenance of Thornton's properties in Larimer and Weld
Counties. Thornton cash-leases many of its farms to local farmers, and several
farmers who originally sold farms to Thornton continue to lease farms from the
City. Other Thornton farms have been removed from irrigated agriculture, and
Thornton has converted, or is in the process of converting, these farms to native
vegetation. This conversion of farms from irrigated agriculture to native grasses
is required by the TNP Water Court Decree, and must be satisfactorily
accomplished before Thornton can deliver water to Thornton customers.
The Thornton Farm Management Office pro-actively manages Thornton's
properties and tenants, and responds to issues and concerns when they arise.
Since 1986, Thornton has spent a total of over $7 million on its Farm
Management operations, which includes activities ranging from tree trimming, to
plumbing and electrical repairs, to culvert replacements. In 2011 alone, Thornton
spent almost $1 million on its Farm Management operations, in most cases with
local Weld and Larimer County vendors.
In addition, since 1987, Thornton has made voluntary payments in lieu of taxes to
Weld County. Up until 2010, these annual payments were in the amount of
$137,877. In 2010, Thornton increased its voluntary payments to Weld County to
adjust for changes in property values and the local tax schedule. The 2011
voluntary payment was $189,172.
For the twenty-five years Thornton has owned property in Weld County, it has
contributed over $9.1 million to the local economy through a combination of its
Farm Management Operations and voluntary payments in lieu of taxes.
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In addition, over the years, Thornton has partnered with local governmental
entities and businesses to enhance their operations. For example, Thornton sold
land to the Weld County RE-9 School District for expansion of the school campus
in Ault and construction of a new station for the Ault/Pierce Fire District. The City
has also worked with local agricultural producers to acquire land to improve their
operations. Fagerberg Produce expanded their onion processing facility onto
land acquired from Thornton, and Longs Peak Dairy recently acquired three
Thornton farms to improve their operation.
Since 2003, Thornton has leased approximately 43,000 acre feet of water to the
Central Colorado Water Conservancy District (Groundwater Management
Subdistrict and Well Augmentation Subdistrict) for operation of an augmentation
plan for irrigation wells in Weld County. In addition, the City has provided
augmentation water to the Town of Pierce (48 acre feet) and the Town of LaSalle
(144 acre feet) for operation of their municipal augmentation plans.
In 2003, Thornton arranged a lease of water to the Platte River Power Authority
from the Water Supply and Storage Company / Pierce Lateral system. This
lease not only provided much needed water for PRPA operations, but also
helped the Pierce Lateral farmers stay in business during a severe drought.
Thornton looks forward to its continued contribution to and cooperation with the
Weld County community.
Thornton's 2011 Farm Management Operations
Reveqetation Protect
Thornton currently owns 104 farms on approximately 17,700 acres in Weld
County, of which 10,700 acres are still farmed. To date, a total of 6,970 acres in
Weld County have been taken out of irrigated agriculture and have been or are in
the process of being revegetated to native grasses. As of 2011, 4,666 acres in
Weld County have been approved as revegetated by the Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS). Thornton implements its revegetation program
with contractors and vendors that are selected through a bid process that is
advertised locally. Since 2006, all revegetation contractors and vendors have
been from the local community in Weld County. Since 2006, Thornton has spent
well over $1 million with these local vendors on its revegetation project. Attached
is a current map of all of the Thornton properties located in Weld and Larimer
Counties.
There is currently one grazing lease in place on the City's revegetated farms in
Weld County. This tenant works with Thornton to manage his cattle
appropriately to maintain the health of the pasture grass on the farm. Thornton
does not allow horse grazing on its properties, as in the past this activity led to
erosion problems.
The pasture grass on the other farms that have been revegetated is cut and
baled by Thornton vendors. This procedure maintains the health of the pasture
grass, and avoids potential damage from overgrazing. Due to timely amounts of
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Weld Collnty2D11 FINALJoor
moisture during the spring of 2011, approximately 2,000 tons of grass were
harvested from Thornton's revegetated farms. This equates to over 3,000 bales
of grass that were harvested and sold to local cattle and sheep producers.
Thornton's current plans are to complete revegetation and obtain NRCS approval
on a total of approximately 7,000 acres in Weld County by 2015. The remainder
of the farms in Weld County will stay in irrigated agriculture until the water is
needed for municipal use in Thornton. It is currently estimated that additional
conversions from irrigated agriculture to native grasses will not be needed until
approximately 2030, when blocks of approximately 1200 acres will be taken out
of irrigated production every three or four years. This timeline is a planning
estimate and is subject to change to meet Thornton's water supply needs.
Reveqetation Report
In 2011, Thornton developed a Revegetation Report to document the status and
progress of its Revegetation Program. This report includes detailed maps of
each of the Thornton owned farms enrolled in the Revegetation Program and
outlines tasks that were completed on specific farms and fields in the
Revegetation Program. Thornton staff completed GIS mapping, research on
legal boundaries, and analysis of aerial photography to assist in the development
of this report. As previously mentioned, this research and mapping has resulted
in the reconciliation of several acreage inaccuracies. The report will be updated
on an annual basis and will include any new land being put in to the
Revegetation Program.
Thornton's Irrigated Farms
Approximately 10,700 acres of Thornton farms remain in agricultural production
in Weld County. These farms are leased to local farmers on a cash-lease basis
at market rates. Water from ditch company shares or wells is provided with the
leases for irrigated land. Thornton generally provides three-year leases to allow
farmers to adequately plan their operations. These farms had the following
approximate crop distribution in 2011:
Crop Percent
Shell Corn ( ethanol production, cattle feed) 36%
Wheat (used for flour) 18%
Alfalfa (used for cattle feed) 16%
Silage Corn (used for cattle feed) 14%
Sugar Beets (used for sugar) 6%
Pinto Beans (human consumption) 5%
Onions (human consumption) 5%
Thornton's Residential Houses
Thornton leases 77 farm houses in Weld County. These houses are leased on
an annual basis. Rent is charged at market rates and is re-evaluated each year
based on local market conditions. Thornton's houses provide affordable housing
options for over 150 residents in Weld County. Thornton's house tenants take
pride in their homes, and generally stay in the houses for over 5 years. The City
has tenants who have been leasing houses from Thornton since 1986, as well as
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long-term tenants who have moved from one Thornton farm house to another to
meet their space needs .
House Repair Program
In 2009 , Thornton began a comprehensive Farm House Repair Program . All of
the Thornton-owned houses were inspected by a local contracting company, and
an inventory of major repairs for each house was generated . In 2009 , high
priority repairs were performed on 34 houses . Thornton then prioritized the
remaining repairs and developed a schedule and criteria for completion . In 2010 ,
Thornton performed substantial repairs on ten houses under this program . The
types of repairs were wide-ranging , and included significant foundation
improvements on two properties, painting of siding , and site drainage
improvements . During 2011 , 12 houses received repairs consisting of new roofs,
new paint, siding , structural repairs and site grading as well as interior repairs
such as painting , sheet rock repair, windows and flooring . To date ,
approximately $558 , 000 has been spent under this repair program . Thornton
plans to continue on the repair schedule by performing work on twelve to
fourteen houses per year, depending on budget considerations . Repairs under
this program are completed by local vendors .
The following pictures are an example of the major repairs performed on
Thornton homes in 2011 :
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Farm #107 Northwest corner of Weld County Roads 29 & 84
Prior to outside painting and roof replacement.
Page 6 of 12
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Farm #107 after repairs completed , fall 2011 .
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Farm #22 located 1/2mile north of Highway 14 on Weld County Road 37
Prior to new roof, painting and grading of ground near house
Page 7 of 12
Weld County2011 FINAL docx
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Farm #22 after repairs completed , fall 2011 .
Fire Department Training
The City of Thornton also cooperates with the local fire departments for training
opportunities using existing , but non-livable structures , for real life fire and rescue
situations . In 2011 , four structures were used in the training of volunteers for the
Ault/Pierce Fire Departments as well as the Nunn Fire Department. These
training sessions provide invaluable experiences to the local firefighters who , in
turn , provide protection to the local citizens .
Residential Property Vandalism
One structure owned by the City but not occupied by tenants was vandalized and
a neighbor to the property reported the damage to Weld County. Upon receipt of
the notification . Thornton staff immediately remedied the situation by securing the
property with additional plywood to cover the doors and windows . Once the
property was secured . Thornton provided notice to Weld County and the property
incident was closed . The property will remain vacant because it is in need of
substantial repairs before it can be leased . These repairs will be completed in
the future as part of the House Repair Program . Thornton staff will continue to
monitor this property.
Status of Farms 8 , 19 , and 118-25
In 2006 and 2007 , wind storms caused significant erosion and blowing dust on
three of Thornton's revegetated farms ( Farms 8 , 19 , and 118-25) . In addition to
damage caused to Thornton properties by the dust storms, adjacent land owners
experienced damage to their property. Thornton worked with its neighbors who
were impacted to mitigate the damage in accordance with their requests .
Thornton also took measures on its own property to improve the conditions ,
including ripping the soil and implementing weed control . As a result. no further
erosion on these properties has occurred .
Below is an update on the specific properties where these dust issues occurred :
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Farm 8
Farm #8 is located east of Pierce and on the north side of WCR 90 at WCR 43
(SE 1/4 of Sec 21 T8 R65 and W 1/2 of the SW 1/4 of Sec 22 T8N R65W) . The
native grasses are well established on this property, and in 2010 the east side of
the farm was approved as revegetated by the NRCS . In 2011 , the west side of
the farm was approved , resulting in the entire farm having NRCS approval . Also
in 2011 , 317 bales of grass were harvested and sold to local area cattle and
sheep feeders . Weeds will continue to be controlled with limited chemical
application and mowing .
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Farm #8 , Fall 2011 . Looking west from the east side of the property at VVCR 90
&43 . (SE 1 /4/4 Sec21 T8 R65 and W1 /2 SW 1 /4/4 Sec22 T8N R65W)
Page 9 of 12
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Farm 19
Farm #19 is located on the northeast corner of Weld County roads 37 & 88 (SW
1/4 Sec 30 T8 R65) . After a 2009 fall inspection of the farm , it was determined that
the grass had not fully established . This farm was inter-seeded in the spring of
2010 , sprayed for weed control two times in 2011 . Thornton will continue to
monitor its progress .
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Farm #19—Fall of 2011 . Looking north on the north side of WCR 88 and east of
WCR 37 .
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Farm 118-25
Farm #118-25 is located on the northwest corner of Weld County roads 37 & 88
(SE 1 Sec 25 T8 R66) . In 2011 , the entire farm was approved as revegetated by
the NRCS . Weeds will continue to be controlled with limited chemical application
and mowing .
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Farm # 118-25 . Fall 2011 Looking north from Weld County Road 88 1/4 mile west
of Weld County Road 37 .
Thornton's revegetation program has resulted in the successful establishment of
a self-sustaining , dry-land cover on the farms that have been removed from
agricultural production . Each farm is unique , and the revegetation process is
highly dependent on natural moisture. Thornton evaluates and adjusts its
revegetation methods on a yearly and a farm-by-farm basis accordingly.
Page 11 of 12
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