HomeMy WebLinkAbout20103071.tiff At City of
11r' Thornton
December 22, 2010
Ms. Vicky Sprague, Office Manager
Office of Board of County of Commissioners
Weld County
915 10th Street
P.O. Box 758
Greeley, CO 80632
RE: City of Thornton Farm Property Management Update
Dear Ms. Sprague:
Attached for the Weld County Board of County Commissioners' review is the City of
Thornton's 2010 Annual Farm Management Operations Report, which summarizes
certain land management activities on Thornton's Weld County farm properties during
2010.
Thornton representatives will be available to meet with the Commissioners in 2011
during the month of March to address questions from the report, or other issues of
interest. I will contact you after the first of the year to set a date for this meeting and
to establish an agenda.
Thornton is pleased to continue open communication with the Commissioners and
County staff throughout the year. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or
concerns at 720-977-6504.
Sincerely,
Emily Hunt
Water Resources Manager
EH/dm
cc: Bud Elliot, Deputy City Manager— Infrastructure
Mark Koleber, Water Supply Director
Scott Twombly, Real Estate Manager
Brian Foss, Farm Operations Administrator
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Annual Farm Management Operations Report
Prepared for the
Weld County Board of County Commissioners
December 22, 2010
Executive Summary
• Thornton acquired farm land and water rights in Weld County in 1985 for
its Thornton Northern Project water supply project.
• In the last 25 years, Thornton has contributed over $8.5 million to 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 15,985 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 45 houses at a cost of$372,000. Thornton will continue with this
project over the next few years as budget allows. Thornton uses local
contractors and vendors for this Program.
• In 2010, there were 7,187 acres included in Thornton's Revegetation
Program in Weld County; to date, 1,763 acres have been certified as fully
revegetated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
• Thornton's 2010 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 8,798 acres in Weld County are still in irrigated agriculture
and are leased to local farmers.
Page 2 of 11
W elE Lounly 2010 FINAL Ooce
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 2010 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 $6 million on its Farm
Management operations, which includes activities ranging from tree trimming, to
plumbing and electrical repairs, to culvert replacements. In 2010 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
$194,315 per year to adjust for changes in property values and the local tax
schedule.
For the twenty-five years Thornton has owned property in Weld County, it has
contributed over $8.5 million to the local economy through a combination of its
Farm Management Operations and voluntary payments in lieu of taxes.
Page]0111
W e10 County$010 FINAL Loco
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 37,900 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 (35 acre feet) and the Town of LaSalle (128 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 2010 Farm Management Operations
Farm Management Office Move
During the summer of 2010, the City of Thornton moved its office from 111 South
2nd Avenue, Ault, to the old Highland Middle School building located at 215 South
1st Avenue, Ault. The City rents the space from the Weld County RE-9 School
District, which provides the District with revenue from an otherwise under-utilized
facility. Thornton upgraded the HVAC system and made other improvements to
the building. This partnership between Thornton and the District has worked
well; the new office offers better accessibility to Thornton's tenants, vendors,
customers and the general public. All other contact information remains the
same.
Revegetation Protect
Thornton currently owns 104 farms on approximately 15,985 acres in Weld
County, of which 8,798 acres are still farmed. To date, a total of 7,187 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 2010, 1,763 acres in
Weld County have been accepted, or certified, 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.
Page 4 o111
Weld County 2010 FINAL noex
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
moisture during the spring of 2010, over 3,000 tons of grass was harvested from
Thornton's revegetated farms. This equates to over 5,000 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
certification on a total of approximately 8,000 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.
Thornton's Irrigated Farms
Approximately 8,798 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 2010:
Crop Percent
Shell Corn (used for flour, cattle feed) 34%
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%
Sunflowers (seeds-human consumption) 2%
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
Page 50111
Weld County 2010 FINAL Roca
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
long-term tenants who have moved from one Thornton farm house to another to
meet their space needs .
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. To date , approximately $372,000 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 2010 :
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Farm #61 -15 Located at the south west corner of Hwy 14 and WCR 33
Foundation repairs to stabilize the home . Picture taken during repair.
Page 6 of 11
Weld County 2010 FINAL docx
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Farm #61 - 15-- same house after repairs completed in fall of 2010.
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Farm #61 - 15 . Interior of house prior to foundation repair.
Page 7 of 11
Weld County 2010 FINAL.docx
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Farm #61 - 15 . Same wall after repair and foundation fixed .
Status of Farms 8 , 19 , and 118-25
In 2006 and 2007 , wind storms caused erosion and blowing dust on three of
Thornton's revegetated farms (Farms 8, 19 , and 118-25). Following is an update
on the efforts to re-establish grasses on these farms .
Farm #8 is located east of Pierce and on the north side of WCR 90 at WCR 43
(SE '/4 of Sec 21 T8 R65 and W 1/2 of the SW 'A of Sec 22 T8N R65W) . The
native grasses are well established on this property, and weeds are controlled
with limited chemical application . The east side of this farm has now been
certified as a revegetated farm by the NRCS . The west side still has a few acres
that have not filled in with grass to meet the NRCS standards. Thornton
anticipates that the grass in this area will continue to fill in , and is hopeful that the
whole farm will become certified in 2011 .
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Farm #8 , Fall 2010 . Looking east from the west side of the property
WCR 90 &43 . (SE1 /4 Sec21 T8 R65 and W1 /2 SW1 /4 Sec22 T8N R65W)
Page 8 of 11
Weld County 2010 FINAL.docx
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Farm #8 , Fall 2010
Northeast corner of WCR 90 & 43 just north of the house looking south .
Farm #19 is located on the northeast corner of Weld County roads 37 & 88 (SW
1/4 Sec 30 T8 R65). A 2009 fall inspection of the farm concluded that the grass
had not fully established . Thornton inter-seeded the farm in the spring of 2010 ,
and Thornton will continue to monitor its progress in 2011 .
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Farm #19—Fall of 2010. Looking east just on the north side of WCR 88 and east
of WCR 37 .
Page 9 of 11
Weld County 2010 FINAL door
Farm #118-25 is located on the northwest corner of Weld County roads 37 & 88
(SE 1/4 Sec 25 T8 R66 ). While there are portions of this farm where the grass is
fully established , there are other portions where the grass is too thin for
certification by the NRCS . Thornton will continue to monitor the grass, and will
perform chemical weed control in 2011 .
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Farm #118-25. Fall 2010 Looking north from Weld County Road 88 just 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 10 of 11
Weld County 2010 FINAL docx
'Manton Northern Project Revegetation Program Weld County Through SepSomber 2010
Thornton Northern Project Revegetation r///i CS�
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aAcreage Status for TNP VN9Id Carty Farms as of September 2010
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3.t 85 Total acreage of Weld County TNP farms. 15.885
Weld County TNP leased farm acreage: 8,798
a as Weld Carty TNP NRCS certiled acreage: 1.763
Weld County TNP Acreage in Revegetatlon Program. 7,187
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