Weld County, just northeast of Denver, “is the epicenter of urban growth and changing land use in Colorado,” says public broadcaster KUNC. Its population, now around 270,000, is forecast to double in the next 25 years, squeezing onto some of the 2.5 million acres of farmland in the county, which is the top producer of sugar beets, grain and beef cattle in the state. “Weld County is working hard to preserve its agricultural roots. Its county code has a specific Right to Farm Statement. Farmers, water managers, land planners and policy makers are looking for alternatives to the traditional buy and dry process, where cities buy ag water rights shifting them to municipal use,” says KUNC.
A potential alternative is for farmers to practice rotational fallowing so they can lease water for city use but not sell their rights to it. A bill to allow other types of temporary transfers of irrigation water failed in the state Legislature. One planner says it may take years for an urban-rural accommodation to be found. Farmer Kent Peppler, who can see housing subdivisions from his farmstead, says urban development is arriving faster than expected. “We all knew it was coming, but I didn’t think it would be in my lifetime and here we are in the middle of it,” Peppler told KUNC.