Nutrient Management On Irrigated Farms In Colorado: Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Best Management Practices.

Irrigated farming in Colorado covers more than 2.9 million acres (1.2 million hectares), and is a valuable part of the state’s economy and way of life. The environmental diversity found in Colorado is represented in the complex variety of farming systems in the state. Production of commodity crops, vegetables, fruits and livestock differ significantly across the state. Successful crop and livestock production in all these systems requires the addition of supplemental nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. In Colorado, as in other areas of the United States, elevated concentrations of nutrients in surface water can lead to eutrophication of water bodies and degrade water quality. In addition, nitrate above the USEPA drinking water standard (10 ppm NO₃–N) in groundwater is consistently found in some regions of the state. Long term efforts to reduce the impact of agriculture on Colorado surface and groundwater have involved ongoing development of Best management Practices (BMPs) by local and national entities. The complexity of agriculture in the state makes the development and implementation of locally appropriate nutrient management BMPs challenging. An enhanced understanding of costs to producers and regional BMP adoption rates can assist extension agents and policy makers in identifying appropriate practices and areas that require more resources. In order to accurately characterize BMP adoption in Colorado nutrient management costs and associated practices in Colorado irrigated agriculture were documented for the 2010-2011 growing season. Data was collected using a mailed survey sent to 2000 irrigated farms with at least 100 acres (40.5 hectares) under production. For non-respondents a second mailing was sent and a follow up phone call conducted by National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to increase response rates. All respondents were anonymous and selected at random based on the project criteria. After the exclusion of individuals who had left farming, had less than 100 acres or do not irrigate, the final response rate was 37.1%. The survey was designed to collect information to complement similar surveys done 1997 and 2002. The fundamental finding of the study was that most respondents are voluntarily implementing some level of nutrient management practices to enhance nutrient use efficiency and prevent losses from irrigated fields. In general, lower cost BMPs had higher rates of adoption, and the more expensive practices may require incentive programs to increase farmer implementation. Further analysis looks at specific factors in BMP adoption such as number and type of livestock and BMP implementation when applying manure vs. commercial fertilizer.