Final Report on Kremmling-area Ag Conservation Study Now Available

A multi-year study on the results of paying ranchers to withhold irrigation from high-elevation hay fields in Colorado’s Grand County has been released and is now available on the Colorado Basin Roundtable’s website.

“We started this study to answer a simple but critical question: if ranchers voluntarily reduce irrigation, what really happens on the ground?” said Bruchez. “After years of monitoring, we’ve learned that the impacts are complex—there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But we now have solid data to guide future decisions, and that’s the point. This work gives us a foundation for conversations about how agriculture can be part of water management based on knowledge and science. My hope is that these results help build trust and practical options for producers and the river alike.”

The study, in which producers were paid to withhold irrigation from test fields in 2020, found that both water conservation and yield reductions persisted to some degree for several years after 2020, despite a return to normal irrigation practices, and that the payments to producers were adequate to cover the reduced productivity for those growing hay for sale, but not for those who grew the hay to support livestock. Producers who withheld irrigation for only part of the season still experienced reductions in water use and yields, but these impacts were smaller and shorter in duration than those faced by producers who withheld irrigation for the entire season.

CSU Researcher Perry Cabot commented, "What’s important here is that these conservation outcomes weren’t theoretical ... we measured real reductions in water actually consumed by irrigated pastures, while also documenting how fields recover over time once irrigation resumes. What we found is that how irrigation is reduced matters—partial-season cutbacks can save water with little long-term impact, while full-season withdrawal can suppress hay production for several years.”

“The Colorado Basin Roundtable was pleased to be a sounding board and to provide monetary support for this project. It is critical that farmers and ranchers have ground proofed data to make well informed decisions as we face an uncertain water future,” said Kirsten Kurath, Co-Vice Chair of Colorado Basin Roundtable.

The study also compared in-field methods of measuring water consumption to remote-sensing methods using imagery from satellites and found that the remote-sensing methods provided a credible alternative to the more expensive and labor-intensive field-based methods. Cabot explained, "Satellite data show us the big picture, but the field instruments let us confirm what’s really happening on the ground ... and together they tell a very consistent story about real water conservation."

In addition, interviews with producers provided insights into the factors influencing producers’ willingness to participate in paid conservation programs, which included how participation would affect water distribution on shared ditches and their trust in the importance of the project for addressing regional water challenges. Elements of the study that sought to understand impacts of irrigation changes on river flows and bird habitat were inconclusive, likely due in part to the small study area relative to the overall watershed.

Final reporting on the project includes Evaluating Conserved Consumptive Use in the Upper Colorado River Basin: Final Summary Report and a series of more detailed technical reports covering different aspects of the project. All are available at Upper Colorado Study - Colorado Basin Roundtable.

For more information, contact Lena Rueck at lena.rueck@tnc.org.