Farming & Ranching
Many of the settlers who moved into southwest Colorado in the wake of the 1874 Brunot Agreement with the Utes homesteaded farms and ranches in the river valleys of the San Juan Basin. Most of them came from the East or Midwest and for many, agriculture was their heritage.
For those who chose to settle in this undeveloped frontier area, growing crops and raising livestock was often a matter of self-sufficiency. Any surplus, though, found a ready market in the mining towns. Agriculture simply wasn't a viable industry in high mountain communities like Silverton.
Even in the warmer valleys the growing season was marginal in length. Spring's last frost often came in June; the first frosts of fall might come in late August. Rainfall was scarce, too. Areas suitable for agriculture in the lower elevations had a semi-arid climate, and irrigation was usually necessary to produce dependable crops.
Farmers grew a variety of vegetables, grains and forage crops. Most farmers also raised fruit; some even specialized in large orchards.
Southwest Colorado's climate and topography offered natural advantages for livestock ranchers. Climate differences between the lower elevations and the mountains made seasonal grazing possible. Ranchers could drive their herds of cattle and sheep into the mountains during the summers to graze off the lush growth fed by winter snows and summer rains. With the coming of autumn, livestock herds were moved to the warmer, drier valleys for winter.
When the Ute Strip was opened for settlement in 1899, thousands more acres became available to homesteaders.
Many of these areas received little precipitation, however, and farming was possible only with irrigation. Ultimately, canal and ditch systems were developed on all the basin's major streams to divert the life-giving waters to potential crop growing areas.
At best, farming and ranching were difficult livelihoods. There were fields to plow, crops to cultivate, ditches to dig, fences to build, cows to milk, calves to brand and a hundred other tasks. The work was seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. Yet many southwest Coloradoans chose this lifestyle, and agriculture was a mainstay of the economy throughout the period from 1880 to 1930.