Celebrating a Milestone to Protect Prime Farmland

How the Acquisition of a 620-Acre Farm can Lead to the Permanent Protection of Thousands of Acres of Prime Farmland 

In the heart of southeastern Colorado, where the Arkansas River weaves through Pueblo's agricultural landscape, a story of community resilience is unfolding. For generations, Pueblo's identity has been rooted in its rich farming heritage—from its iconic Pueblo chiles to the sweet melons that grace dinner tables across the region. But like many Western communities, Pueblo faces a critical challenge: the potential loss of its precious farmland due to water scarcity and urban growth pressures.

Multigenerational farmers and the community as a whole faced an unsettling reality when a municipality acquired nearly one-third of the water shares from the historic Bessemer Ditch. Some of the region's most productive farms—which comprise only 2% of Pueblo County’s land—were at risk of being permanently dried up. This isn't just about losing farms; it’s about potentially losing a way of life that has shaped Pueblo's culture and economy for over a century, and the impact that would be felt across the region.

But Pueblo's story isn't one of loss—it's one of hope and innovation. For over a century, the farmers of Pueblo have stood as heroes of resilience, preserving their agricultural heritage through countless challenges, and once again they knew the community could come together to address the pressing threats to their land, water, and way of life. Through the guidance of Palmer Land Conservancy and dedicated partners, the community-driven Bessemer Farmland Conservation Project launched to discover ways to mitigate the future dry-up of more than 5,000 acres of farmland in Pueblo County. After years of ecological and economic research and analysis, an innovative idea to minimize the looming dry-up of farms began to take root. 

Traditional water transactions between cities and farms lead to many unintended yet detrimental impacts on rural communities and the environment. The Bessemer Project envisions a better approach to market-driven water deals, one that would allow healthy cities, vibrant agricultural communities, and resilient landscapes to thrive.

In essence, the tools developed for the Bessemer Project identify the most productive farms slated for dry-up and provide a legal mechanism to voluntarily transfer water rights from less productive lands to farms identified as ‘critical production areas.’ Once prime farmland is reunified with permanent water rights, Palmer Land Conservancy would permanently protect the land and water with a conservation easement. 

With the innovative tools and research in place, Palmer began searching for a farm up for sale that met the criteria of a highly productive farm without permanent water rights as a test case for the project. As with many pioneering ideas, the first demonstration of the concept will confirm the framework's viability to scale farmland protection on the Bessemer and pave the way for this innovative approach to help solve similar challenges throughout the arid West.  

After a couple of years of diligently seeking out the ideal candidate farm, we’re proud to announce the acquisition of a 620-acre jewel of agricultural land with some of the most fertile soil in Colorado that is at risk of being lost as a test case for reuniting prime farmland slated for dry-up with permanent water rights, ensuring it will now remain a farm forever. This farm with rich soils can produce an abundance of crops, from the beloved Pueblo chile to corn, onions, melons, pumpkins, and more. 

This community-driven conservation effort represents a collective win for all involved. It is made possible by the steadfast commitment of farmers and partners and the enthusiastic support of all of you within the Palmer Land Conservancy community. We are incredibly grateful to The Conservation Fund for their funding and partnership in making this farm transaction possible. Their support has been instrumental in our efforts to preserve this vital resource. 

Next, we’ll begin implementing the innovative legal tool to reunite the first 80 acres of the farm with permanent water rights. Once those initial acres are conserved, Palmer will sell them to the local family farmer who volunteered to transfer his permanent water rights from less productive land to the exceptional farmland. The farmer will then utilize the water leased from the municipal owner to irrigate lower-yield fields, ensuring continued crop production until the municipality’s water demand necessitates a shift from agricultural use to municipal use. When the city concludes the water lease, the less productive land will be rehabilitated to short-grass prairie, enhancing adjacent habitats and protected from future development.   

Farm photos generously provided by Darrell Fisher and St. James Sporting Properties

Our ultimate strategy is to protect 2,000 acres of the more than 5,000 acres of prime farmland along the Bessemer slated for dry-up—the amount we’ve analyzed would keep Pueblo’s agricultural industry intact. Reaching this goal will take several transactions, with the potential to work with more farmer partners in Pueblo.

Our goal is simple: to keep the best of the best farmland in Pueblo in the hands of hard-working farmers so that the community remains whole economically, environmentally, and culturally. The success of this project will also provide a framework and approach for other Western communities grappling with similar water challenges to consider employing.

As we celebrate this milestone, we're not just announcing the purchase of one farm—we're celebrating the power of a community to shape its destiny. This project will set the stage for protecting more crucial farmland, ensuring future generations will continue to benefit from Pueblo's rich agricultural bounty by keeping the very best farmland in the skilled hands of family farmers for countless generations. In a time when many communities face seemingly insurmountable challenges around water and growth, Pueblo's story shines as a beacon of hope, showing that with vision, collaboration, and determination, we can create a future where both cities and farms thrive together.