History of Agriculture in Boulder County
For the most part, early human occupants in Boulder County were nomadic
hunters and gatherers traveling great distances every season in search of
food.
By the 1820's Major Stephen Long's expeditions prompted a number of fur
trappers, bison hunters and trading outpost operators to explore and
settle this region. However, the 1859 discovery of gold 10 miles northwest
of Boulder is what set in motion a series of events that influenced the
settlement patterns of Boulder County. Cities and towns were quick to
sprout in the mountains and on the prairies.
Local agricultural production was largely determined by market demands
and by the ability of pioneers to adapt farming methods to an arid
climate. The influx of thousands of young men into the mining camps
further stimulated the need for flour, vegetables, meat and dairy
products. What could not be grown in the mountain meadows was supplied
from farms on the plains.
Wagon trains of farmers from the east brought plows to turn the prairie
sod, grain to replace the grass, trees to provide shade and wind
protection and barbed wire to fence in their livestock and fence out the
range cattle.
By 1871, railroads had connected the coasts and Longmont emerged as a
center for agricultural commerce.
From these early beginnings - despite some lean drought years,
grasshopper plagues and wars - agriculture and local towns prospered. The
flour mills, cannery and sugar plant from those days are now silent, but a
sizable amount of farmland continues to produce wheat, barley, corn, dry
beans, alfalfa, grass hay and sugar beets as primary crops.
One of the goals of the Parks and Open Space Department is to preserve
the remaining significant agricultural lands and another is to educate
residents of its importance. The benefits of sustaining an agricultural
presence here in Boulder County includes:
- Continued local food production and development of agricultural
products, many of which are sold at the Farmers Markets in Boulder and
Longmont
- Utilization of water
resources for crops
- Ongoing protection of miles of wildlife
habitat along irrigation ditches
- Diversification of the economy
- Varying landscape
- Buffers separating communities
- Development of career paths and lifestyles for youth
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