Economic Analysis of Drought-Resistant Forage Adoption in Wyoming’s Upper Colorado River Basin under Future Water Limitations

Agriculture in high-elevation regions of the Colorado River Basin (CRB) primarily consists of integrated crop-livestock operations, mostly cow-calf operations. Livestock producers in this region use water to irrigate hay, which they use for feed over the winter months. However, the CRB is currently experiencing a 20-plus year prolonged drought. Further, current hydrology and flow projections for the CRB project a drier future.

 

Producers must consider strategies for adapting to reduced water availability. Some producers have begun to adopt drought-resilient alternative forage crops (AFCs) because they consume less water than traditional forage crops and have soil health/water quality benefits. However, AFC adoption is low, in part due to lack of scientific data and economic information on adoption risks.

 

 

The overall goal of this project is to determine the economic viability of adopting Alternative Forage Crops for ranching operations in the Upper CRB. A representative multi-period, optimization model will be developed and coupled with climate projections and policy scenarios affecting future water availability to understand the economic impacts of adopting AFCs.

 

Drs. Christopher Bastian and Kristiana Hansen will serve as co-chairs for the graduate student involved in this research.