Rocky Ford enterprise., 1910-04-01

The value of lands and property in
any section of the country is depend
ent upon the productiveness of that
land to some extent, and also upon
the means of disposing at a profit
the results of the productiveness OF
the lands. That is the economics OF
values applied to farm lands.
Land in the Arkansas vallty is reck-
oned in value according to its pro-
ductiveness and means of disposing
OF its products, the same as land i'll
Iowa or in the southern states is
reckoned No one person sets the
price of lands as Interchangeable, but
hey are determined by the demands
made for that land. The demand is
created by the productivcness, and
the productivcness is maintained by
the market.
Particularly is this true in the Ar
kansas valley, which has within the
last ten years become famous for its
productiveness from intensive farm
ing. Possibly no other section of the
United States can boast as truthfully
If the amount OF money possible to
,xtract from one acre of land
through intensive or any other kind
of farming, as can the Arkansas val
ley.
Ten years ago, in the year 1900 to
&c exact. the first beet sugar factory
was built in the Arkansas valley by
the American Beet Sugar company,
was the first step in the economics
as applied to farm values of the val
ley Prior to that year farm lands
in the Rocky Ford section, while
valuable, and nice to have. did not
represent the values of lands as spo-
zen of today by considerable fig
ure. The land was there, as was
the productivencss, but until the es-
adjustment of the first factory for
manufacturing beet sugar in the val
ley. the demand for the productive
ness was not there. and that demand
for high priced product of intensive
farming naturally created as it was
for demand for sugar in this coun-
trv. caused correspondingly in
,rcase in land values. That was ten
wears ago. The same year the beet
sugar factory was built in Sugar City.
which added another step in the eco
nomics OF land values.
Events followed fast in furthering
the beet sugar industry in the valley.
and in 1905 two more factories were
added to those in the valley, both
doing their part in forming the
means of disposing of the products
IF intensive farming in the valley.
The Lamar factory and the Holly
sugar factory were built that year
The following year the factory at
Swink was built. and in 1907 the third
American beet sugar factory was
built at Las Animas. Meanwhile the
Sugar Road" as il was termed. now
:nown as the Arkansas valley rail
road was being built to open up
more country to be benefited by the
means found OF taxing care OF the
productiveness of the lands of the
valley.
Within the short time of sc,>
wears six factories were located in
the Arkansas valley between Pueblo
md the Colorado line. The result
IS well known. With the installation
IT factories to furnish sugar to the
ever increasing demand Throughout,
he United States, the values of farm
1 ing lands in the Arkansas vale,
I went up. 1t was not the bare fact
alone that the factories were there
| representing an investment of mil.
lions. but for th fact that a mean:
had been found to convert the pro-
/ ducts of the intensive farming OF the
Arkansas valley into something for
which there was as tcady demand.
In 1000 lands in the Arkansas val.
ley could safely be said to reprcsen,
| on an average. valuation of S3ooc
an acre. In the Rocky Ford Ford
| and older districts this land value
was higher, undoubtedly. At the
| present time. even at the low prices
prevailing for lands of the produc.
tivcness OF Arkansas valley lands, an
average OF SIoo for the entire valley
| would be very conservative one
When it is taken into consideration