Rocky Ford enterprise., 1912-12-20
FARM DEVELOPMENT
GREAT INCREASE SHOWN IN
COLORADO FARM PRODUCTS.
Figures in Bulletin On Live Stock
And Crops Raised In Centennial
State Show Advancement.
western Newspaper Union News Service.

ouctS LOT Colorado during 1909 are
presented in bulletin issued by Di-
rector Durand of the government CEN
sus bureau, showing the remarkable
increase In livestock and crops in the
decade just prior to the taking of the
last census.
The comparisons are not exact in
many instances because of the lack
of detailed information available in
1893, which made 1t necessary in
some instances to count by-products
in with the actual products, thus
doubling up the figures in some in.
stances.
The report says in part
"Ths number Of farms dn Colorado
reporting dairy COWS on April 16, 1910,
was 1850, but only 23,235 reported
dairy products In 1909. The number
Of dairy cows on such farms on April
Is. 1910. was 94.132. The amount OF
milk reported was 33.632.000 gallons.
by reason Of the incompletness Of
the returns for milk produced the CEN
sus bureau has made no attempt to
determine the total value of dairy pro-
ducts for 1909. For convenience a
partial total has been presented COM
prising the reported value of milk.
cream and butter fat sold and the re-
ported value of butter and cheese
made, whether for home consumption
or for sale. The total thus obtained
for 1909 is s4,174,00O, which may be
defined as the total value of dairy
~ nd m,
used on the farm producing. The
butter made on farms in 1909 was
valued at s1,565.000.
1.-THE total number of sheep of
shearing age in Colorado on April Is,
1910. was 100000, representing de-
crease of 3.5 per cont, as compared
with the number on June /. 1900 H.
S53.OOO). The approximate production
of wool during 1909 was 1,254.000
fleeces. weighing 7.563.000 pounds
and valued at $1,458,000.
1.-THE total number of fowls on Col
orado farms on April 10, 1910, was
1.721, 900. OF the 34.491 farms report
ing fowls. 9,4OS did not report any
eggs produced In 1909, and 10.537 did
not report any poultry raised in 1909.
The production of eggs actually re-
ported for the year 1909 was 5.5so.00o
dozen, valued at $1.96s,000.
1.-THE total production of eggs in
1909, Including estimates, was 10,652..
900 dozen. valued at $2,444.000. The
total production of poultry in 1909, in.
cluding estimates made on the
same basis as in the case OF eggs, was
2.707, 900 fowls, valued at $1,393,000.
"The total value of domestic ami.
mails sold during 1909 was $22.454,
600. and that OF animals slaughtered
on farms $1.754. 900. making an aggre
gate of $24,2Os.ooo.
The census of 1900 called for the
receipts from the sale of all domestic
ing and the total value of those
slaughtered during 1899, which
amounted. respectively. to $s,47s.00t
and $1.093.oO0.
The total value ePf crops in Colo
redo in 1909 was '$50,975,000. The
combined acreage Of crops for which
acreage was reported was 2.614.s12
improved land In farms (4,302, 101
acres).
THE general character of Colorado
agriculture II indicated by the fact
that less than one-third (29 per cent?
of the total value OF crops in 1909
was contributed by the cereals. about
one-third (33.9 per cent? by hay and
forage. about one-eighth (12 per cent?
by sugar crops, and about one-eighth
(11.9 per cent? by potatoes and 9TH
er vegetables. The remainder, repre-
senting 1872 per cent. of the total
consisted mostly of fruits and nuts.
'In 1903 the total acreage of pota
toes and other vegetables was 11s.2s2,
and their value $6,059,000.
"Raspberries and loganberries are
the most important of the small fruits
raised In Colorado. juds1d by value,
with Strawberries a close second. The
value of the raspberry and loganberry
crop in 1909 was $156,66S; of the
strawberry crop, $156.059. The total
acreage of small fruits in 1909 was
2,s2s, and in 1899, 2,347, an increase
of 20.5 per cent. The production In
1909 was 4.295.OOO quarts, as com.
pared with 3,649,000 quarts in 1893,
and the value $4,000. as compared
with s294,000.
"The total quantity of orchard
fruits produced in 1909 was 4,566,00o
bushels. valued at s4,652.00O. Apples
contributed nearly four-fifths of this
quantity. peaches and nectarines most
of the remainder. The production of
grapes in 1909 amounted to 1,037614
pounds. valued at s2s,o26. while the
production of nuts was unimportant-
"The production of all orchard
fruits together in 1909 was 1,1s9.6 per
ner cent more than that in 1893,