Every five years, the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service releases a Census of Agriculture. Census data is collected on any plot of land that did or would normally be expected to sell $1,000 worth of agricultural products in the census year.

This census was last completed in 2022, and data from the census was released in mid-February. The data, which can be accessed through nass.usda.gov, can be sorted at state or county levels and includes a wide range of economic and production statistics.

The 2022 census data shows that the Yampa Valley’s agricultural community and economy remains robust. Since 2017, the amount of land in farms around both Moffat and Routt counties has increased. Moffat County had a 4% increase with 461 farms across nearly one million agricultural acres. Routt County also experienced a significant increase in land in farms, with the census reporting that over 900 farms now range across 650,000 agricultural acres.

This difference helps explain a 31% increase in Routt County ranches’ cattle and calf population, though Moffat County had a slight decline in both cattle producers and cattle population since 2017. Between the two counties, the Yampa Valley holds 72,886 acres of irrigated land. Routt and Moffat counties also have particularly significant sheep herds. Both counties increased their five-year sheep and lamb numbers, exhibiting 14-15% increases. 

Routt and Moffat counties have 1,379 farming families who work hard to keep their land productive, not only for their economic operation, but also for the integrity of the working landscape that surrounds them. A number of them have placed their lands under conservation easements in partnership with organizations like the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT), which holds over 103,000 eased acres in the Yampa Valley. These easements ensure that this land will remain available for agriculture in perpetuity.

As committed stewards of these lands, many of Routt and Moffat’s agricultural families continue to improve their conservation practices, seeking to enhance the quality of their land and water. Each of these conservation tools and efforts support not only each agricultural producer’s individual operations, but also an interconnected agricultural community of producers and agricultural service providers that ensures the Yampa Valley’s ongoing agricultural vitality.

Regardless of how they go about taking care of their livestock, pastureland and open space, farmers and ranchers’ land stewardship benefits the ecosystem surrounding them. Wet meadows, for instance, are vital for both cattle grazing in the dry summer months and for sage grouse foraging for insects to support growing chicks.

Given the intertwined nature of environmental stewardship and working lands in Northwest Colorado, the agricultural census demonstrates more than just the scope of agricultural work in the Yampa Valley. It also underlines how much of Routt and Moffat counties’ open space is stewarded deliberately with an eye toward keeping the essential open, working character of Northwest Colorado’s landscape intact. 

Owen Yager is the Northwest Regional Manager of External Relations for Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.