Southwest Colorado’s trademark pinto bean is losing its luster in favor of the more lucrative alfalfa crop, according to a recently released 2000 crop census.

A survey conducted by the Dolores Water Conservancy District shows that bean production under the McPhee project has dropped from 3,448 acres of irrigated bean fields in 1993 to a mere 345 irrigated acres in 2000.

However, the drop is compensated by a sharp increase in hay production, which has nearly doubled since 1993, going from 13,733 acres to 22,633 acres.

"Many people have been switching over because alfalfa is really much more profitable, it is good for the soil, and this climate is very well suited for it. That’s what we encourage farmers to grow," said Abdel Berrada, a DWCD board member and ag researcher with the Colorado State University research center in Yellow Jacket.

"I wonder if the numbers are off, but it’s true, that was a little bit of a surprise that the irrigated beans did not get the bigger yields everyone hoped for," said Dan Fernandez, a Dolores County Extension agent.

"Out here it is mostly drylanders and they still seem to be successful," Fernandez said, adding that Dove Creek is still celebrated as the "pinto-bean capital — and we always will be."

"It is something about this high-altitude environment and good night-time temperatures that make beans here so high-quality," he said. "I’ve never seen a study as to why they do so well here, but they do."

The survey is based on non-Indian, full-service irrigated lands served by McPhee Reservoir, which delivers water to 25,423 acres of crop land, according to the report.

Dryland bean-farming remains popular in areas around Pleasant View and Dove Creek.

The ability to harvest alfalfa three times or more in one growing season and its lower overall equipment overhead make the animal-feed crop more attractive, Berrada explained. In contrast, beans yield one crop per year.

Farming beans takes more equipment during both planting and harvesting, which gets expensive, whereas alfalfa does not have to be replanted every year so it costs less to produce.

A big demand for hay by dairy-cow operations in New Mexico and Texas and by horse-owners in the Four Corners has kept alfalfa-suppliers here in the black, financially.

"We filled a niche market there that timed perfectly with the McPhee project coming on line," said Don Schwindt, DWCD board president and alfalfa-farmer.

Bean farms here, on the other hand, have trouble keeping up with small-grain farms in the Midwest, which can produce more beans per acre in a climate that has a longer growing season with a better-timed rainy season.

The commodity price, about $18 per hundred pounds, is kept down by those larger-volume producers. But the price is often too low for local farmers to cover costs, according to the Dolores County extension office.

A pesky fungus, known as white mold, also hampers bean production, researchers said. A new strain is being developed that grows more upright in order to reduce mold-conducive humidity levels on the normally bushy plant. The genetically-bred seed is worked on at CSU labs in Fort Collins and may be available in the next few years.

Managing irrigation water with bean crops is also more difficult than with alfalfa because beans are very sensitive to overwatering or underwatering.

"It’s hard to control, and the side-rolls most commonly used do not allow for the flexibility to manage water that gets the best results," Berrada said. "With the cost of water and the intensive maintenance of farming beans, a lot of farmers decided it was not really worth it, but it could come back strong again later."