Agriculture is big business in Montezuma County, pumping nearly $50 million into the local economy every year, according to a state Bureau of Economic Affairs report released Thursday.

Ranching and farming represent 14 percent of the county’s employment pool, and although the high-overhead industry brings in only 1 percent of the county’s total profits, its huge volume makes up for it.

"It turns out a lot of cash, but that does not mean it is really profitable," said county administrator and rancher Tom Weaver.

Still, the ripple effect agri-business has on the local economy has prompted the county government to focus on it as a priority for the future. Landowner-Initiated Zoning is one tactic developed to help preserve the agriculture base in the county, which also allows for land-use flexibility in the future. Planners are reporting a large number of landowners who are zoning their property agricultural.

"The ag zones have been really well received, so this is a good sign that people are committed to sustaining agriculture in this community," Weaver said.

Finding a niche market and further establishing the county as a known agriculture-based market will also help to attract more buyers, which in turn helps to support other ancillary business as ranchers and farmers from here and elsewhere gas up, go to restaurants and pick-up farm supplies and groceries.

"A high scale of agriculture locally establishes us as the place to come for quality ag products," said Mike Preston, an economic researcher for the county. "More competition translates to higher quality, and that’s what we have been seeing, especially with our alfalfa product."

Dairy farmers nationwide rely on the high-grade alfalfa feed grown in southwest Colorado, where the industry has grown to be a major economic force since the development of McPhee Reservoir. Crop industry values, when calculated against multipliers, reached $25 million in 1997 — a number that can be attributed largely to the availability of irrigation water.

"It has stabilized the industry here, especially for dry-land farmers, and establishes us a well-know region for ag products," Preston said. "That bringing customers up here from all over the Southwest and beyond."

Adding value to products locally, before they leave the county, is a strategy the county is researching. For example, an economic study on the viability of a slaughterhouse is under way so that livestock can be processed and sold locally, instead of being shipped elsewhere.

The cattle industry is on the rebound, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Nationwide, cattle prices are climbing upwards after a five-year lull, and locally the industry contributed $22 million in cash receipts for 1997, the most recently compiled data. Economists attribute this to an increase in end-product quality, and a higher public demand for beef.

"We’re finally at the break-even point now; it is a vast improvement over the past few years," said Weaver, adding that the beef market is very cyclical, typically peaking at the end of the decade and then bottoming out five years later.

Producing the very best cattle through genetics is the trend in the ranching business, and those who do not utilize the best breeds are taking a big risk, Weaver said.

"Genetics are what makes a steak taste good," he said. "There is a big demand now by buyers for high-quality beef. People in the industry need to raise cattle for that niche market and pay attention to what the consumer wants to eat, because that is what the buyer is looking for now."

Expanding that market has also worked out well. For example, the Ute Mountain Farm and Ranch operation is contributing to a high-quality cattle-product image locally, said Ag Expo organizer Bob Bragg.

"Ute Mountain cattle are becoming very high in demand, because they realize the importance of genetic strains that produce the best calves for feed lots," he said. "That reputation helps everyone in the industry."

Other potential niche markets, especially for smaller land-acreage, are vineyards, truck farms, and revitalizing the orchard business.

"It is always better to work the land; it keeps it healthy, and adds scale to our growing ag market," Preston said. "The fruit market bottomed out, largely because the industry here lost critical mass, and we would like to get that back by marketing those operations to those who can afford the land and want to make a go of it."