By Janelle Holden
Journal Staff Writer

Farming pinto and Anasazi beans in Dove Creek is not an easy business in the best of times, let alone during a season of unusually dry conditions. But for the Allen family, it’s more than a business — it’s a way of life.

"It’s a lifestyle," said Jay Allen, who farms beans and wheat near Dove Creek. Allen and his family are third-generation farmers who have stayed in the business because they love working the land and producing a good product.

"I call myself an environmentalist, and the people that are called environmentalists I call extremists," said Allen. "But I call myself an environmentalist because we have to take care of this land to earn our livelihood. There is a lot of satisfaction in that."

Allen farms 1,900 acres and has recently finished planting his beans. During an average year he produces 450-600 pounds of beans per acre.

This year the soil moisture is extremely low, but there was enough moisture to plant, according to Allen. It is growing the beans that will be risky.

"Every time you plant a seed it’s a gamble," he said. "The odds aren’t in our favor, but the beans will come up if we get some rain."

Denise Pribble, general manager of the Adobe Milling Company, in Dove Creek, agrees. "Once the beans sprout, they’re going to need a drink," she said.

Adobe Milling processes several million pounds of beans a year, and is one of two organic mills in the state of Colorado.

The late owner of Adobe Milling, Ernie Waller, registered and trademarked the Anasazi bean in 1985. Although crop prices for pinto beans fluctuate with the market and are currently close to the same price per pound that they were 20 years ago, Anasazi beans are set at a fixed rate.

Pribble thinks that the market future for Anasazi looks bright. "I see it growing quite a bit," she said. She recently sent beans to Honduras and Brazil.

This is good news for farmers like the Allens, who say that the price of pinto beans barely covers the cost of production.

David Allen, Jay’s father who farmed for many decades, and Tammy Allen, his wife, work the fields as well. Jay’s 13-year-old son, Grant, and 10-year-old daughter, Natasha, help irrigate and drive the tractor.

Jay said that he couldn’t afford to run the farm without his family’s help, because workmen’s comp. insurance and minimum wage requirements make hiring a full-time employee too costly.