Colorado State University Extension Dolores County

09/24/2026

Market Report 9/24/2026
Sources: Midland Bean, High Country Elevators, and USDA/CO Dept of Ag.
Winter Wheat Spring Wheat Beans
Per Cwt....................12.50.................13.00-13.50.....................35.00......
Hay (Conventional)
Alfalfa/Grass Mix...Mixed Grass...Orchard Grass...Orchard Grass (premium)...Orchard Grass (premium)
Small Square...Small Square...Small Square 3-Tie...Small Square 3-Tie...Small Square 3-Tie...
QTY...N/A...N/A...N/A...8000...512
Price Range...10.00...14.00-18.00...20.00...24.00...20.00
WtdAvg....N/A...N/A...N/A...24.00...20.00
Freight/Use...F.O.B. Stables (all)
Description...Covered...Certified W**d Free...Covered...N/A...Covered
Crop Age...New Crop...New Crop...New Crop...2nd Cut...2nd Cut
Compared to last report: Trade activity Moderate. Demand Good to Very Good all markets of new crop hay. Premium small squares of alfalfa
sold 25-40 cents/bale higher and Premium small squares of prairie/meadow grass horse hay sold 50 cents/bale higher. Silage harvest is still
underway. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor's High Plains Summary for September 22, 2026, most of the High Plains received beneficial
rainfall, resulting in improvement to drought categories over parts of all states in the region. More precipitation will be needed, however, to
ameliorate the continued extreme drought over much of Colorado and Wyoming as well as parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, and
western Nebraska. Areas of exceptional drought are still shown in much of central Colorado and western Nebraska. For Drought
Classifications, 38.47% of the state falls in Extreme-Exceptional drought (D3-D4) categories, and 61.53% of the state falls into the Abnormally
Dry-Severe Drought (D0-D2) categories. The next available report will be Thursday, October 8, 2026.

Send a message to learn more

09/17/2026

🌾 Beat the Cheat! Practical Cheatgrass Management Workshop

Cheatgrass taking over? Fall is a great time to get ahead of it!

Join High Desert Conservation District and Gus Westerman with CSU Extension for a practical workshop focused on identifying and managing invasive cheatgrass. We’ll cover fall treatment options and management techniques that you can implement over the weekend!

📅 September 25
⏰ 1:00–3:00 p.m.
📍 SW Colorado Research Center Southwestern Colorado Research Center 16898 Co Rd Z, Yellow Jacket, CO 81335

Whether you’re dealing with cheatgrass on a small property, pasture, or rangeland, come learn practical strategies for managing it and preventing its spread.

Come ready to learn, ask questions, and Beat the Cheat!

09/16/2026

Due to the Ferris Fire, some Dolores County businesses may be eligible for low interest loans through the Small Business Administration.

Under SBA’s Physical Disaster Business Loan program, low-interest long term loans to businesses of all sizes, small agricultural cooperatives and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. The deadline for a physical damage filing is November 1, 2026.

Under SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDLS) are working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period. EIDL assistance is available only to entities and their owners who cannot provide for their own recovery from non-government sources, as determined by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The deadline for an economic injury filing is June 1, 2027.

Further information can be found here: https://www.sba.gov/disaster/

08/31/2026

Market Report 8/31/2026
Sources: Midland Bean and USDA/CO Dept of Ag.
Winter Wheat Spring Wheat Beans
Per Cwt....................N/A..........................13.00.....................35.00......
Hay (Conventional)
Alfalfa/Grass Mix...Mixed Grass...Orchard Grass
Small Square...Small Square...Small Square 3-Tie
QTY...N/A...N/A...540
Price Range...10.00...14.00-18.00...20.00
WtdAvg....N/A...N/A...20.00
Freight/Use...F.O.B. Stables (all)
Description...Covered...Certified W**d Free...Covered
Crop Age...New Crop...New Crop...1st Cut
Compared to last report: Trade activity Moderate. Demand Good to Very Good all markets of new crop hay. Premium small squares of mixed
grass and prairie/meadow grass sold 50 cents/bale higher FOB and Premium 3x3's of mixed grass horse hay sold $10.00/bale higher. No
comparable trades on feedlot and dairy markets, but prices remain firm. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor's High Plains Summary for
August 25, 2026, the High Plains saw a mixture of drought degradation and localized improvement. Rapid drought deterioration continued
across southern Kansas and southeastern Colorado, where dry conditions and excessive heat aggravated agricultural impacts. Further north,
widespread convection brought drought relief east of the Front Range across eastern Colorado, though some deterioration occurred in the
Rockies of Colorado and Wyoming where water storage impacts from last spring's limited snow cover are beginning to mount. Organized
convection along the northern periphery of the ridge promoted drought reduction in central Nebraska. Showers mostly maintained a statusquo depiction across South Dakota, save for small areas of degradation along its respective borders with North Dakota and Minnesota. More
widespread drought degradation was noted across North Dakota, where precipitation was sparser outside of a single, narrow convective
event that tracked across the northeastern corner of the state. For Drought Classifications, 47.52% of the state falls in Extreme-Exceptional
drought (D3-D4) categories, and 52.48% of the state falls into the Abnormally Dry-Severe Drought (D0-D2) categories. The next available
report will be Thursday, September 10, 2026.

Send a message to learn more

08/17/2026

Dolores/Montezuma County Extension Fruit Tree Project

Unfortunately, there will be no U-Pick at the Southwestern Colorado Research Center in 2026. Our fruit crop was lost to a freeze event in April, so we are unable to host a u-pick this year. Unseasonably warm temperatures in March brought the trees out of dormancy and they bloomed about 5 weeks earlier than normal. On April 18th, the stone fruits had set and the apples were just finishing the bloom when we had temperatures that hit 21 degrees for 8 hours at the research center. Thankfully, we did not experience any tree damage and we are hopeful for a solid crop in 2027. We will keep everyone posted on what happens next year.

For more information contact:
Dolores County Extension (970)677-2283 or
Montezuma County Extension (970)565-3123

Send a message to learn more

08/10/2026

Market Report 8/10/2026
Sources: Midland Bean and USDA/CO Dept of Ag.
Winter Wheat Spring Wheat Beans
Per Cwt....................N/A..........................11.00.....................28.00......
Hay (Conventional)
Alfalfa - Premium...Alfalfa/Grass Mix...Mixed Grass...Mixed Grass...Orchard Grass
Small Square...Small Square...Small Square...Small Square...Small Square 3-Tie
QTY...150...N/A...N/A...150...N/A
Price Range...14.00...10.00...14.00-18.00...15.00...20.00
WtdAvg....14.00...N/A...N/A...15.00...N/A
Freight/Use...F.O.B. Stables (all)
Description...Covered...Covered...Certified W**d Free...Certified W**d Free...Covered
Crop Age...2nd Cut...New Crop...New Crop...New Crop...New Crop...
Compared to last report: Trade activity Moderate. Demand Good to Very Good new crop hay. Small squares of grass sold steady to $1.00/bale
higher this period. Market prices are establishing on straw moving into dairies with the floor getting set at $150/ton FOB due to short supply.
Horse hay per bale prices continue to increase as drought conditions worsen and abnormally high temperatures impact hay quality and yield.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor's West Summary for July 28, 2026, on the map, drought-related conditions deteriorated in areas of
eastern Colorado, eastern New Mexico, southeastern California, and western Washington. In Colorado, drought expanded and intensified on
the map in response to anomalously warm temperatures, decreased soil moisture levels, and elevated evaporative demand. Looking at
climatological rankings for the past 30-day period, numerous locations ranked among their warmest or near warmest mean temperatures on
record, including: Montrose, CO (warmest on record; +3 °F departure); Dinosaur, CO (warmest on record; +4 °F departure); Grand Junction,
CO (2nd warmest; +4 °F departure); Trinidad, CO (2nd warmest; +4 °F departure); Denver, CO (2nd warmest; +3 °F departure); Rock Springs,
WY (3rd warmest; +4 °F departure); Casper, WY (3rd warmest; +5 °F departure); Salt Lake City, UT (5th warmest; +4 °F departure); and
Pocatello, ID (5th warmest; +4 °F departure). For Drought Classifications, 50.76% of the state falls in Extreme-Exceptional drought (D3-D4)
categories, and 49.24% of the state falls into the Abnormally Dry-Severe Drought (D0-D2) categories. The next available report will be
Thursday, August 13, 2026.

07/29/2026

We are able to offer a virtual option for the Burn Area Recovery and Reclamation Workshop this evening at 5:30 pm! The Zoom link is below:

Zoom meeting. Topic: Burn Area Recovery and Reclamation

Meeting Time: Jul 29, 2026 17:30 Mountain Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87469591409?pwd=1SVadPINQc5bsn0HUDb848ZaDaZPUz.1

Meeting chat link https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/jc/87469591409

Meeting ID: 874 6959 1409 Passcode: 903351 ---

One tap mobile +17193594580,,87469591409 #,,,,*903351 # US +12532158782,,87469591409 #,,,,*903351 # US (Tacoma) --- Join by SIP • [email protected] Join instructions https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/87469591409/invitations?signature=7SnqfhXA3AI5FZmfTNbwYGuFzuWYf7HZp0O649SnzIo

07/28/2026

Tomorrow evening from 5:30-7:30pm!

In response to the Ferris, McCloud, and Sharps Creek fires, Join us July 29th from 5:30 - 7:30pm at the Dolores County Public Service Center (8477 Rd 7.7) for information on Burn Area Recovery & Reclamation.
We will speak on topics including:
~Recovery Assistance and Resources Available to Landowners.
~Vegetation Response from Fire and Fireline Disturbance - What to Expect.
~Assessing Damage to Forest, Pasture, Cropland.
~Erosion Mitigation.
Hear from Caleb Marucci - Supervisory Forester, Colorado State Forest Service SW Area, & Gus Westerman - CSU Extension Dolores County.
For any more information or questions please call our office at 970-677-2283 or email [email protected].

07/20/2026

In response to the Ferris, McCloud, and Sharps Creek fires, Join us July 29th from 5:30 - 7:30pm at the Dolores County Public Service Center (8477 Rd 7.7) for information on Burn Area Recovery & Reclamation.
We will speak on topics including:
~Recovery Assistance and Resources Available to Landowners.
~Vegetation Response from Fire and Fireline Disturbance - What to Expect.
~Assessing Damage to Forest, Pasture, Cropland.
~Erosion Mitigation.
Hear from Caleb Marucci - Supervisory Forester, Colorado State Forest Service SW Area, & Gus Westerman - CSU Extension Dolores County.
For any more information or questions please call our office at 970-677-2283 or email [email protected].

07/16/2026

Colorado Horse Rescue has a fund to help horse owners affected by the wildfires. This isn't a fundraising ask - we're ready to help now. Details are here: Equine Fire Relief Fund - Colorado Horse Rescue. https://chr.org/resources/fire-relief/