charlie ryan wrote:I look forward to seeing some pics of yours Kelly, sounds like you have some good stuff in the works.

How is the Co-op working out for you? I have often wondered how beneficial being involved with one would be, once we are producing food and/or animals.

Being a newbie land owner and an absentee one at that, I have little to offer as far as advice, but I look forward to learning

Hi Everybody,

What a great opportunity we have before us. After reading through the topics and responses on Permies, it became apparent that folks in the Wet Mountain area need a way to get in touch with each other and collaborate on their agricultural endeavors. So far in the list of people who are interested in participating in a cooperative group, we have people who range from absentee owners to people who have been working their chunk of ground for over a decade and everything in between. The type of land owned by group members also differs. Everything from dry prairie grasslands, foothill meadows, and irrigated ground. Acreages vary as well across all of those places too. What a wonderful and diverse knowledge base!

The intent of this group, from my perspective, would be to foster relationships in the community to further the development of ecologically focused agriculture productivity. These relationships could range from sharing equipment, sharing labor, and sharing ideas. The group could host education events for group members as well as for the general public. And going forward into the future, could collaborate to cooperatively market to market sectors unattainable by any one producer working alone. Fostering these types of activities is beneficial not only to a member of the cooperative, but to the regional community and to the positive ecological impact to the land that we are so blessed to steward.

So, the folks who have signed on board are listed below with their email [removed] and general location. I will leave getting phone numbers and addresses up to you as some folks may prefer to communicate by email alone.

-Charlie Ryan, Huerfano County,
-Kelly Smith, Fremont County,
-Greg Schwab, Pueblo County,
-Rodney Smith, Pueblo County,
-Bob Becker, Pueblo County,
-Ryan Sanders, Pueblo County,
-Tate Smith, Johnson County, WY/Pueblo County,
And I know there may be others that are interested who have not gotten to me yet, so if any of you know of somebody who would be interested, sure let me know and I'll get them on the list.

It would be great if everybody could introduce themselves and their operation. What type of land you are working, what you intend to produce, what are your goals from an ecological stand point. Also, where you are at as far as needs (i.e. digging earthworks, planting trees, etc. that could use some help from other people). That way we can get the ball rolling on getting folks together on the ground.

It would also be great to put together a farm tour or a get together of some sort in the foreseeable future. So if anybody has ideas as to how to facilitate that, whether it be meeting at your farm, putting on a introductory class at a community hall or otherwise give us your ideas! And any other ideas of how a group like this can benefit you and the rest of the members!

We are following in the foot steps of some great mentors. Most of whom you've read their books, watched their YouTube videos, or even been to one of their classes. The Lawtons, Dohertys, Mollisons, Salatins and Savorys of the world have laid down a great guideline for us to follow. However our ecoregion, including the foothills and prairies of the Wet Mountain region, is very unique and does always fit the mold of what others have done. It is through cooperation like this that innovations and system designs can arise to benefit ALL of the agricultural producers in our area. By developing systems that work on a multifaceted scale we can not only increase the productivity of agriculture, but ensure the longevity of it's life. And by doing both of those things, we ensure that our lfamiles and our community will be fed and be happy.

So thanks for be willing to participate. Let us know your thoughts and ambitions (and any ideas you have for a good name for this group). It looks like a very positive future for regenerative agriculture practices to take hold in the region.

Thanks! And talk to you soon.
-Tate

Kelly Smith wrote:anyone ordering any trees in bulk for next year?
i was thinking about trying some hazelnuts - plus i think we are getting ~100 forest service trees.

CSU Extension Office wrote:
American or European filbert, also known as hazelnut. These might be your best bet. Filberts need well-drained soils and water during dry spells in winter. They may not fare well in soils that are very alkaline (pH 7.8 +). These small trees or large shrubs will likely sucker extensively.

Cam Mitchell wrote:

Kelly Smith wrote:anyone ordering any trees in bulk for next year?
i was thinking about trying some hazelnuts - plus i think we are getting ~100 forest service trees.

According to CSU Extension,

CSU Extension Office wrote:
American or European filbert, also known as hazelnut. These might be your best bet. Filberts need well-drained soils and water during dry spells in winter. They may not fare well in soils that are very alkaline (pH 7.8 +). These small trees or large shrubs will likely sucker extensively.

Since my soil is so alkaline, I won't plant them. But the bur and burgambel oaks I got will do just fine.
Good luck!

FYI, the best thing I did is rent a wheeled one-man auger. It made digging the ~200 tree holes WAY faster. Totally worth it.

Plant resources:
State Nursery Program link http://csfs.colostate.edu/buying-seedling-trees/
I have also bought from Idaho's state program http://seedlings.uidaho.com/Store/DrawCategories.aspx?PageID=56

This fall my trees to go in are mulberry, honeylocust, black locust, serviceberry, and seaberry.
I have a challenging climate, so many trees are just out for me. Hot, cold, high, dry, and windy. And shallow, alkaline soil.
Next year trees to try are pears, jujube, Carmine Jewel cherry, russian or improved autumn olive variety, staghorn sumac, and an alkaline-tolerant elderberry variety.

Kelly Smith wrote:
thanks for the feedback -
our soil has a PH of 8 ish, so it looks like i wont be planting any of those either!

thanks for the heads up (im generally clueless when it comes to picking which trees will/should go on my site)