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Alamosa – Southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley could suffer a $60 million blow to its economy after a warm winter hurt most of its alfalfa crop, officials said.
The grim estimate takes into account the loss of this year’s crop, damage to subsequent harvests and a drop in income for farmers, Merlin Dillon, a Colorado State University agronomist, told Alamosa County commissioners this week.
Commission chairman Darius Allen said U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and his brother, U.S. Rep. John Salazar, both D-Colo., are being asked to help secure emergency funds to help farmers.
Some farmers purchased special crop insurance, but it will reimburse them only a minimal amount for their loss, Allen said.
