From The Durango Herald (Mary Shinn):
Statewide income from farms and ranches is projected to fall to $444 million in 2016 from about $1.3 billion in 2015.
It’s a level that Colorado agriculture hasn’t seen since 1986, according to a report from the University of Colorado Boulder.
The fall can be largely attributed to the decline in cattle prices because the industry accounts for the largest portion of the state’s agriculture economy, said Stephen Koontz, a professor at Colorado State University.
He expects prices for cattle will not level off until 2018, and producers will likely not see the gains that the Trans-Pacific Partnership could have fueled.