Berthoud Weekly Surveyor | Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot

Larimer County looking for ‘conservation buyer’ for Little Thompson Farm

By: Will Cornelius | The Surveyor | December 03, 2022 | Business

Prime agricultural land at the foot of the Rocky Mountains for sale. It could be mistaken as an advertisement from a nineteenth-century newspaper, but it’s still true in the twenty-first century too.

Photo by Will Cornelius – The historic barn at Little Thompson Farm southwest of Berthoud next to State Highway 287.

Over two hundred acres of undeveloped Colorado land with views of the Rocky Mountains are for sale. The land includes an old rustic barn and access to the Little Thompson River. It’s also a local icon for northern Colorado with a history from before statehood. Less than ten minutes from a supermarket, a half hour to Boulder and only 45 minutes to Denver International Airport. For many, it’s the dream real estate website fantasy listing.

But there are a few stipulations for any new buyer. You must become a farmer, you need to know about water rights in Colorado and you need to be okay with the county keeping your land in a conservation easement. But if you’re still interested, then Larimer County and especially the Department of Natural Resources there want to hear from you.

At the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees for the Town of Berthoud on Nov. 22 Daylan Figgs, the Director of the Department of Natural Resources for Larimer County spoke to the Board about the county’s plan to sell Little Thompson Farm. The 211-acre farm is located southwest of Berthoud near the border with Boulder County. The farm’s history stretches back to when Colorado was still a United States Territory when it was first developed in the 1860s.

The farm was bought by Larimer County in 2016 for $8.4 million, with the Town of Berthoud contributing $100,000 towards the purchase. While the farm itself holds cultural and historical value, the real value of the property is the associated water rights. The farm purchase came with 240 shares of Colorado-Big Thompson, 16 shares of Handy Ditch and 20 shares of Dry Creek Lateral Ditch water. As a part of the acquisition process, Larimer County entered a first-of-its-kind water-sharing agreement with the City and County of Broomfield. The agreement gives Broomfield access to 115 Colorado-Big Thompson water shares and more in the event of drought or other emergencies.

Since buying the farm, the county has been dedicated to conserving the land and keeping it as a working farm. But with the current tenant moving out of state at the end of the year, the county is looking to sell the property. Any sale of the property would be contingent on keeping with the county and the Department of Natural Resources’ commitment to conserving the land.

Figgs talked about the “concept of a conservation buyer” when he discussed how the county is approaching a potential sale. The county wants to keep the land as a working farm, keep the water rights attached to the farm and put a conservation easement on the property “so it will always be a farm” he said. Figgs said it’s not the most profitable option for the county, but it is the best fit for conservation. Discussing the type of buyer the county is looking for, Figgs said “we want someone who has done this before.”

The sale price for the farm is estimated to be between $2.5 and $4 million. Figgs mentioned that the county is flexible with its offer but firmly committed to the principal goal of conservation.

The potential sale of the farm, and its consequences, were of great interest to the board who followed up with several questions. Trustee Tim Hardy asked why the county didn’t consider keeping the farm and looking for a new tenant. Figgs said that it wasn’t a financially viable option for the county. “We can’t buy a lot of farms, but we can buy a lot of conservation easements,” he said. Figgs continued to speak about the importance of conserving land but not necessarily owning land. Finding a ‘conservation buyer’ would allow the county to use the sale proceeds towards other conservation efforts.

Figgs was upfront about the uncertainty of finding a buyer who fits the county’s vision. “We don’t know if this is going to work, so we may go all the way through this process and really not find the buyer we’re after,” he said.

The conversation then turned toward any potential involvement from the Town of Berthoud in acquiring Little Thompson Farm. “If there is interest from the Town of Berthoud into acquiring the property, we’d love to sit down and have a conversation on what that may look like,” Figgs said. Mayor William Karspeck broke the ice by suggesting that Berthoud could investigate purchasing it themselves. “There’s stuff there worth pursuing,” Karspeck said.

The most contentious and ambiguous part of selling the land is how the existing water rights of the farm would be allocated. Figgs said that ideally a buyer would already have existing water rights but was open to hearing other suggestions. Any potential buyer of the farm would also need motivation besides revenue. Currently, the farm brings in around $30,000 a year in revenue through leasing the land for agricultural use. Even at a low $2.5 million valuation, the land would yield only a 1.2 percent annual return on investment.

The board was thankful for Figgs’ presentation and for answering questions. The potential sale of Little Thompson Farm sparked interest from the board, but no firm decisions or steps were considered at the meeting.

Solicitations for bids are being done through a request-for-proposals method by Larimer County. The deadline for offers is Dec. 15th, with decisions to be made in early 2023.

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