When Colorado’s snowpack is deep and the state’s reservoirs are poised to fill, growing alfalfa is a safe bet for farmers in the upper Colorado River Basin. If the crop can be irrigated, it grows enough to be cut three or four times in a season, producing abundant and often profitable hay.

But the crop becomes risky in times of prolonged drought, when a lack of water reserves can disrupt irrigation plans and leave the plant thirsty and vulnerable to insects and disease.

Are there other forage crops that could thrive in Colorado’s increasingly dry climate while requiring little or no irrigation? That’s what Colorado State University researchers are trying to find out in a new, multi-year study exploring strategies for growing climate-resilient forage crops in western parts of the state.

“We’ve built this agricultural system on the West Slope that relies on snowpack to fill the reservoirs so farmers can irrigate all summer,” said Perry Cabot, a CSU Extension professor in Western Colorado with expertise in agricultural water management. “Now, we need to explore what happens when we don’t have that snowpack so we can help farmers with limited water still sustain their operations in a water-scarce environment.”

Cabot, who is based at the Western Colorado Research Center in Fruita, is one of four principal investigators in a multi-disciplinary project selected for CSU’s 2026-2028 Climate Ready Agriculture and Water Innovation Grant. The $200,000 award is funded jointly by CSU’s School of Global Environmental Sustainability, the Colorado Water Center and the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station.

The grant will support the establishment of test plots at the research center in Fruita and at higher elevation sites along the upper Gunnison River. Getting perennial forages established in arid and semi-arid environments is a challenge, with variable moisture, weed competition and other factors all impacting early growth.

The grant will support Ph.D. student research to produce crop evapotranspiration estimates using sophisticated drone-based technology. Researchers will examine how different management practices influence water consumption by low-water forage crops, such as peas and sainfoin, a perennial legume prized for its high feed quality. They will then construct economic scenarios outlining the potential profits from growing different crops or crop combinations.

Once established, the test plots could be valuable for future research examining soil health or the potential to re-establish microbial communities. “This sets us up for 10 years of research on perennial systems,” Cabot said.

Karen Schlatter, director of the Colorado Water Center, echoed that point: “As water supplies dwindle across the Colorado River Basin, we need community-oriented research projects like this one that lead to new insights while supporting establishment of more climate-resilient systems.”

Currently, about 75% of irrigated farmland in the upper Colorado River Basin is used to produce alfalfa and other forage crops. Most of the alfalfa produced in Colorado is used locally to support the state’s $5 billion livestock industry, the largest agricultural sector of the state’s economy.

Joining Cabot as principal investgators on the study are Daniel Mooney, associate professor of agricultural and resource economics, Lovreet Shergill, assistant professor of agricultural biology, and José Chávez, professor of civil and environmental engineering. CSU Extension faculty members Todd Ballard and Hannah Cranor will also play central roles.