Environmental-technological interactions in Colorado high plains agricultural history

Agriculture in the High Plains of Colorado is historically plagued by a "boom and bust" cycle that resembles the state's mining economy. An initial boom follows the introduction of a new agricultural technology, this is followed by a cataclysmic collapse when environmental reality asserts itself. Collapse leads to a readjustment to a more extensive, or at least less intensive, application of the technological system.;The "boom and bust" environmental-technological interaction in agriculture follows a pattern first set by the range cattle industry in the nineteenth century. Farming twice suffered a similar fate, in the 1890's and in the 1930's. Irrigated agriculture is experiencing a similar fate in the late twentieth century.;The reason for a "boom and bust" cycle in Colorado High Plains agriculture is the variability and unpredictability of the environment, and the unpredictability of technological innovations and how they interact with the environment and with one another. The result is a false reading of environmental potentials by farmers and ranchers. Intensive exploitation of the environment eventually leads to over-exploitation and collapse. The collapse is described as an environmental disaster, even though the events are normal within the region's variable environment. Following the collapse, a readjustment is made by a less intense application of agricultural technology to the environment.