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Arapahoe County, CO

Cattle prices near Arapahoe County, Colorado. The closest sale barn with a recent report is Brush in Brush, CO, about 56 miles away. On Nov 13, 5-weight steers (500–599 lb) averaged $435.27 per hundredweight on 99 head (USDA). Check a bid against your own costs with Ring Price.

Check a bid with Ring Price

Change county
CRP emergency haying & grazing: Arapahoe County is on FSA's list (since Sep 1, 2026). Check with your FSA county office first. Details · FSA list as of Nov 5, 2026.
Drought Abnormally dryD0 · most of county Drought pay (LFP) Eligibleup to 4 payments Burn ban Checkcall the county Brush 5-wt steers $435▲ $7 since last sale

Arapahoe County rain, outlook and forecast

Most of Arapahoe County, CO was abnormally dry (D0) on the Nov 10 U.S. Drought Monitor map, with 25% at severe drought (D2); some part has been in severe drought (D2) or worse for 50 straight weeks. Over 90 days rain is at 134% of normal, and the last 30 days came in at 106% (near normal); the 6-10 day outlook for Nov 20–24 leans wetter than normal (50% chance of above-normal rain) and the best rain chance this week is 48% on Friday (high 58°). FSA's 2026 LFP list includes Arapahoe County with up to 4 monthly payments, and the nearest USDA-reported sale barn is Brush, 56 miles away.

Rain vs normal

  • Last 30 days 106% of normal
  • Last 60 days not read yet
  • Last 90 days 134% of normal

NOAA river forecast center rain (radar plus gauges) at the county center, Nov 15, 2026. Source.

Rain outlook

  • 6-10 day outlook (Nov 20–24) Leans wetter than normal (50% chance of above-normal rain)
  • 8-14 day outlook (Nov 22–28) Leans wetter than normal (33% chance of above-normal rain)

NOAA Climate Prediction Center precipitation outlook, issued Nov 14, 2026. Source.

Next 7 days

  1. Today Sunny, high 56°, low 33°, 0% rain, wind 2–15 mph
  2. Monday Mostly Sunny, high 62°, low 35°, 0% rain, wind 1–17 mph
  3. Tuesday Mostly Sunny, high 63°, low 40°, 5% rain, wind 2–17 mph
  4. Wednesday Mostly Sunny, high 58°, low 33°, 10% rain, wind 7–15 mph
  5. Thursday Mostly Sunny, high 58°, low 36°, 3% rain, wind 10–17 mph
  6. Friday Mostly Sunny then Chance Rain Showers, high 58°, low 30°, 48% rain, wind 10–12 mph
  7. Saturday Slight Chance Snow Showers, high 48°, low 27°, 19% rain, wind 8–9 mph

National Weather Service forecast for the county center, updated Nov 15, 2026. Wind, warnings and burn bans.

PRF pasture insurance: sign up by Dec 1, 2026

The 2027 Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) insurance sales closing date for Arapahoe County is Dec 1, 2026, 16 days from today. PRF (Rainfall Index) pays on a rainfall index for your grid, not on your own rain gauge. You buy it through a crop insurance agent.

How PRF works · PRF 2027 sign-up · Find your grid on RMA's PRF tool

Date from USDA RMA's actuarial data, read Aug 28, 2026 · RMA dates map. Your agent confirms the date for your policy.

Arapahoe County grass production

Grass production for Arapahoe County: not read yet.

Open loss windows

No open loss windows in Arapahoe County right now. A 30-day window opens when the county first hits severe drought (D2), jumps to D3 or D4, or after a blizzard, extreme heat or cold, flood or ice warning, a wildfire, or a USDA disaster designation. Keep a Drought Ledger.

Information only; not financial, tax or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Cownty sends nothing to FSA.

Drought-sale tax flag IRS list

Arapahoe County is on IRS Notice 2026-54 (severe or worse drought, Sep 1, 2025 to Aug 31, 2026).

Why it matters: if you sold breeding, dairy or draft livestock because of drought, the tax code may let you put off the gain (more time to buy replacement animals, or report the extra-sale income a year later). Your tax preparer decides whether either applies.

Work out your numbers and print a page for your preparer

Information only; not financial, tax or legal advice. Ask your tax preparer. FSA decides program eligibility. IRS Notice 2026-54 (PDF)

Next 7 days · National Weather Service

Weather for Arapahoe County

Forecast for the center point of Arapahoe County.

  • Freeze on 2 nights
  1. Today Sunny 56° 33° SE 2–15 mph 0% rain
  2. Mon Mostly Sunny 62° 35° S 1–17 mph 0% rain
  3. Tue Mostly Sunny 63° 40° SSW 2–17 mph 5% rain
  4. Wed Mostly Sunny 58° 33° NW 7–15 mph 10% rain
  5. Thu Mostly Sunny 58° 36° S 10–17 mph 3% rain
  6. Fri Mostly Sunny then Chance Rain Showers 58° 30° WSW 10–12 mph 48% rain
  7. Sat Slight Chance Snow Showers 48° 27° N 8–9 mph 19% rain

Forecast from the National Weather Service, updated Nov 15, 2026 old. Wind arrows point where the wind is going; the letters say where it comes from. Windy = 25 mph or more; freeze = a low of 32°F or less. Open the full forecast.

Burn ban

Data pending. Cownty doesn't read an official statewide burn-ban list for Colorado; county commissions, sheriffs and fire districts post local fire restrictions, so check your county's own notices

No official ban list to check here, so Cownty shows the National Weather Service fire-weather alerts for the county instead: none right now.

Guide: Burn bans: where to check and what they mean

Weather warnings right now

None right now

National Weather Service active alerts for this county, as of Nov 15, 2026 (source). Fetched Nov 15, 2026.

Rainfall vs normal

Oct 2026
0.70 in 70% of normal
Last 12 months
12.74 in 78%
How to read this

Bars are the rain that fell each month; the dashed line is a normal month (1991-2020 average). Bars below the line = drier than normal.

County-average precipitation, Nov 2025 to Oct 2026. Normal = NCEI's own 1991-2020 average for each month (Oct 2026 normal 1.00 in; same month last year 0.27 in). NCEI posts each month around the 8th of the next and may revise recent months. Source: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance. Fetched Nov 14, 2026.

Wildfires

No current fire perimeter in the county

No current perimeter within 100 mi of the county center (48 mapped nationally).

See the fire map

Interagency fire outlines. Small or brand-new fires are often not mapped yet; call 911 for a fire you can see. Layer updated Nov 15, 2026. Source: National Interagency Fire Center. Fetched Nov 15, 2026.

Frost dates

Frost and freeze dates

30-year averages (1991–2020) from the weather stations nearest Arapahoe County. Frost = 32°F; hard freeze = 28°F.

Byers 5 Ene weather station (13 mi away)

Typical last spring frostTypical first fall frost
Frost (32°F)
142-day growing season
 May 13
1 year in 10 it's after May 30
 Oct 2
1 year in 10 it's before Sep 20
Hard freeze (28°F)
160-day growing season
 May 2
1 year in 10 it's after May 15
 Oct 10
1 year in 10 it's before Sep 30

Denver Intl Ap weather station (22 mi away)

Typical last spring frostTypical first fall frost
Frost (32°F)
156-day growing season
 May 5
1 year in 10 it's after May 19
 Oct 9
1 year in 10 it's before Sep 27
Hard freeze (28°F)
174-day growing season
 Apr 25
1 year in 10 it's after May 9
 Oct 18
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 5

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Byers 5 Ene, Denver Intl Ap), NOAA files as of Jun 27, 2023. Fetched Nov 11, 2026.

Text me Arapahoe County changes

Nearest USDA-reported sale barns

  1. Livestock Exchange (Friday feeder cattle) Brush, CO 56 mi · sells Fridays · latest USDA report Nov 13, 2026
  2. Sterling Livestock Commission Sterling, CO 90 mi · sells Wednesdays · latest USDA report Nov 11, 2026
  3. La Junta Livestock Commission La Junta, CO 123 mi · sells Wednesdays · latest USDA report Nov 11, 2026
  4. Winter Livestock (Tuesday) La Junta, CO 123 mi · sells Tuesdays · latest USDA report Nov 10, 2026
  5. Imperial Auction Market Imperial, NE 155 mi · sells Fridays · latest USDA report Nov 6, 2026

Miles are straight-line from the county center. Sale days come from the barns' recent USDA AMS reports; call the barn to confirm. All barns

Other barns nearby (not USDA-reported)

These barns are not in a USDA AMS report, so Cownty shows no prices for them. Sale days and phones come from the barns' own sites or public listings; call the barn to confirm. More barns

Printable county brief (PDF) · Everything on one page · Hay prices in Colorado

Common questions and nearby counties

Is Arapahoe County eligible for LFP in 2026?

Yes. Arapahoe County is on FSA's 2026 Livestock Forage Disaster Program county list, with up to 4 monthly payments for some pasture types. FSA decides each operation's eligibility; apply at your county FSA office by March 1 after the loss year.

Source: FSA LFP county file of Nov 5, 2026

What is the drought level in Arapahoe County this week?

On the Drought Monitor map of Nov 10, 2026, most of Arapahoe County was in abnormally dry (D0), and the worst part was severe drought (D2) on 25% of the county. 50 straight weeks with some severe drought (D2) or worse.

Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, map of Nov 10, 2026

Is there a burn ban in Arapahoe County?

No official statewide list to check: Cownty doesn't read an official statewide burn-ban list for Colorado; county commissions, sheriffs and fire districts post local fire restrictions, so check your county's own notices.

What sale barns are near Arapahoe County?

The nearest USDA-reported sale barns: Brush (56 mi), last report Nov 13, 2026; Sterling (90 mi), last report Nov 11, 2026; La Junta LJLC (123 mi), last report Nov 11, 2026.

Source: USDA AMS Market News reports

What are the upcoming FSA and farm deadlines?

Next: Nov 20, 2026: Colorado EQIP/CSP/RCPP/ACEP application ranking cutoff (FY 2027); Nov 20, 2026: Micro Farm 2027: last day to buy crop insurance. FSA program dates not posted officially are marked "confirm at source" on the calendar.

Source: official agency pages (see Calendar)

Information only; not financial or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Always check the linked official source.