Tag: agriculture
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Livestock grazing regulations need flexible updates | Rachel Gabel
The Bureau of Land Management last updated their livestock grazing regulations the year I graduated from high school. I am 49. Assessing rangeland health can’t be done once and not revisited. This year is a prime example that managers must be able to make decisions not just year by year, but week by week. This…
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Colorado to implement new laws on jail standards, safe haven rules, and agricultural labeling
In mid-August every year, a slew of recently passed laws in Colorado go into effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session. This year, all bills without a specified effective date or safety clause — a provision stating the legislation must become effective immediately to protect the public peace, health, or safety of…
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Weiser’s leadership crucial for rural win-win | Rachel Gabel
Attorney General Phil Weiser is going to win the gubernatorial election. That said, Colorado agriculture and rural communities have a 30-year track record of finding the win-win be it for species or industries or habitat. Former Governor Roy Romer possessed what Gov. Jared Polis has demonstrated repeatedly he doesn’t have: the willingness to find compromise…
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Colorado produce not tied to nationwide cyclospora outbreak, agriculture officials say
There is no indication that the recent outbreak of cyclospora, a fecal parasite that has contaminated food and water across nearly every state, can be linked to produce grown in Colorado, according to the state’s Department of Agriculture. “Colorado growers and produce processors should continue normal operations and fresh produce that has not been implicated…
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Some of Colorado’s signature crops facing challenging year
It is summer in Colorado and that means it’s time to enjoy corn on the cob, sweet peaches and other Colorado-grown treats. The state’s big four, Olathe sweet corn, Palisade peaches, Rocky Ford melons and Pueblo chiles, are coming or have already arrived on store shelves. It has not been an easy harvest for Colorado…
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Nuts! Colorado Springs future home of pecan-shelling and distribution facility
Colorado Springs will become home to a family-run pecan shelling and distribution facility. The Creel Family, which has been farming the nuts for more than 30 years, announced the expansion Monday evening during the annual Boots, Business & Boogie event. A news release from the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation said the expansion…
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Agriculture’s workforce act addresses H-2A program issues | Rachel Gabel
A bill recently introduced by U.S. Rep. G.T. Thompson (Pennsylvania-15) making changes to the accessibility and cost of agricultural labor has wide support from growers who utilize H-2A visa program workers, including in Colorado. The H-2A program hasn’t been statutorily reformed in 40 years. It is widely used in Colorado by producers with seasonal labor…
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Pigs engineered to fight alpha-gal syndrome | Rachel Gabel
If I were an evil genius trying to hamstring animal agriculture, I would create a fly that eats livestock alive and a tick whose bite and spit causes some people to have an allergic reaction to meat. (Insert evil laugh here) However, it appears someone beat me to it. Just when I think headlines in agriculture can’t…
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Colorado GOP has lost its sense of what’s best for the people | Rachel Gabel
The Republican Party I grew up knowing was the party of small business, big business, and job creation. It was the party that signed paychecks and built economies and legacies. In 1980, Ronald Reagan swept Colorado in nearly every county, including Denver and Boulder. By 1988, Michael Dukakis, a Democrat who lost to George H.W. Bush, won…
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Processing plants are an important piece of the ag puzzle | Rachel Gabel
Concrete barricades blocked the entrance to the Cargill beef plant in Ft. Morgan, Colo., on May 20. About 1,700 workers had been locked out by the company after months of contract negotiations ended with workers voting to reject the company’s last and best offer by a large margin. The workers who couldn’t report to work reported to…