The Colorado Farm Bureau, the Big Kahuna of the state’s agriculture interests, recognized Service to Ag winners at its annual meeting in the Denver Tech Center last week.

Mel and Maureen Rettig, long-time Mesa County Farm Bureau members, and Phil Seng, CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, were honored at a banquet with 300 or more Farm Bureaus and industry friends at the organization’s 99th annual meeting.

“This year has been one of great uncertainty, both on the political front and the economic,” Colorado Farm Bureau President Don Shawcroft, a San Luis Valley rancher, said in a statement.

“Farm and ranch income is down, and all signs point to a continued trend of low commodity prices. While some progress has been made on longstanding policy issues like regulatory reform, we still have yet to see movement on transportation and infrastructure, taxes, and other important issues.

“Our organization has undergone much change in the past year, setting the table for our upcoming centennial celebration, and our leap into the next 100 years.”

Besides the awards and banquets, the annual meetings are about updating members on the Farm Bureau’s work on their behalf, as well as the state of the industry overall. The Farm Bureau is a shaper of policies at the statehouse in Denver and at the U.S. Capitol.

“To ensure the success of Farm Bureau in the years to come, our work now is as important as ever,” Shawcroft added.

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner was in attendance, and the speakers included Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Don Brown, retired Air Force Gen. Ronald Keys and Dale Moore, executive director of public policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Carlyle Currier, a Molina rancher and the Colorado Farm Bureau’s vice president, recognized former state Rep. Clarice Navarro, who this month was appointed by President Trump as the state’s Farms Services Agency executive director.

“She has a heart and a passion for service to our state’s farmers and ranchers,” Currier told the crowd.

A livestream of the event is available by clicking here.

Brown tells an interesting story about Cuba.