Urbanization and new development has rapidly accelerated in Colorado in the last few decades. Our population boom has been sustained for years, and centered predominantly on the Front Range. Fewer and fewer Coloradans hail from rural communities or have any real tie to the land.

But despite this trend, many Coloradans still recognize the overall importance of Colorado’s agriculture industry and the history it has in the state.  ??In a 2017 survey of consumer attitudes about agriculture, the Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado State University found that nine out of 10 consumers think the industry is at least moderately important to the state’s quality of life.

If you live in rural Colorado or are involved in the production of food, this is one of a handful of encouraging data points. Unfortunately, this encouraging data exists in a sea of troubling statistics. 

?As the eternal optimist one needs to be in the agriculture business, I’ll start with the good news.  ??The agriculture and food industry is Colorado’s second largest, contributing more than $40 billion to the state’s economy and more than 100,000 jobs on an annual basis. The industry is centered in Colorado’s rural areas, providing economic vitality and acting as a jobs engine for many rural communities.

In the past several decades, advances in science and technology have dramatically increased the productive capacity of our farms and ranches, reduced the use of agricultural inputs and increased environmental and economic sustainability. In the state’s urban and suburban areas, higher education and private investment have helped revolutionize the food industry, helping to better align food and agricultural production with changing consumer tastes, all without losing the quality and safety of food we produce.??

Colorado’s agriculture producers are poised to succeed in the long term. Our farms are becoming ever more sustainable. New management practices, coupled with cutting-edge university research are helping define agriculture’s ability to help improve climate outcomes. Farms are dramatically reducing their carbon footprint and ranches are sequestering ever more carbon in native grasslands. In response, researchers are quickly increasing their understanding of the level of ecosystem services the industry provides.??

In the very near future, blockchain tracking for produce and radio frequency identification tags for livestock will help improve traceability for foodborne illness. Internet-of-things devices coupled with machine learning and advanced data analytics will help drive even more dramatic reductions in the use of agricultural inputs like fertilizer and herbicides. Remote sensing and driverless technology for agriculture machinery will further reduce labor costs and improve operator safety. ??

But now for the less positive. ??Despite the immense productive capacity of Colorado’s farms and ranches, fluctuations in market prices have dramatically impacted farm incomes. Political risk, in the form of costly and complex regulation, and challenges to existing international trading relationships have also negatively impacted outcomes in farm country. Commodity cycles, coupled with the impacts of public policy, have combined to reduce nationwide net farm income by more than 50 percent in 2018. ??

As a result, serious cracks in agricultural finances are beginning to emerge. Some commentators worry about a bubble in ag land prices. Significant social problems in rural communities, such as expanding drug use and mental health challenges, reflect the distress in the agricultural sector. The politics of trade and regulatory challenges remain uncertain at both the state and federal level.

And the same can be said for commodity prices, with the general consensus pointing toward continued depressed prices in the coming months. ??Rural areas still struggle with access to reliable and affordable broadband connections. This not only deprives rural America of more than $65 billion in economic output annually, according to some estimates, but it also makes the realization of technologies like telehealth and distance learning that much more difficult.

And while we are on the subject, rural health care and education are suffering. In many parts of rural Colorado, health insurance premiums are double what they are in urban areas. A full 13 counties in Colorado have no hospital and dozens of counties have no access to critical mental health services. Our educational system suffers from a chronic lack of adequate funding for both teacher salaries and capital construction. This all contributes to the well-documented “brain-drain” in rural communities. ??

We in agriculture and rural Colorado have a long road ahead of us. Keeping farmers and ranchers in business will be our priority for the foreseeable future, and it should be the goal of policymakers at all levels of government as well. Some of these challenges can be addressed at the state level. But major financial stress is something typically outside our state policy makers’ control.

As a result, we will be on the lookout for statewide policies that drive up the cost of doing business or add red tape.  ??With a little patience and a whole lot of work and understanding, we will see this rough patch through. Let’s let our farmers and ranchers do what they do best, and agriculture will continue to be an important part of this state in the decades to come. 

Donald Shawcroft is president of the Colorado Farm Bureau and a rancher from the San Luis Valley.