agriculture
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Senate-passed farmworkers overtime bill easily clears Colorado House committee
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A proposal to ease Colorado’s overtime requirements for agricultural employers cleared a key House committee Monday, setting up a broader fight over whether the state should scale back a labor policy adopted just five years ago. The House Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee approved the bill Monday to raise the threshold for overtime pay…
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Colorado farmers begin spring planting season with soaring fertilizer costs and price-gouging fears
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As Colorado farmers prepare their fields for spring planting, many are sounding the alarm over fertilizer prices that have surged far beyond what they say global supply disruptions can explain. With nitrogen costs up 30% in a matter of days, growers and lawmakers are questioning whether the industry is using geopolitical conflict as cover for…
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Farmworker overtime bill advances after lengthy debate in Colorado Senate
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The Colorado Senate on Tuesday narrowly advanced a bill to raise the overtime threshold for agricultural workers, defeating more than a dozen amendments from its leading opponent aimed at rewriting the measure. As introduced, Senate Bill 121 would raise the threshold for overtime pay from its current 48 to 56 hours during production season to 60 hours.…
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Colorado Agriculture Day: A feast for the ears, eyes and stomachs
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Gov. Jared Polis, legislators and friends of agriculture gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday to celebrate Colorado Agriculture Day. The annual recognition of the contributions of Colorado farmers, ranchers and agribusiness drew hundreds to the Capitol’s west foyer, where a luncheon of lamb, brisket and pulled pork, along with baked beans and potato salad,…
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Colorado Senate committee advances bill increasing overtime threshold for farmworkers
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The struggle to balance farmworker protections with the survival of Colorado’s family farms took center stage Thursday as senators debated two competing overtime bills. The Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee held a rare double-bill hearing that led to a 3-2 vote rejecting a measure that was supported by unions and sponsored by the committee…
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Colorado plans to slash interim committee work amid budget woes
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In a tight-budget year, the work of interim committees — those off-session groups that look at transportation, agriculture, water, healthcare, wildfires, pensions, and anything else lawmakers want to look at — is on the chopping block. And this year, no committee is considered sacrosanct. A bill introduced Thursday by the legislative leadership from both parties…
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Department of Agriculture warns of packages holding potentially invasive seeds
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Spring planting is around the corner, and the Colorado Department of Agriculture wants residents to know where their seeds are coming from. Officials with the department warned Tuesday that they received reports of unsolicited packages containing plant seeds mailed internationally to Coloradans, according to a news release. While small, the contents of the package are…
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More than 20 Colorado counties receive grants to improve land record-keeping systems
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More than 20 Colorado counties received a total of $2.5 million to improve their land record-keeping systems, according to a Monday news release. The State’s Electronic Recording Technology Board awarded 22 counties with grants ranging from $5,000 to $350,000, according to the release. Counties such as Arapahoe, El Paso and Pueblo each received sizable amounts.…
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Rural legislators, Colorado farmers defeat pollinator bill backed by Gov. Polis
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A proposal to limit the use of neonicotinoid-coated crop seeds collapsed in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee last week, as rural lawmakers, including two Democrats, joined Republicans to reject what they called an expensive, impractical mandate on farmers. Senate Bill 65 would have required farmers to obtain permission from third-party evaluators before using…
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Competing overtime bills for agriculture workers split Colorado Democrats
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Competing bills setting the overtime threshold for farmworkers have split legislators at the Colorado state Capitol, with one group saying a law passed in 2021 has harmed, rather than helped, farming operations and workers alike, while the other side insists that farmworkers should be treated like any other employee. The first group, which is bipartisan,…
