agriculture
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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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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…
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Colorado House passed a bill raising threshold for agriculture overtime by one vote
The bill that would raise the overtime threshold for overtime pay for certain agricultural workers won the narrowest of votes Thursday in the Colorado House. Senate Bill 121 won a 33-32 vote, a dramatic difference from votes cast Wednesday on nearly three dozen amendments offered by progressive Democrats. Most of those recorded votes, taken late…
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Senate-passed farmworkers overtime bill easily clears Colorado House committee
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
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
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.…