agriculture
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Misguided overtime law hampers Colorado agriculture | Rachel Gabel
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The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 sets federal standards for employees including minimum wage, child labor and overtime. Agricultural workers have been largely exempted from the overtime requirements because during key portions of the growing season, there is a small window of time that requires more hours and more labor than the majority of…
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Colorado could loosen regulations on intoxicating hemp products, countering new federal ban
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As the federal government is poised to impose a near-ban on intoxicating hemp products next year, Colorado lawmakers are planning to loosen the restrictions imposed by a 2023 law. Last week, Congress included a provision in its funding bill intended to end the federal government shutdown — a ban on all intoxicating hemp products with…
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Trump accuses foreign-owned meat packers of inflating US beef prices and calls for investigation
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday accused foreign-owned meat packers of driving up the price of beef in the U.S. and asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation. The Republican president announced the move on social media days after his party suffered losses in key elections in which the winning Democratic candidates focused relentlessly on the…
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Colorado River near Grand Junction infested with zebra mussels, state officials report
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Colorado now has five bodies of water, including a stretch of the Colorado River from east of Grand Junction to the Utah border, that are showing zebra mussel infestations. The state has battled the invasive species successfully for years. In 2021, the state celebrated three years of negative testing for zebra and quagga mussels and…
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Study: USDA relocation to Fort Collins to boost jobs, local economy
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s planned relocation of up to 2,600 employees to Fort Collins could bring more than $1 billion in new business output and over 6,000 new jobs to the area by the end of next year, according to a study by the think tank Common Sense Institute. In July, Agriculture Secretary Brooke…
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New study looks at ‘right to float’ on Colorado waterways
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Two new studies from the Common Sense Institute focus on the economic costs of wolf restoration and on what could be an upcoming battle at the state Capitol — the right to float. That latter is a belief that anyone using a public waterway may also have the right to access private property that runs…
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Gov. Jared Polis says Trump’s tariffs policy is disrupting Colorado’s exports, jobs
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A report released Thursday by Colorado’s governor said President Donald Trump’s tariffs policy is disrupting the state’s economy and courting a recessionary scenario. State economists have, in fact, been sounding the risk of a scenario for a year — preceding both the White House’s tariffs changes and the congressional budget that Democrats blamed for Colorado’s…
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Denver’s ‘Eat Less Meat’ campaign sparks backlash from ag community, praise from activists
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A climate campaign by the Johnston administration in Denver, which notably encourages people to “eat less meat,” drew criticism from Colorado’s agricultural producers, who called the marketing blitz “tone deaf,” “elitist” and yet another “demonization” of cattle production. Activists, meanwhile, praised the campaign, arguing that “animal farming” is “very bad for the climate” and hoping…
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Jared Polis celebrates SCOTUS decision on California’s animal confinement law
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Gov. Jared Polis praised last week’s decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld the ability of states to enact laws governing the treatment of livestock. In National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, the pork industry challenged a California law, enacted by ballot initiative, to require producers of meat and egg products to comply with certain…
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Colorado becomes first state to establish right to repair agricultural equipment
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Colorado farmers will soon be guaranteed access to the resources needed to repair their own agricultural equipment, as the state on Tuesday became the first in the nation to sign a farmer’s right to repair bill. Modern agricultural equipment often runs on advanced computer software, and, currently, some manufacturers prohibit access to these systems or do…
