agriculture
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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,…
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Colorado is turning its back on agriculture | PODIUM
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Colorado’s farmers and ranchers already face significant challenges, including volatile commodity prices, rising input costs, labor shortages and unpredictable weather. They should not also have to contend with a state legislature that increasingly seeks to regulate how they protect crops and livestock. Yet that is precisely what Senate Bills 26-062 and 26-065 represent: a top-down…
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A fight over seeds and bees: Colorado Democrats target neonicotinoid pesticides
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Colorado lawmakers are weighing new restrictions on a class of pesticides after Gov. Jared Polis signaled support for a Democratic-backed bill aimed at protecting pollinators — a proposal that has raised sharp worries from farmers who rely on treated seeds to protect crops from soil-dwelling pests. The proposal contained in Senate Bill 65 would restrict…
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Insecticide bill latest example of Colorado pols legislating your plate | Rachel Gabel
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“Neonicotinoids” seems to be the word rolling off the tongues of lawmakers this year as the legislative session kicks off. Senate Bill 26-065, concerning limitations on the use of certain insecticides in the state, sponsored by Sen. Katie Wallace, a Democrat who represents Boulder, Broomfield and Weld counties; Sen. Cathy Kipp, a Democrat who represents…
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Colorado farmers warn U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper tariffs and research cuts endanger agriculture
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Northern Colorado farmers told U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper this week that tariffs and President Donald Trump’s decision to import $40 billion worth of beef from Argentina have hurt Colorado’s agricultural industry. But the administration’s cuts to scientific research are almost as bad, they said in a forum in Fort Morgan Tuesday night. The forum, hosted…
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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…