Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns

Opinion: Colorado’s top animal-protection officer is not a friend of livestock producers

I am a 4th-generation livestock producer in Mesa County. At VanWinkle Ranch, we make our living by stewarding the land and caring for the animals we have responsibility for. There is dignity and honor in the work that we do to support food security in our county, state, nation, and globally. We have some serious […]

Posted inNews, Politics and Government

Colorado’s new overtime pay rules for agricultural workers are too weak, advocates say

A new overtime pay rule for Colorado agricultural workers doesn’t go far enough, according to a coalition of groups that helped pass this year’s sweeping expansion of labor rights for people who work on the state’s farms and ranches. The final rule should have given farm workers the same overtime benefits as workers in other […]

Posted inClimate, Environment, News

While Colorado’s eastern half revels in rain, the Western Slope is still stuck in a drought

The Ute Mountain Ute Reservation sits at the lower end of a 40-mile, gravity-fed canal, and waits for whatever water the towering San Juan mountains will give up for the season.  By the second week of May, it was clear 2021 will be a bust. The Utes’ farm enterprise has already switched to hopes for […]

Posted inColoradans, Education, Growth, Opinion, Opinion Columns, Politics and Government

Opinion: Former Agriculture Commissioner Peter Decker fought for equity for rural Colorado

“Morgan, Roy wants me to be Commissioner of Agriculture. What do I do?” Peter Decker asked. It was 1987 and Gov. Roy Romer was about to announce this appointment. “Get out to rural Colorado,” I answered, having served as commissioner several years earlier. “Go to those Farm Bureau and Farmers Union dinners. Show rural Colorado […]