Worst-ever outbreak leads to slaughter of 6 million-plus chickens and has killed enough eagles and other raptors to raise wildlife fears.
Colorado Department of Agriculture
Posted inEnvironment
Worst Colorado avian flu outbreak kills bald eagles, threatens more wild birds
Millions of chickens have been slaughtered, while rare raptors are also in danger and rescue centers become bird hospice
Posted inOpinion Columns
Opinion: Choose local food to end ‘food apartheid’
We need more local institutions like hospitals or schools to source their food from local producers.
Posted inBusiness
Why the price of eggs went up in Colorado this year
Avian flu has killed off 85% of Colorado’s egg-laying hens amid high inflation. The industry says there’s no egg shortage — just higher costs for everyone.
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 […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, Health, Politics and Government, Transportation
Is Colorado leading or lagging on climate policy? It depends on which states you’re comparing us to.
States from coast to coast – faced with President Donald Trump’s insistence that climate change is “a hoax” – are taking the lead in creating climate policy and programs, and in this multifaceted exercise Colorado is either a leader or a laggard. On the one hand, the state has adopted some of the most ambitious […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
Colorado hemp farmers say they know more than the feds and want to keep regulation in state hands
As Colorado hemp growers ready their fields and greenhouses for an anticipated 120,000-acre crop this year, state policymakers are working on a plan to bypass proposed federal rules that threaten to wither the promise of the state’s hemp industry. Colorado has had its own successful hemp oversight program for six years, and the Colorado Department […]