When U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke Friday at the Boots ‘n Business Luncheon, his remarks centered on how essential it is that farmers and ranchers thrive, and how 20% of all American jobs are connected to agriculture.

He also praised the sponsoring Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and National Western Stock Show, along with the Colorado State University Spur campus, for bringing “An innovative edge to the agriculture industry.”

It was Gov. Jared Polis, though, who in greeting the distinguished guest elicited a knowing chuckle from those who’ve been grocery shopping lately. “Welcome, Secretary Vilsack. I hope you brought eggs.”

(Eggs are in short supply, and much more expensive than in the past, thanks to a widespread outbreak of avian flu and a requirement that egg producers now must give one square foot of space to all egg-laying hens before their eggs can be sold in Colorado).

Like Vilsack, Polis underscored the agriculture’s importance in Colorado, noting that it contributes $47 billion to the state’s economy and supports some 200,000 workers.

The 2023 Boots ‘n Business Luncheon brought 1,360 rural and urban political and community leaders to the National Western Stock Show for an afternoon that included a beef tenderloin buffet by the SSA Group, and performances by horsewoman Jill Barron — who trains the Calgary Stampede Showriders and Colorado’s famed Westernaires. Plus, there was a running of some Texas longhorn cattle.

The luncheon is a popular prelude to the National Western Stock Show, which Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce CEO J. J. Ament describes as “The Super Bowl of livestock shows.” It’s a great chance for urban and rural communities to mesh, and to demonstrate how important agriculture is to Colorado and its economy, he said.

“If it didn’t exist,” Ament joked, “We’d have to invent it.”

“Everything we have is either mined from, dug from or grown from the earth,” said George Sparks, president/CEO of Denver Museum of Nature & Science and chair of the Denver Chamber board. “And as our population grows and land becomes more precious, we are lucky to have the CSU Spur and the answers its scholars are going to provide as to how we’re going to feed an increasing population.”

Among the guests:

• Denver Mayor Michael Hancock
• Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno
• House Minority Leader Mike Lynch
• Speaker of the House Jan McCluskie
• State Sens. Chris Hansen and Kyle Mullica
• State Rep. Alex Valdez
• Centennial Mayor Stephanie Piko
• David Coors, vice president of the Molson Coors Beverage Company’s Next Generation Beverages, and his brother, Peter J. Coors, a director of the Molson Coors Brewing Company
• Andy Aye, Colorado market president for Presenting Sponsor US Bank
• Adams County Commissioners Emma Pinter and Steve O’Dorisio
• Denver City Council members Leslie Herod and Chris Hinds
• John Brackney, former president/CEO of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce
• CRL Associates managing partner Roger Sherman
• Simone Ross, president/CEO of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce
• Kayla Garcia, president/CEO of Girls, Inc. of Metro Denver
• Metropolitan State University President Janine Davidson
• Mark Williams, an attorney with Sherman and Howard, sponsor of the networking social that preceded lunch
• Kasia Iwaniczko MacLeod, a vice president with Cigna, which will sponsor next week’s Pink Rodeo honoring breast cancer survivors
• Ernest House Jr., former executive director of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs and a current member of the National Western Center Authority board