Tag: Agriculture
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Pigs engineered to fight alpha-gal syndrome | Rachel Gabel
If I were an evil genius trying to hamstring animal agriculture, I would create a fly that eats livestock alive and a tick whose bite and spit causes some people to have an allergic reaction to meat. (Insert evil laugh here) However, it appears someone beat me to it. Just when I think headlines in agriculture can’t…
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Screwworm border closure fuels beef boom in Mexico, gloom in Texas
LUBBOCK, Texas/SALTILLO, Mexico – Lubbock Feeders has been fattening cattle in West Texas since Dwight Eisenhower was U.S. president. Now, row upon row of pens sit empty. The 70-year-old feedlot in Lubbock, Texas, is on the brink of closure after a halt to U.S. imports of Mexican livestock last year dried up the supply that…
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Colorado GOP has lost its sense of what’s best for the people | Rachel Gabel
The Republican Party I grew up knowing was the party of small business, big business, and job creation. It was the party that signed paychecks and built economies and legacies. In 1980, Ronald Reagan swept Colorado in nearly every county, including Denver and Boulder. By 1988, Michael Dukakis, a Democrat who lost to George H.W. Bush, won…
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Processing plants are an important piece of the ag puzzle | Rachel Gabel
Concrete barricades blocked the entrance to the Cargill beef plant in Ft. Morgan, Colo., on May 20. About 1,700 workers had been locked out by the company after months of contract negotiations ended with workers voting to reject the company’s last and best offer by a large margin. The workers who couldn’t report to work reported to…
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Fire changes everything for rural communities | Rachel Gabel
The Nebraska Sandhills are made for cattle grazing, and that is, in large part, what keeps the area thriving and supports the small communities throughout western Nebraska. In Arthur County, most operations are cow/calf producers with a few operators who run yearlings on grass during the summer. On a good year, the grass is dense with nutrition…
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Senate-passed farmworkers overtime bill easily clears Colorado House committee
A proposal to ease Colorado’s overtime requirements for agricultural employers cleared a key House committee Monday, setting up a broader fight over whether the state should scale back a labor policy adopted just five years ago. The House Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee approved the bill Monday to raise the threshold for overtime pay…
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Colorado farmers begin spring planting season with soaring fertilizer costs and price-gouging fears
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As Colorado farmers prepare their fields for spring planting, many are sounding the alarm over fertilizer prices that have surged far beyond what they say global supply disruptions can explain. With nitrogen costs up 30% in a matter of days, growers and lawmakers are questioning whether the industry is using geopolitical conflict as cover for…
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Colorado Agriculture Day: A feast for the ears, eyes and stomachs
Gov. Jared Polis, legislators and friends of agriculture gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday to celebrate Colorado Agriculture Day. The annual recognition of the contributions of Colorado farmers, ranchers and agribusiness drew hundreds to the Capitol’s west foyer, where a luncheon of lamb, brisket and pulled pork, along with baked beans and potato salad,…
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Colorado Senate committee advances bill increasing overtime threshold for farmworkers
The struggle to balance farmworker protections with the survival of Colorado’s family farms took center stage Thursday as senators debated two competing overtime bills. The Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee held a rare double-bill hearing that led to a 3-2 vote rejecting a measure that was supported by unions and sponsored by the committee…
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Department of Agriculture warns of packages holding potentially invasive seeds
Spring planting is around the corner, and the Colorado Department of Agriculture wants residents to know where their seeds are coming from. Officials with the department warned Tuesday that they received reports of unsolicited packages containing plant seeds mailed internationally to Coloradans, according to a news release. While small, the contents of the package are…