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Spring-Summer 2021 Edition

Salute to

Agriculture The Heartbeat of the Plains

“Leah (ABM Instructor) did a great job of listening to my goals, and helping to design a personalized program to meet these goals for our farm. I am excited about what I learned in this class and look forward to bettering our business with the knowledge gained.” - Tycie Lichty (and family), ABM Student

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Salute to Agriculture Inside

Christensen Ranch’s philosophy is transparency from pasture to plate.................................................................... 4 Stock show helps prepare youth for upcoming county fairs ................................................................................. 8 Giving support to the Brush FFA .................................................. 11 Weldon Valley celebrates FFA Week ............................................. 13 Merino FFA finds success ........................................................... 14 Tractors on parade .................................................................... 15 NJC student competes at National Collegiate Farm Bureau Competition .......................................................... 16 Morgan County 4-H well represented at Stock Show ..................... 17 Work program brings new career opportunities to farm workers ......................................................................... 20 Plant scientists go into the wild in a search for hardier crops ........................................................................ 22 Colorado state vet to retire after quarter-century of service........................................................... 24 MeatOut proclamation spurs support for livestock producers .............................................................. 26 Colorado agriculture faces widening urban-rural divide .................. 29 Ag leadership program graduates 18 in one-of-a-kind event ................................................................. 32

Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate

Dan Kuntz loads a grill with all-beef sausages to be served during the Meat In hosted by Sterling Livestock Commission in Sterling on March 20. Read more about the movement on page 26.

Staff

Brian Porter, Publisher Sara Waite, Editor Assistant Editors Jenni Grubbs, Fort Morgan Times Callie Jones, Journal-Advocate Editorial Staff Jeff Rice, Journal-Advocate Jack Harvel, Fort Morgan Times

SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • MARCH 31, 2021 • 3

LIVESTOCK

Christensen Ranch’s philosophy is transparency from pasture to plate Cousins’ operation near Weldona works to produce high-quality cuts of beef to sell straight to consumers By Jeff Rice Journal-Advocate Staff Writer

Vertical integration is nothing new in agriculture. Some of the biggest names in the business control every aspect of their product from insemination to distribution. Christensen Ranch Beef is anything but big, but it uses some of those same vertical integration concepts in producing what its owners, cousins Eric Christensen and Kathy Wood, think is some of the best beef in Colorado. They control the entire process and have adopted the motto, “Transparency, from pasture to plate.” “We don’t feed for maximum efficiency, but for a quality grade carcass,” Christensen said. “Ninety-five percent of our beef grades at choice or prime.” That kind of quality begins with the Christensen cow herd. The

The Christensen family of Christensen Ranch: Jodi, Eric, Allie and Tyler Christensen.

ranch raises red Angus cattle, a calm, maternal breed known to be excellent mothers that produce fast-growing calves. Red Angus also produce beef that is known for its high-quality marbling, tenderness, quality grade, and flavor.

The animals are raised on the ranch, fed corn and alfalfa grown on Christensen Farms, processed at packing houses in Wiggins and Sterling, and marketed mostly online through the Christensen Ranch website. The operation is still based on

Courtesy photo

the same Weldon Valley farm that Edward Christensen and his wife Mary began farming nearly a century ago. Edward and Mary moved from near Brush, Colo., to a farm on Schaefer Draw north of Weldona in 1923. They started

See CHRISTENSEN, pg. 5

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Farm | Garages | Equestrian | Commercial

Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate

Christensen Ranch offers a variety of products. Pictured from left are Cajun seasoning, western griller steak, summer sausage and select coffee.

CHRISTENSEN from page 4

out raising sheep, sugar beets, and four children while expanding the ranch through the purchases of neighboring farms. In 1949 they started raising Hereford cattle and were some of the first ranchers to feed cattle yearround in northeast Colorado. Edward passed away in 1969 and his three sons, Don, Glen, and Larry, formed Christensen Bros., Inc. to steer the ranch forward while maintaining their father’s commitment to raising cattle naturally. In 1995, Christensen Bros., Inc. began feeding and marketing their freezer beef to a wider audience. In 2000, they focused on red Angus cattle, and began marketing their beef with brochures and a rudimentary website. By 2017 Eric and Kathy decided they were ready to go all-in on e-commerce and launched the website the ranch uses today. Besides their own calves, the Eric and Kathy buy calves from other area ranchers and finish them in their feedlot. That’s created a symbiotic relationship between producer and feeder that relies on an exchange of information about how the animals do. “We provide them with data, broken down on how the animals do health-wise in the feedlot, and how they perform (when dressed out,)” Eric said. “That helps them produce a better calf, and helps

us produce a better product.” The feedlot uses all homegrown corn and alfalfa hay sileage grown on the 1,000 acres of irrigated farmland adjacent to the ranch. “We use what we call ‘earlage,’ which separates the ear from the stalk and grinds up the corn cob with the kernels,” Kathy said. “It’s a high-moisture ear corn, but it’s drier than when you harvest stalk and all.” While traditional custom packers break a beef animal down into steaks, roasts and other cuts, the Christensens learned that most of their direct-market customers want steaks. Filling that need meant re-learning how to carve up a beef carcass. The company offers a long list of products – ribs, roasts, kabob, stew and ground – but steaks predominate. Besides the usual rib eye, Delmonico, New York Strip and tenderloin, they also offer bavette steak, hangar steak, mock tender, western griller, and Eric’s favorite, flatiron steaks. “We had to learn how to cut meat a new way,” Kathy said. “We found out a lot of people don’t know how to slow-cook a roast.” They also had to learn some new packaging. While one of their packers, Stagecoach Meats in Wiggins, will still wrap meat in butcher paper – and some cus-

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • MARCH 31, 2021 • 5

CHRISTENSEN from page 5

Courtesy photo

The Wood family of Christensen Ranch: Kathy, Connor, Donald and Kirsten Wood.

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tomers actually prefer it that way – Mike’s Meat Market in Sterling packages exclusively in vacuumsealed clear plastic. “That’s part of our transparency,” Eric said. They also learned that consumers rarely can use large shipments of beef. They do offer whole, half and quarter carcasses for those who have the freezer space, but most of their offerings are in the five- to ten-pound range. Kathy said they started out offering 20-pound boxes of a variety of cuts, but their customers couldn’t fit 20 pounds of beef in their refrigerator-freezer. “We figured out people consume about 60 to 65 pounds of beef a year, per capita, and we were trying to sell one-third of that in one box,” Eric said. Part of the ranch’s success goes to the Colorado Beef Council, which has been a rich source of meat science information. Funded by the $1 per head beef checkoff assessment on all cattle sold in the state, CBC retains half of each dollar collected for state level programs and forwards the other half to the CBB for national level programs. The Christensens aren’t content to just produce fine beef, however. With their website, they are constantly trying to educate consumers and the public about ranch life, animal welfare, and the process of getting that denselypacked protein from the pasture to the plate.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • MARCH 31, 2021 • 7

AG EDUCATION

Stock show helps prepare youth for upcoming county fairs

Shae Stone, Lea Richardson take top awards

By Callie Jones Journal-Advocate Assistant Editor

After months of training, feeding and caring for their animals, area youth recently had a chance to see how their steers and heifers are developing compared to others at the Northeastern Colorado Stock Show, hosted by the Sterling High School FFA Chapter at the Logan County Fairgrounds. It seemed only fitting that this year’s show happened to fall on March 20, the day Colorado’s livestock industry staged a statewide Meat-In celebration to counter Gov. Jared Polis’ proclamation recognizing the national MeatOut observance. Sterling FFA sold T-shirts promoting the day and there were plenty of reminders throughout the show to “eat meat sometime today.” The stock show is a prospect cattle and breeding show that helps FFA and 4-H students from Sterling and the surrounding area Callie Jones / Sterling Journal-Advocate prepare to show their animals at Judge Jess James Moody congratulates Champion Intermediate Showman Shae Stone at the Northeastern ColoSee SHOW, pg. 9 rado Stock Show Saturday, March 20. Stone also took home the Grand Champion Market Beef award.

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Sterling Livestock Commission 8 • MARCH 31, 2021 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

SHOW from page 8

upcoming county fairs. This year’s show was judged by Jess James Moody. Originally of Big Timber, Montana, he judged in junior college at Casper College and then transferred to the University of Wyoming, where he continued judging. Moody will graduate this spring and head to Montana State University, where he will work on his master’s degree while also serving as a coach for the livestock judging team. The day started off with the breeding portion of the show, which featured six different classes. As he walked around the ring, Moody paid close attention to body shape, freshness, power and movement. “Very nice line-up to choose from, a very nice set of heifers,” he said as he made his selections. Grand Champion Breeding Beef award went to Emma Haynes and Reserve Champion was Kolby Callie Jones / Sterling Journal-Advocate Morris. Judge Jess James Moody walks over to congratulate Lea Richardson as he selects her animal as Reserve ChampiUp next was the showmanship See SHOW, pg. 10 on Market Beef during the Northeastern Colorado Stock Show.

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SHOW from page 9

contest. During this portion, Moody looked for close eye contact, how well the exhibitor controlled their animal and how knowledgeable they were about their project. He complemented the senior showmen on how well they had the fundamentals down. “I’d be lying if I said I could show better than them,” he said, and also had nice words to say about the intermediate competitors: “These individuals do a very nice job in getting their animals presented and present themselves well.” When it came to the junior showmen, he encouraged them to continue on raising and showing beef. “I encourage you at your young age, keep doing this deal and keep learning from it. The days will get better; I want you guys to know that. Keep doing this; you’ll learn a lot from it,” Moody said. Grand Champion Senior Showman was T.J. Rice, Reserve Champion Showman was Ema Richardson, Grand Champion Intermediate Showman was Shae Stone, Reserve Champion Intermediate Showman was Emma Haynes, Grand Champion Junior Showman was Emmrie Chamberlain and Reserve Champion Junior Showman was Trotter Thomas. The grand champion winners received a cooler, blanket, an RTIC bundle and a chair and reserve champions received a cooler, sorting stick and a chair. Prize sponsors were Premier Farm Credit, Mead Lumber, Sonnenberg Agency, Dewitt Family

Callie Jones / Sterling Journal-Advocate

Judge Jess James Moody, center, congratulates Emma Haynes, Grand Champion Breeding Beef.

and Kaiser Family. Closing out the show was the prospect contest, which featured six market steer classes and one market heifer class. For this portion, Moody judged the animals based on power, shape, flexibility, muscle and skeletal width. “Really nice set of steers,” he said. “Our top three are really, really close. I have plenty of steers out here and a pair of heifers that I really, really like.” Winning the Grand Champion Market Beef award was Shae Stone and Reserve Champion Market Beef went to Lea Richardson.

Callie Jones / Sterling Journal-Advocate

Colby Morris, Reserve Champion Breeding Beef, poses for a picture with his family and Jess James Moody at the Northeastern Colorado Livestock Show.

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AG EDUCATION

Giving support to the Brush FFA

Around 700 people turned out for the chapter’s annual Oyster Fry and Service Auction By Doug Larkey Special to The Times

On Friday, March 5, a line of people stretched outside the new Brush High School cafeteria at Brush Secondary Campus. Inside, students in blue blazers and black pants or skirts efficiently severed the attendees at the annual Brush FFA Oyster Fry. The students took tickets, filled the plates with fried oysters, and cleared the tables. The night was still young, for in

Doug Larkey / Special to The Times

Brush FFA officers are shown giving the opening script at the 2021 Oyster Fry and Service Auction.

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First up on the auction block was Brush FFA Advisor Corie McDonald.

See SUPPORT, pg. 12

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • MARCH 31, 2021 • 11

SUPPORT from page 11

“I was auctioned for eight hours of community service to Griffith Dairy for $500,” she said. “I think I will help pack their silage pits, and I’m very excited to serve a family in the community that does so much for the FFA.” McDonald went on to say, “The students worked extremely hard to make it a wonderful event, and we are so grateful that our administration here at Brush allowed us to hold the Oyster Fry. Our community truly came out to support us; we had about 700 people in attendance. I have only been the advisor for the Brush FFA since August. I graduated from college last spring and moved to Brush shortly afterward, where I then got to join Brush’s awesome faculty.” Along with McDonald, there Doug Larkey / Special to The Times were the student officers and 56 Brush FFA Chapter members serve food at the 2021 Oyster Fry at Brush Secondary Campus. members of the Brush FFA auctioned off for doing community service hours. spirt of the following quote from in the end contribute most to real make everyone feel comfortable McDonald also thanked Bryson and have a nice time.” Thomas Jefferson: “Agriculture is wealth, good morals and happiMiller, “who worked hard to The event was reflective of the our wisest pursuit, because it will ness.” Owner Robin Varelman 970-380-3798 Auctioneer: Tyler Knode 970-580-5311 • Auctioneer: Joe Frazier 308-340-5682 • Rodger Woodard 719-439-2011 • Larry Castor 970-454-3570/970-768-5113 (c) Brian Dill 970-301-6935 • Willard Nordick 970-785-6257 • Dick Jones 970-768-0435 • Tyler Farris 970-274-9833 • Yard Manager Scott Marick 970-768-5657 DVM Dr Paul Chard 970-842-0274 28601 Hwy 34 • PO Box 506 • Brush, CO 80723 • Phone 970-842-5115 • Fax: 970-842-5088

RECEIPTS THIS WEEK: 937 • RECEIPTS LAST WEEK: 1,125 • CATTLE SOLD FOR 71 CONSIGNORS • 38 BUYERS MARKET REPORT • Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19, 2021 BULLS Yield Grade 1: $88.00-$92.00 Yield Grade 2: $84.50COWS & HEIFERETTES Heiferettes: $50.00-$100.00 Higher Yielding: 75-80% Lean: $57.50-$67.00 Lower Yielding: 80-85% Lean: $45.00-$57.00 Older Thinner: 85-90% Lean: $10.00-$44.00 STEERS Eaton 5 Mix 373 $190.00 Haxtun 7 Mix 494 $190.00 Kremmling 5 Mix 518 $187.00 Julesburg 6 Blk 308 $185.00 Kremmling 9 Mix 409 $182.00 Eaton 12 Mix 501 $181.50 Akron 4 Blk 455 $175.00

Akron Julesburg Haxtun Eaton Brush Akron Haxtun Eaton Julesburg Flagler Akron Flagler Fort Morgan Eaton Merino Flagler Fort Morgan Eaton

5 5 7 14 5 2 1 5 3 57 1 59 9 2 4 56 19 2

Blk Blk Mix Mix Mix Blk Blk Blk Blk Mix Blk Mix Blk Blk Blk Blk Blk Blk

586 460 627 604 502 678 390 737 592 829 675 894 829 1018 870 1025 1010 1145

$173.50 $170.00 $168.50 $166.50 $166.00 $154.00 $150.00 $145.00 $142.00 $132.25 $131.00 $128.50 $127.50 $122.00 $121.00 $116.00 $112.50 $110.00

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HEIFERS 2 Mix 4 Blk 12 Mix 7 Blk 6 Blk 6 Red 8 Mix 6 Mix 7 Blk 14 Mix 2 Mix 3 Blk 2 Mix 66 Blk 3 Blk 55 Blk 23 Mix

ADVANCED CONSIGNMENTS • Go to www.livestockexchange.org 365 276 418 432 367 439 522 491 522 621 530 640 643 834 862 916 860

$163.00 $160.00 $158.00 $157.00 $155.00 $154.00 $147.00 $146.50 $141.00 $139.50 $136.00 $134.00 $133.00 $118.75 $117.00 $115.00 $112.00

Thursday, April 1: Combined Sale 9 a.m. • All Breeds Bull Sale 1 p.m. 10-15 days old, calves had 1st round shots Blk Balancer Bulls, Yearling Bulls, AI, herd since 1976, top of herd out of 650 cows 4 1

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SALE SCHEDULE • REMINDER: All cows and pairs to be pregnancy tested & mouthed for Thursday sale need to be in the yard by 3 p.m.Tuesday.

Thursday, April 1

Combined Sale 9 a.m. ALL BREEDS BULL SALE 1 p.m.

Friday, April 2 NO SALE

Thursday, April 8

Thursday, April 15

Weigh Cows/Bulls 9 a.m. Breds/Pairs 1 p.m.

Combined Sale 9 a.m. BRED COW SPECIAL 1 p.m.

Friday, April 9

Friday, April 16

BACK TO GRASS SPECIAL 10 a.m.

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Saturday, April 17 HAY SALE 10 A.M.

Thursday, April 22 Combined Sale 9 a.m.

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AGRICULTURE EDUCATION

Weldon Valley celebrates FFA Week FFA members brought tractors, animals to school By LizAnn Jones Special to The Times

The week of Feb. 22, the Weldon Valley FFA Chapter held FFA Week for the school. Numerous activities were planned for this week to promote FFA and to promote the agricultural industry. On Monday, a select few students drove their tractors to school and taught the younger grades about the jobs and functions of the machines. Some of the ag equipment the students drove to school included a loader, a cutter, a tractor and a tractor with a Weldon Valley FFA / Courtesy photo bailer. Other FFA members brought Weldon Valley FFA member Coy Groves drove his Claas Cutter to show how massive it is to the students at Weldon See CELEBRATION, pg. 19 Valley School during FFA Week.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • MARCH 31, 2021 • 13

AGRICULTURE EDUCATION

Merino FFA finds success Quiz Bowl team places 2nd at finals By Merino FFA

Merino FFA recently attended Leadership Development Events. Our parliamentary procedure team consisting of Taysa Conger, Taryn Goss, Taiylor Barnhill, LIly Ryles, Oceana Mayhugh, and Amanda Thorpe demonstrated the skills necessary to run a meeting. Jake Hettinger and Oceana Mayhugh participated in the extemporaneous speaking competition. Participants choose from four randomly selected topics and write a 4-6 minute speech in 30 minutes. Several freshmen competed in the Quiz Bowl, which is the agricultural version of a knowledge bowl. We had two teams compete. One of our teams consisted of Jaxson Samber, Slayter Goss and Tyler Miller. Our other team members were Kaden Piel, Grace Wernsman and McKenna Sutter. This team made it all the way to the finals and placed second. Kaden Piel was our chapter creed speaking winner and placed in the silver category. Travel has been very limited this year but we have been active in the classroom, learning a variety of topics including construction, architectural drawing, finances, agriculture sales, animal science, leadership and much more.

Courtesy photo

Merino High School FFA had two teams compete in Quiz Bowl, with one making it all the way to finals and finishing in second place. From left: Slayter Goss, Jaxon Samber, Kaden Piel, McKenna Sutter, Grace Wernsman and Tyler Miller.

Courtesy photo

Merino High School FFA's Parlimentary Procedure Team includes, from left: Taysa Conger, Taryn Goss, Taiylor Barnhill, Lily Ryles, Oceana Mayhugh and Amanda Thorpe.

14 • MARCH 31, 2021 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

Merino High School FFA's Oceana Mayhugh and Jake Hettinger recently competed in the Extemporaneous Speaking Competition.

Tractors on parade The tail end of Fort Morgan High School's Future Farmers of America tractor parade passes Beaver Avenue in downtown Fort Morgan on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Jack Harvel The Fort Morgan Times

Fort Morgan High School FFA's tractor parade is escorted down Main Street by a Fort Morgan Police Department School Resource Officer patrol vehicle on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

Jack Harvel / The Fort Morgan Times

Jack Harvel The Fort Morgan Times

Tractors roll down Main Street for Fort Morgan High School FFA's tractor parade on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The parade is held each year during National FFA Week.

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • MARCH 31, 2021 • 15

AGRICULTURE EDUCATION

NJC student competes at National Collegiate Farm Bureau Competition Shelby Clark made it to Sweet 16 round of discussion meet

focusing on solving issues in agriculture. Five questions are presented at the beginning of the competition, and the student who does the best leading the discussion and forms the solution is the winner. Clark won first place By NJC Staff overall in the Colorado competition, which means she was the For Northeastern Junior Colonly student from Colorado comlege student Shelby Clark, public peting at the National Collegiate Farm Bureau Competition, and speaking is her passion and she one of only two freshmen who always knew she wanted to pursue that in college. Competing at completed, beating out juniors and seniors from the larger fourthe State Level Collegiate Farm year universities like Colorado Bureau was the highlight of her State University and Adams year, until now. State. Courtesy photo Clark, a freshman at NJC, parNortheastern Junior College's Shel- ticipated alongside many juniors The national competition began by Clark recently represented Colora- and seniors from across Colorado on Tuesday, March 9 virtually do at the National Collegiate Farm in a board meeting scenario that and Clark was thrilled to be the Bureau Competition. Colorado representative. is collaborative but competitive,

16 • MARCH 31, 2021 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

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“You can only go to Nationals one time in your college career, so this is a great opportunity and honor,” said Clark. At the national competition, there were two rounds that everyone who qualified competed in, then they went on to the Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 11 and the winners of that round went on to the Final Four. Clark competed in the Sweet 16, the only freshman to make it that far, but unfortunately did not advance to the Final Four, though she held her own against many upper level students from around the nation. Northeastern is proud to have Clark represent the college at the national level. Andy Bartlett is the NJC Collegiate Farm Bureau Advisor and has been in that role for the past five years alongside his agronomy teaching load. Bartlett stated, “Shelby has a natural ability to convey messages and discuss complex topics with ease. Coupling this talent with her passion for agriculture allowed her to have great success as our club’s public relations officer as well as a competitor in the discussion meet.” Clark is originally from Wray, Colorado where she participated in competitions at Wray High School in FFA and forensics. She is a freshman at NJC this year, but will be graduating in May with her Associates Degree in Ag Communications after completing 32 concurrent enrollment credits in high school. She will be transferring to Red Rocks Community College to obtain her Professional Photography Certificate. Clark also owns her own photography/marketing business, Shelby K. Marketing Company, and she offers graphic design and publications for the agriculture industry and a wide variety of photography services.

NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW

Morgan County 4-H well represented at Stock Show

Makayla Guilbert from Wiggins and Zoey Sneed from Fort Morgan participated in 2020-2021 Catch-a-Calf Program

first must catch a calf during one of the National Western Stock Show Rodeo performances. They then return in May to receive their The Catch-a-Calf Program put on project, which they are required to by the National Western Stock feed and care for until the followShow has a very rich history. In its ing year’s Stock Show. At that 84 years, there have been many time, participants bring their participants from Morgan County. steers to be evaluated based on This year was no exception, with their rate of gain and appearance. two local participants culminating Participants must also submit a Morgan County CSU Extension / Courtesy photo their project at the 2021 National record book, participate in an Makayla Guilbert, left, and Zoey Sneed are pictured with the awards they Western Stock Show. interview, and compete in showreceived at the Catch-a-Calf Show at the 2021 National Western Stock For those unfamiliar with Catch- manship. The National Western See CATCH-A-CALF, pg. 18 Show. a-Calf, it requires that participants By Amy Kelley Morgan County CSU Extension

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SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE • MARCH 31, 2021 • 17

CATCH-A-CALF from page 17

Morgan County CSU Extension / Courtesy photo

Makayla Guilbert and Zoey Sneed before their catch at the 2021 National Western Stock Show Rodeo.

Stock Show Catch-a-Calf Program would not be possible without generous sponsors, so participants are also required to send monthly correspondence to their sponsors. Makayla Guilbert from Wiggins and Zoey Sneed from Fort Morgan were both participants in the 20202021 National Western Stock Show Catch-a-Calf Program. Makayla was sponsored by the Boettcher Foundation. Zoey was sponsored by Mark Arndt with the Colorado Elks Association. They received their Charolais Angus cross steers from Wagonhammer Ranches based in Albion, Nebraska, in May 2020. Both were able to bring their steers to a clinic held in October 2020. Makayla and Zoey traveled with their steers to the National Western Stock Show in January 2021. They competed in interviews and turned in their record books prior

to the show on Saturday, Jan. 9. Makayla was seventh in showMorgan County CSU Extension / Courtesy photo manship and live placing. Zoey Zoey Sneed at the Catch-a-Calf Clinic in October 2020 to prepare for the was sixth in showmanship and 2021 National Western Stock Show. ninth in live placing. During the awards ceremony that concludes the program, both received many accolades. Zoey was 10th place record book, second place in sponsor relations, sixth place in interview, third place in the production phase, and eighth place overall. Makayla was fourth in interview, 14th in the production phase, 17th overall, and third in the carcass phase. For more information about National Western Stock Show Catch-a-Calf visit their website at https://nationalwestern.com/ catch-a-calf-program/. For more information on Morgan County CSU Extension, contact 970-542-3540 or visit https:// Morgan County CSU Extension / Courtesy photo morgan.extension.colostate.edu/. Makayla Guilbert is shown with her steer.

18 • MARCH 31, 2021 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

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CELEBRATION from page 13

livestock to show and teach, as well. Some of the animals included: sheep, a llama, an alpaca, bunnies, chickens, ducks, goats and horses. Preschool and grades K-12 were able to either view or learn about the animals and equipment. On Tuesday, the members hosted a luncheon to show appreciation for the staff. They grilled brats, hot dogs and hamburgers. They also brought side dishes and desserts for the staff to choose from. This was held in the Weldon Valley School Ag Shop. Staff was also given a token gift of appreciation of popcorn since they are “Popping to make a Difference.” The Weldon Valley FFA officers also invited the eighth-graders down to the Ag Room for an Orientation about the FFA and the Ag Ed Program. Awards were given for a team project and a ag knowledge quiz, while everyone enjoyed snacks and drinks at the end. The WV FFA Chapter held a Coloring and Caption Contest for

the elementary students. Each image used was to promote diversity of animals in agriculture. First, second and third prizes were given out, and all the entries are being displayed in the school cafeteria. During the last day of FFA week, the students in each Ag class participated in a Blue Room that was sponsored by the National FFA Organization. This Blue Room held numerous topics that covered the diverse agriculture industry. Earlier in February two proficiency applications were submitted by Makenna Sneddon and Lizann Jones. Makenna applied for a work-based supervised agricultural experience in sheep production and Lizann applied for a work-based supervised agricultural experience in diversified agriculture. Results will come out later this spring semester. LizAnn Jones is the Weldon Valley FFA Chapter Reporter for the 2020-21 school year.

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RESOURCES

Work program brings new career opportunities to farm workers

Provides education, other resources to move workers into in-demand fields

between working on a farm and working in IT or health care, Ortega said there’s a number of ways they do overlap. Farm workers are often good with their hands, hard working and — of growing importance in IT and medical and information technolo- flexible schedule and mostly health care — bilingual. gy fields. online format. “Farm workers are very hardBy Jack Harvel “Health care and IT are two new “It’s open entry, open exit. They working individuals. They have to The Fort Morgan Times high-demand career opportunities do not have to start at the beginshow up to work on time; their all across the country, as well as ning of a semester like you do ability to work in extreme condiFarm workers play a vital role in right there in Colorado,” Sandy with a normal community college tions, working out in the field, or agriculture, but are often faced Mead, National Director of Work- or university,” Ortega said. in the onion sheds or potato with low pay, a lack of worker pro- force Development at MedCerts, “These individuals can start in sheds, they endure a lot and tection in the law and only season- said. “The goal is for the seasonal February, they can start in they’re used to working long al job opportunities. farmworkers to be able to get March; they can start whenever hours,” Ortega said. “We may not “Seasonal farm workers are one skills that are going to help them they’re ready to start the course.” call these skills, but they have the of the lowest paying jobs in the have solid careers.” The program typically provides basics of work ethic that would go country. They still do not receive The farm workers job program for 100-120 workers in a given along with a lot of these different overtime for their work, because is a product of the Workforce year. In recent years the program professions.” the law doesn’t doesn’t allow them Innovation and Opportunity Act, has found a lot of success in The program doesn’t end at to earn overtime,” Leon Ortega, and RMSER is Colorado’s portal northeastern Colorado. education, and RMSER provides Director of Workforce for Rocky to the program. Anyone who was “Actually we have more individ- on-the-job training programs, Mountain Service Employment recently employed as a seasonal uals enrolled in the northern and instruction on resume building Redevelopment (RMSER), told agricultural worker can apply for northeast area than we do in the and more. The Fort Morgan Times during tuition southern area at this time, and “We can assist when they start an interview. “Even if they work “There is a tuition cost of Medthat’s kind of a historical (trend) working, if they need tools, they 70-80 hours a week, they still get Certs. That’s where we come in,” for the last few years,” Ortega need equipment, if they need paid the hourly wage.” Ortega said. “We could come in said. “The Adams County area, clothing for their new job, they The Farm Worker Jobs Prowith tuition assistance with the the Weld County area and the need transportation assistance to gram seeks to give farm workers National Farm Worker Jobs ProMorgan County and Fort Morgan go back to work until they get an avenue to find employment in gram, pay the tuition and the fees, area are high areas for agriculture paid, we can provide that as well,” other industries. RMSER has part- and anything that’s related to the workers, and we’ve been success- Ortega said. “Our program is kind nered with an online learning plat- course that needs to be paid.” ful in finding people (there).” of all around program to make form called MedCerts to give a Ortega said MedCerts is great Though at first glance there sure that that individual can be tuition-free online education in the for the program because of its isn’t much crossover skill successful.”

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CROPS

Plant scientists go into the wild in a search for hardier crops

‘Pre-breeding’ is a long, hard process but can provide defensive traits to help plants adapt By Jeff Rice Journal-Advocate Staff Writer

Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate

Wild sorghum, on the left, and production sorghum in a test field, on the right.

breeding.” That’s a long and laborious practice that involves the crop’s ancestors, or “crop wild relatives.” The assumption behind the practice is that, in the wild, all living things adapt to changes in their environment.

In December 2020, Crop Science, a leading academic periodical, published a special issue titled “Adapting agriculture to climate change: A walk on the wild side,” which contained several scholarly articles on pre-breeding.

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American farmers have become some of the most efficient producers of food and fiber in the world, and much of the credit for that goes to the hybridization of their crops. Wheat, for example, has been bred for shorter stems, allowing the plant to resist “blow down” and devote more of its energy to growing grain heads. There is another side to this coin, however. While breeding in productivity, scientists have bred out genetic diversity, making it difficult for the plants to adapt to a changing environment. With virtually universal acknowledgment that our world’s climate is changing, agronomists are now concerned that crop plants will not fare well in an environment that is both hotter and drier. One solution is a different kind of plant breeding called “pre-

CROPS from page 22

efforts tend to be avoided whenever possible, especially by advanced breeding programs. On the other hand, climate change is forcing breeders to seek useful traits from all available sources, no matter how challenging. “Utilizing (crop wild relatives) in pre-breeding can access diversity for specific traits of importance that are not present in the elite crop genotypes that are generally used in breeding programs,” the authors wrote. “As the pace of change of temperature, rainfall, and pest and pathogen attack increases, and extremes become normal, long-term efforts and substantial investment in pre-breeding are required to develop improved varieties that are well adapted to the various challenges ahead of us.” According to Dr. Geoff Morris, associate professor in crop quantitative genomics at Colorado State University, the kind of wild plant that is used depends on the outcome the breeder wants. Morris moved to CSU last year from Kan-

Dr. Geoff Morris

sas State University, where he directed the sorghum molecular breeding program. He now directs the Morris Lab at CSU, working primarily with sorghum to improve plant adaptability. “It might range from crossing with a truly wild plant that doesn’t resemble (the domestic plant) and

no grower would think they were related,” Morris said. “It may be crossing with a kind of weedy relative that looks like the crop but growing as weeds and they’re having to adapt to conditions.” Wild plants aren’t any plant breeder’s first choice, however. Scientists would prefer to cross with a plant more closely related, but if they can’t find the trait they want, they have to go further afield. Wild plants generally come into play when the traits are drought resistance and pest defenses, Morris said. “Typically people have not gone to this approach when they need yield increaser,” Morris said. “Rather, they have gone (to wild plants) for defensive purposes. Yield is a tweak here and a tweak there, crossbreeding to get little adjustments to get bigger yields.” One of the reasons pre-breeding is such a long process is that scientists have to balance the desired trait with other, possibly less desirable traits that come along for the ride. Sorting those out was part of Morris’ task when he was at K-State. “You may only want one feature,

but because you’ve had to crossbreed, you may have 20 features tagged along, some of which may decrease the yield,” Morris said. “The K-State program is really successful at (preventing yield decrease.)” Most research on plant adaptability is focused on preparing for hotter, drier conditions. Morris said climate models are getting better and computer simulations are better able to tell scientists just what conditions to expect. “What I’m preparing for is hotter, drier, and the water that comes will come at different times, and more likely to come in a few numbers of big events. The rains will be less predictable,” he said. Less certain is how those changes in the weather will change crop production. That means Morris and his team are looking for a wide range of “tools” to use in plant breeding; “If you’re not exactly sure what challenges you’re going to face, you want a really diverse toolbox, a lot of options,” he said. “If I’m a breeder I need to make sure whatever happens, I have a tool in the toolbox that’s increasing diversity.”

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VETERINARY SCIENCE

Colorado state vet to retire after quarter-century of service Dr. Roehr spent tenure preventing foreign animal disease from infecting livestock By Jeff Rice Journal-Advocate Staff Writer

Dr. Keith Roehr will retire May 1, having spent the past 26 years in the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the past 11 of those years as the State Veterinarian. In his role as the state’s official vet, Roehr has directed the almost constant battle against foreign borne illnesses invading Colorado’s livestock population. “It’s always been the same: foreign animal disease, that exist in other parts of the world,” Roehr said. “We’ve seen, in China, African swine fever in 2020 probably wiped out a large segment of the hog population.” In fact, according to a Wall Street Journal account in early 2020, the disease killed 120 million hogs in China last year. Diseases like that are constantly threatening to get into the U.S., and it’s the job of men and women like Roehr to hold

Screenshot

Dr. Keith Roehr, at his home office, during an interview with the Journal-Advocate

them at bay. Roehr grew up on his family’s farm near Hugoton, in the southwest corner of Kansas. The farm included irrigated corn and wheat, cow-calf and swine operations. He earned his DVM from Kansas State University in 1981 and practiced small and mixed-animal vet medicine in Texas and Colorado until 1995, when he joined the CDA. He was named Colorado’s State Veterinarian in 2009. “I had no idea when I graduated (veterinary school) that I’d be involved in regulatory medicine

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and that I would commute through an urban area, and still be connected with agriculture,” he said. “My connection to ag is part of my DNA. I’ve enjoyed all types of animals but I think the livestock sector has been the people I closely identify with.” The opportunity to work with producers on a daily basis brings Roehr his greatest job satisfaction. “We try to make regulations that are science-based according to the risk, and that means considering the economic impact as well,” he said “We try to be a collaborator

with livestock producers, and some of the relationships we’ve been able to build over the years are very satisfying. These are salt of the earth people.” The nature of the livestock industry presents unique challenges to those who strive to keep the animals healthy. American livestock producers are constantly moving animals, often across state lines, from pasture to feedlot to processing facilities, with stops at sale barns and holding pens along the way. That constant movement

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means infections can spread quickly once they get a foothold. “If you have a highly contagious disease with a lot of movement, there are some types of diseases that are incredibly hard to confront,” Roehr said. “You have to do everything you can to plan and to prevent (contagion.) The biggest challenge Roehr’s office faced was also its most recent, the outbreak of vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV for short. The most widespread outbreak of VSV in two decades invaded Colorado during the summer of 2019, eventually causing quarantines of 699 properties in 38 counties. The first cases were reported in Larimer and Weld counties on July 3 that year. There were no cases of VSV in Logan County but cases were reported in neighboring Morgan and Weld counties. Hardest hit was Larimer County with 145 cases. Roehr’s office declared the last cases released from quarantine on Dec. 20, 2019. “That was probably the largest scale event we had,” Roehr said. “We had six (outbreaks during my tenure) and they were all significant, but the one in 2019 broke all records. There was a lot of concern.” That outbreak hit hardest in the equine community – Colorado’s second-largest livestock industry – Roehr said, and many horse owners chose to keep their animals at home that summer and fall. The livestock industry also faces an almost existential threat from the constant drumbeat of so-called animal welfare activism. While he declined to weigh in on any particu-

Dr. Keith Roehr addresses beef producers at the 2020 Colorado Farm Show.

lar piece of legislation, Roehr said he thinks the state’s existing animal welfare laws are sufficient. “Colorado’s statutes are in place to protect welfare of livestock in the state,” he said. “Are there people who care for livestock but have less knowledge than a family should have (about caring for animals?) I’ve seen that, but I don’t think a lot (more) is needed in that regard.” Roehr said he’ll focus on his family after he retires, but doesn’t have much of a plan beyond that.

“I’ll tend to some family needs in short term, live vicariously through the lives of my four children and go a few places I haven’t been before,” he said. He does have some advice for his successor, however. “Listen to the livestock producers that we serve and try to think about regulations that are science-based. Consider the risk and the economic impacts; try to see what we do through the eyes of the people we serve.”

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#MEATIN

MeatOut proclamation spurs support for livestock producers

Events around the state serve up Colorado meat products alongside community service, education

By Sara Waite Journal-Advocate Editor

When Gov. Jared Polis proclaimed March 20, 2021 as a “MeatOut Day” in Colorado, it’s unlikely he could have predicted the firestorm he would unleash. Livestock producers along with others in the ag industry and their allies, both rural and urban, objected to the language in the proclamation that said a plant-based diet is healthier than one that contains meat, protects the environment and prevents animal cruelty. Their protests came in the form of 100 or so organized events held in communities around the state that focused not only on eating meat but also supporting farmers and ranchers and educating consumers about the livestock industry. In addition, more than 35 cities and counties issued counter-proclama-

Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate

An estimated 2,400 people dined on burgers, brats, chips and beans March 20 during the Sterling Meat In event.

tions, with the Logan County Commissioners naming March 20 Logan County Cattlemen’s Day and the Morgan County Commissioners proclaiming it Morgan County Livestock Producers Day. In Sterling, Jason Santomaso of the Sterling Livestock Commission spearheaded a Meat In event that drew an estimated 2,400 people and featured a number of speakers, including State Sen. Jer-

26 • MARCH 31, 2021 • SALUTE TO AGRICULTURE

ry Sonnenberg and Reps. Rod Pelton and Richard Holtorf. Before taking the stage to deliver some encouragement and inspiration to his fellow stockmen in Sterling, Sonnenberg had already made stops in Haxtun, Holyoke and Brush and was due at Elizabeth and Eaton among others in the afternoon. Sonnenberg repeated a call he’s issued frequently over the past

several years: It isn’t enough just to feed the world; producers must become advocates for their own cause. “We no longer in agriculture can just keep our noses to the grindstone and do our work,” Sonnenberg said. “We have to be the activists to volunteer to work hard, not only for our farms and ranches but for our rural lifestyle. You have to See MEAT, pg. 27

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MEAT from page 26

be involved.” The senator warned that Colorado agriculture faces multiple existential threats as the state becomes increasingly urbanized and state government leans increasingly to the left. “This is just one aspect of the attack on rural Colorado and the attack on our livelihoods,” Sonnenberg said. “There is a ballot issue that’s going forward that’s absolutely going to destroy the livestock industry in Colorado. We are all going to have to step forward, to represent and take back our state.” The ballot issue Sonnenberg referenced is called the PAUSE Act. If it is voted on and passed in the 2022 election, it will criminalize many accepted animal husbandry practices in Colorado. Dozens of local businesses and individuals helped sponsor the festival-like celebration, where guests could dine on a hamburger or allbeef hotdog, beans and chips, bid on a wide variety of silent and live

Jack Harvel / Fort Morgan Times

See MEAT, pg. 28 State Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg wraps up a speech at High Plains Cattle Supply on March 20.

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MEAT from page 27

auction items provided by supporters and support organizations like the Fleming FFA. Funds raised at the event were donated to the Santas of Sterling’s Miracle Letter Program, which provides assistance to families in five northeast Colorado counties – Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick and Washington -- who are dealing with a catastrophic event and don’t qualify for government aid. Becky Santomaso told the Journal-Advocate the event raised in the neighborhood of $130,000, some of which the Santas turned back to help a family in need. Major credit for the success of the event goes to Jason Santomaso, son of Becky and Jim. Jason lined up the speakers and other participants, organized the preparation of the food and supervised setting up the grounds, among other duties. In Brush, the Livestock Exchange LLC and High Plains Cattle Supply both offered Meat Up and Educate events, where they served up information on the state of the agriculture industry and how to protect it. “We’re trying to educate people that not only are we feeding America, but we are clothing and taking care of America,” Robin Varelman, owner of Livestock Exchange LLC in Brush, said. “It’s just not the fact that we’re eating meat; we are providing other byproducts that turn into products.” Varelman stressed the importance of farming across different industries, and that everything from textiles to antifreeze to medi-

ranchers that Varelman said are untenable in the industry. “They’re trying to make it into what I guess I would say would be a corporate type scenario where it’s 8 to 5, and that’s just not logistical out here in what we do. My cows don’t say at 8 o’clock they’re gonna get fed and at 5 o’clock I’m going in,” Varelman said. “Agriculture is a different way of life.” The Brush barbecues were meant to be a teaching moment, not just for people in the agricultural industry but to people outside of it who may be ignorant of its practices. “We need to educate people that aren’t from our area that don’t realize what goes into farming and ranching, it’s not just about taking the cow to slaughter,” Varelman said. “If we don’t act as a positive note as producers for this 20th day of March, and make it a positive note for the meat industry, people Courtesy photo that are against us are going to dig Peetz High School FFA members celebrated Meat-In Day with a drive-thru in even harder.” hamburger fry March 20. The chapter grilled over 200 hamburgers in sup“It was a great day today at High port of Colorado beef producers. Plains Cattle Supply and Livestock Exchange celebrating our Ag industry and Cattle Producers,” cine to adhesives and candy rely agricultural industry if passed. on animal byproducts. The Prohibit Certain Animals In the Brush Area Chamber of Commerce posted on Facebook about Livestock Exchange’s event Traveling Animal Act would have these events. started with a hay sale, followed consequences for rodeos, horse Other local events included a by barbecuing for three hours. shows and 4-H competitions free Producers Day BBQ event at Sonnenberg and Holtorf joined in across the state. at both Livestock Exchange’s and “Maybe they’re running a horse Platte Valley Baptist Church in Fort Morgan and a hamburger fry High Plains Cattle Supply’s events, show, maybe it’s just a 4-H show put on by the Peetz FFA. where the focus was again on pro- steer, they’re still in violation of In addition, Sterling cattleman posals that could harm the industhis Senate Bill,” Varelman said. Andrew Timmerman of Timmertry. In addition to the PAUSE Act, “And it would be a misdemeanor, man Feeding Co. helped organize the Prohibit Certain Animals In but they’re ranging fines from “Meat & Eat Denver,” an event Traveling Animal Act and the Agri- $250 to $1,000 per violation.” cultural Workers’ Rights Act could The Agriculture Workers’ Rights that served over 1,200 free meals all have serious impacts to the Act would force standards on See MEAT, pg. 29

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MEAT from page 28

from 10 food trucks to residents experiencing food insecurity and others. “We’re ecstatic to give back to Denver, in a huge way,” Timmerman said prior to the event. “Everybody is welcome here for the good eat, drink and conversation. Denver’s homeless population, the unemployed, first responders, meat lovers — really anybody hungry for real bonafide beef, pork, chicken, fresh vegetables, and tasty cheese.” The outpouring of support for the livestock industry across the state was welcomed by the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA). “While we saw rural Colorado turn out in record numbers and with record donations collected, we were also encouraged by the strengthening of a bond between metropolitan and rural voices around this effort,” said Janie VanWinkle, CCA President. “We are appreciative of the support around the Meat In movement and look forward to continuing to strengthen this partnership across the

Jack Harvel / Fort Morgan Times

A hay auction at Livestock Exchange in Brush ran alongside its "Team Meat" barbecue to educate people about agriculture.

Fankhauser, CCA Executive Vice President. “The tally is ongoing, but as of late, over $300,000, supporting need-based causes, has been collected in the name of Meat In day.” CCA called for the momentum from the Meat In movement to be used to build bridges between agriculture and urban audiences in hopes of protecting the industry from harmful legislative and ballot proposals. Polis himself also acknowledged the impact the MeatOut proclamation had, writing in an opinion column he shared with local newspapers that “I’m excited to see the grassroots movement that my recent proclamation helped generate in support and promotion of Colorado beef products. I’m hopeful that this renewed support helps our producers and all who earn a living in ranching and the livestock industry.”

“Many events emphasized supporting and feeding the food inseThe organization recognized Journal-Advocate reporter Jeff cure. Donations were collected at how organizers turned their Rice and Fort Morgan Times varying events to support their events into opportunities to give local communities and the broader reporter Jack Harvel contributed to back to their communities, as well. beef industry,” said Terry this report. state and nation into the future.”

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POLITICS

Colorado agriculture faces widening urban-rural divide

Sen. Sonnenberg calls for producers to also be advocates for their industry and way of life

By Jeff Rice Journal-Advocate Staff Writer

There has always been something of a disconnect between town and country in Colorado, a divide between those who produce food and fiber and those who consume it. Recently, however, a lot of people in eastern Colorado feel like the rural-urban divide is widening. Eastern Coloradans have long realized that they are woefully under-represented in the red marble corridors of the state Capitol. The problem has worsened as the plains have lost population while the Interstate 25 corridor has seen explosive growth. Only a handful of state senators and representatives are from the Eastern Plains and Western Slope, and of those the number actively engaged in agriculture can literally be counted on one hand. There’s a political divide as well.

Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate

Sen. Kerry Donovan, far left, listens during a roundtable discussion Jan. 19 at the Don Brown family farm near Yuma. Also pictured are former agriculture commissioner Don Brown, Brown's wife Peggy and their son Tyson.

Rural Colorado is overwhelmingly conservative and Republican while the metropolitan areas are decidedly liberal and Democratic. The strip of Colorado 50 miles wide and 100 miles long at the foot of the Rockies is a blue island in s sea of red. The significance of that divide became startlingly clear in 2018 when Democrats won a majority in both houses of the Legislature, the governor’s office, and every major elected state department head:

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attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer. Gov. Jared Polis made it clear that his agenda – fossil-fuel-free energy, farm-to-market food supply, and cultural diversity – didn’t include production agriculture. He appointed Kate Greenberg as his agriculture commissioner. Greenberg’s appointment is historic; she’s the first woman appointed to the position since it was established in 1949, and that bodes well for the rapidly increas-

ing number of women being involved in agriculture. On the other hand, it’s a disturbing choice, too, because Greenberg is the first Colorado ag commissioner who has no production agriculture background. What she does have is a college degree in environmental studies and experience managing Western environmental policy field programs through Whitman College. She has worked on restoration of the ColoSee DIVIDE, pg. 31

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DIVIDE from page 30

past several years: It isn’t enough just to feed the world; producers must become advocates for their rado River Delta, promoted all-femany widely accepted animal hus- own cause. male backcountry adventures, and bandry practices necessary for “We in agriculture no longer can chairs the Santa Fe-based Quivira successful livestock production. just keep our noses to the grindCoalition, “a conservation-ranching And the Colorado Legislature stone and do our work,” Sonnenorganization fostering resilience at began considering a bill that would berg said. “We have to be the activthe radical center.” load producers down with myriad ists to volunteer to work hard, not Polis’ appointments to state com- new provisions for farm and ranch only for our farms and ranches but missions and boards, especially laborers, cutting even further into for our rural lifestyle. You have to ones that deal with agriculture, already-razor-thin profit margins. be involved.” were severely lacking in eastern Finally, in late March, Colorado The senator warned that ColoraColorado representation. Early in agriculture had had enough. On do agriculture faces multiple exishis administration he bought a the same Saturday other parts of tential threats as the state becomes stack of meatless hamburgers and the nation were shunning meat increasingly urbanized and state served them to the Department of from their diets, hundreds of thou- government leans increasingly to Agriculture staff, the clear implica- sands of Coloradans flocked to the left. tion being that Colorado should “Meat-In” events all across the “This is just one aspect of the shift its focus away from the livestate. One of the largest was in attack on rural Colorado and the stock industry to crop farming. Sterling, where more than 2,400 attack on our livelihoods,” SonnenThere were other missteps as people feasted on beef and contrib- berg said. “There is a ballot issue well: the appointment of an antiuted nearly $130,000 to charities. that’s going forward that’s absolivestock activist to the state’s vetState Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, lutely going to destroy the liveerinary board and the proclamaR-Sterling, appeared briefly at the stock industry in Colorado. We are tion that Colorado, alone among Sterling celebration, following all going to have to step forward, major cattle producing states, stops at similar events in Haxtun, to represent and take back our would join the national MeatOut Holyoke and Brush. In all, he had state.” Day in March. nearly a dozen appearances For now, producers wait to see At the same time animal rights planned that day as he made a 550- whether Denver is listening. In activists began working on a ballot mile trek across eastern Colorado. January, state Sen. Kerry Donoissue for 2022, nicknamed PAUSE, Sonnenberg repeated a clarion van, chair of the Senate Agriculture that would, if passed, criminalize call he’s issued frequently over the and Natural Resources Committee,

met with political and industry representatives at the farm of former ag commissioner Don Brown near Yuma. Donovan listened and promised she would continue to listen as she tours rural Colorado when the Legislature is not in session. Commissioner Greenberg has promised to communicate more with eastern Colorado. Gov. Polis did sign a follow-up proclamation making March 22 Livestock Proud Day. And a consortium of agriculture organizations, including Farm Bureau, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, and the Colorado Livestock Association, are fighting to keep the PAUSE initiative off of the 2022 ballot. It is yet to be seen whether the Meat-In events will build into a fullblown agriculture movement reminiscent of the American Ag Movement of the late 1970s when tractors were driven across America to clog the streets of Washington, D.C. What is certain is that Colorado’s farmers and ranchers feel, for the first time in decades, a real threat to their existence. It’s a sure bet they won’t go down without a fight.

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AGRICULTURE EDUCATION

Ag leadership program graduates 18 during one-of-a-kind event CSU chancellor Frank defines leadership during keynote speech By Jeff Rice Journal-Advocate Staff Writer

The worst questions leaders can ask have the word “or” in them, but those who substitute the word “and” can show true leadership. That concept was the core of Colorado State University Chancellor Tony Frank’s message to the 14th class of the Colorado Agriculture Leadership Program Feb. 26. The CALP class of 18 graduated with a clay pigeon shoot and luncheon at the Longmeadow Event Center near Wiggins. The CALP classes normally graduate the day after they host the Colorado Forum on Agriculture in mid-February, but the Forum was cancelled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the class members put together the day-long event at Wiggins to celebrate. Frank, the keynote speaker for the event, spoke about the importance of leadership in any organi-

Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate

The 14th class of the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program: (standing, from left) Dusty Johnson of Fort Morgan, David Bower of Broomfield, Melissa Bischoff of Denver, Alisha Knapp of Rocky Ford, Rachel Nelson (unable to complete the program), Virginia Till of Denver, Clancy Anderson of Johnstown, Cade Kunugi of Blanca, Jason Crouch of Rocky Ford, Sharon Kauffman of Ft. Morgan, Joey Rasnic of Windsor, Mackenzie Stoaks of LaSalle; (middle row) Lisa Cooksey of Strasburg, Harrison Topp of Hotchkiss, Vicki Lee of Fort Collins, Shelby Teague of Fort See LEADERSHIP, pg. 33 Morgan, Julia Herman of Fort Collins; (front row) Jacob Langlie of Eads, and Colton Hankins of Eads.

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LEADERSHIP from page 32

zation’s success. He said school districts in Colorado that show the greatest success, whether measured in graduation rate or other means, are those with strong leaders. “The most successful school districts don’t have the most resources,” Frank said. “What they do have is great leaders, leaders who set the tone of for success.) They follow a creed that says whatever we do should benefit the kids, and they follow that creed every day.” Frank urged the class members to find set their own creed to follow and make it well-known. “If you articulate your creed well for others, they will flock to your banner,” he said. Frank told the class that American farmers and ranchers succeed because they are innovative and constantly work for sustainability. That means turning away from binary thinking – that there is only one correct action as opposed to another – and look for ways to be both innovative and sustainable. “The worst question you can ask is one with the word ‘or’ in it,” Frank said. “Are we going to meet the calorie and nutritional needs of the world’s population or are we concerned about consumers who look at their plate and wonder where their food came from?” The only way to find the correct answer, Frank said, is to change “or” to “and” and find a solution that does both. During opening remarks earlier, state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, who is chairman of the CALP board of directors, called the class “rock

Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate

Brant Harrison greets Jerry Sonnenberg after receiving the 2021 Excellence in CALP award Friday, Feb. 26. At right is Dani Treweek, executive director of the program.

stars” because of the way they have adapted the program to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic. “Talk about a wild ride. You guys have truly been rock stars, to make these adaptations and still keep moving forward. I am so proud of you,” he said.

Begun in 1984, CALP has graduated 300 people from its two-year program, including the Sonnenberg and former Colorado Agriculture Commissioner John Salazar. Another alum, Brent Harrison, was awarded the organization’s Excellence in CALP Award for his work in promoting the state’s

Western Slope fruit and produce industry. Harrison and his family own and operate the Kokopelli Farm Market near Palisade. He graduated from the program in 2004, along with Sonnenberg, and has been credited with eradicating See LEADERSHIP, pg. 34

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Jeff Rice / Sterling Journal-Advocate

A shooter from Team Roggen powders a clay pigeon Feb. 26 during the CALP clay pigeon shoot and graduation luncheon. Notice the grey puff in the upper left of the photo. Fifty-four shooters participated in the competition.

LEADERSHIP from page 33 the Japanese beetle from that area, a project he started during his CALP studies. Participants in the two-year program are hand-picked by the board from among a field of applicants. It costs participants $3,500 to attend the sessions and travel both out-of-state and internationally. Participants are expected to pay $1,500 of their own money and raise the remaining funds from their communities. The high cost not only assures the program’s

survival, it gives participants a big stake in their own success. Prior to the graduation ceremony, more than four dozen shooters participated in a clay shooting competition. American AgCredit fielded the winning team, with Phoenix Weaponry of Berthoud taking second place and CSC Transport of Fort Collins taking third. Overall high shooter was Jim Webster of the American AgCredit team. Low-point shooter was Nicki Price of Team Roggen.

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