Colorado leaders and farmer advocates stood up recently in defense of federal investments and tools that help them protect local farms from the impacts of climate change.
U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, of Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, joined the Colorado Farm Bureau, Solutions from the Land and farmers and ranchers to come out in support of farm bill funding for climate-smart agricultural practices during a tour of a small, family-run dairy on Oct. 10.
Terry DeGroot, the farmer hosting the event at his Colorado Cow LLC dairy farm, spotlighted the need he said agricultural producers have for financial and technical assistance in meeting state, federal and private industry climate goals such as emissions reduction. DeGroot has run Colorado Cow with his wife, Julia, since 2019, when the family changed from running a large, conventional dairy to tending and milking a small herd of Guernsey cows on pasture and bottling their own high-quality milk. Their climate-smart and voluntary conservation efforts are currently focused on improving soil health and nutrient management through a cost-share structure with the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service).
