We hosted our first Agri West community meeting on June 27. Despite the tricky weather, traffic accidents and a power outage during the entire meeting, we are so grateful to everyone who joined us for such a robust discussion. The fact that over one hundred producers stayed with no electricity is a testament to our ranchers, growers and producers grit and resilience. Thank you!
For me, it was an important reminder that the journey we are embarking on is meaningful.
During the evening, we discussed the challenges and opportunities in local agriculture. The group explored issues facing each different ag sector in western Colorado centered around key questions like— What is the biggest challenge for you as a producer? What is working for you? If money were no object, what would you do differently in your operation?
Despite the differing sectors in attendance, I witnessed everyone grappling with similar problems and concerns. It was incredible to listen as all of the producers spoke with one voice, coming together despite their politics and production type. These themes were distilled from our time together:
- The need for business training, business planning, succession planning, understanding financials, reading business documents, valuing our businesses as “a business,” and the numerous cultures within the ag business continued to sift to the top of conversations. Often producers enter the field and learn everything the hard way, by trial and error. Access to a repository of information could be incredibly valuable for first generation producers to enter the market and help ensure success and longevity in the field.
- State and federal policy creation should involve producers’ perspectives so well intended rules don’t have negative unintended consequences.
As a reminder, the AgriWest Council is forming to help guide the work of the Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) as we aim to strengthen and ensure a sustainable ecosystem for agriculture on the Western Slope for generations to come.
The goals of the AgriWest Initiative are to:
-
- 1.) Retain and create jobs and entrepreneurships in Ag as we consider how do we maintain legacy family businesses and how do we help first generation producers see their role in food production?
-
- 2.) Bring all the Ag sectors together to solve problems. Large and small producers, organic and conventional, all different commodities must work together to maintain and grow the economy around food production.
-
- 3.) Help our larger community understand the needs and importance of agriculture in our area. This includes impact to our economy, our landscapes, and our community.
While I am so grateful that over one hundred folks attended our first council meeting, we want to ensure all voices and perspectives in the agriculture industry are included. As we adjourned, we challenged each other with this last question—Who else should be included in this conversation? If we are going to guide national policy and help solve challenges for new producers entering the market, we need everyone’s perspective during this initiative.
There is more work to be done and we will continue to share our efforts with you. If you are interested connecting to the AgriWest Initiative, don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly at jvanwinkle@gjincubator.org.
Yours in service,
