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The average length of a growing season in the United States is getting longer, a survey of young farmers finds that 93% have never used a USDA program, beef production is decreasing in 2023, changes to livestock grazing on public lands could be on the way, and Congress acts to ban Chinese ownership of U.S. farm ground.

Last week, the Colorado Department of Agriculture hosted a virtual town hall on new water regulations from the Food and Drug Administration. The meeting covered new harvest and post-harvest water requirements for farmers across the state, including those in southwest Colorado. And several politically-charged bills are headed to Governor Jared Polis’ desk. Two of them are Democrat-sponsored gun-control measures.

A new Colorado bill could make it easier for farmers to repair their own tractors and other equipment, an explosion and fire at a Texas dairy farm resulted in what may be the largest single-incident livestock death toll in the U.S., and the Secretary of Agriculture Agriculture warns meatpackers and other companies that they need to take steps to ensure that illegal child labor isn't being used in their operations.

This Thursday, the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Program and Kayenta Unified School District are teaming up to host a Navajo Food Summit at Monument Valley High School in Kayenta, Arizona. Former President of the Navajo Nation Jonathan Nez will kick the summit off with a keynote address on Thursday morning. And a bill to expand substance abuse treatment in Colorado schools has been approved by both the state House and Senate.

A pulmonologist at Miners’ Colfax Medical Center in New Mexico says there’s a statewide shortage of health professionals who are involved in the care of coal miners, especially those who have black lung disease. According to Dr. Akshay Sood, the Miners’ Colfax Medical Center Endowed Chair at the University of New Mexico, he is the state’s only Department of Labor 413(b) physician. That means he’s the only one authorized to evaluate whether or not coal miners in New Mexico are disabled enough by black lung disease to pass those findings on to a claims examiner, so they have a chance to get compensation.

On Thursday morning, students walked out of Montezuma-Cortez High School in protest of the recent changes to administrators and staff. The principal of Montezuma-Cortez, Emily Moreland, was placed on administrative leave following a meeting with Superintendent Tom Burris on Tuesday afternoon. Another administrator, Assistant Principal Lauren White, who was also in the meeting, quit. It’s still unclear as to exactly why Moreland was put on administrative leave. But three current teachers at Montezuma-Cortez – who spoke with KSJD under the condition of anonymity in case of reprisals – say that the swift departure of Moreland and White ultimately occurred because of a larger pattern of disrespect and bullying from Burris.

New USDA grant funding is available for meat and poultry producers, Southwest Colorado Meat and Livestock Day scheduled on May 11th, the shifting landscape of farm sizes and subsidies, and solar "farms" innovate to better serve rural communities.

The beginning of the 2023 water year is off to a good start, reservoirs in the southwest will see some filling but may still be below average this year, calving season has been rough due to cold and wet spring weather, farm bankruptcies are going down, and census data show that the nation’s rural population grew slightly last year.

In southwest Colorado, rain and snowmelt are projected to fill McPhee Reservoir and result in a scheduled release of water, known as a “spill.” According to Ken Curtis, the general manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy District, the spill will likely occur in early May, and will benefit water users and irrigators along the Dolores River. CORRECTION: In our original audio, we incorrectly stated that there was a meeting open to the public hosted by the DWCD on this issue next week. The real date and time for the public meeting on the "spill" will be determined soon, and is not on Monday. And state lawmakers are moving forward with efforts to mitigate negative impacts of wolf reintroduction.

In Dolores, unusually high amounts of winter snowpack are rapidly melting and causing severe flooding throughout town. Vicki Shaffer, the public information officer for Montezuma County, says that the snowmelt is mainly coming from nearby Granath Mesa. And lawmakers moved forward on Tuesday with a bill that would change how the government deals with disease outbreaks among livestock.