land

Food producers and retailers team up to fund sustainable agricultural practices, the 1976 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act may get revised to address new concerns, a possible grey wolf sighting in northwest Colorado, and the USDA announces grants to help livestock producers implement solutions that balance benefits to land, livestock, and wildlife.

Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land has been a popular target for state legislators his year, growing seasons are slowly shifting across the United States, agencies will collaborate to manage the reintroduction of gray wolves on Colorado’s Western Slope, and John Deere moves toward digitizing self-repair for its customers.

The city of Cortez is holding several listening sessions starting on Tuesday as part of the next steps in updating the land use code for the city, which was first adopted 27 years ago. Rachael Marchbanks, the city’s community and economic development director, says that the listening sessions are organized by Logan Simpson, the consultant company for the city. The eventual changes to the land use code will factor in the need for affordable housing in Cortez, she says. And a bill that would make changes to Colorado’s election system was approved by the state Senate last week.

A coalition of organizations in southwest Colorado is holding a year-long study that will seek to remove barriers to land access in the region. The three organizations are La Plata Open Space Conservancy, Montezuma Land Conservancy, and the Old Fort of Fort Lewis College. And the state budget for next year was introduced Monday. It totals 38.5 billion dollars.

The Cortez City Council has unanimously approved a plan to rewrite the city’s land use code. In order to improve affordable housing options available for those looking to move or build homes in Cortez, the city applied for a grant from the Colorado State Department of Local Affairs to fund a land use code project. And state lawmakers want oil and gas companies to conserve more water. A new bill would require companies to report their water use for increased transparency.

Farmland sales prices show strong land values, proposed legislation in Iowa over SNAP food allowances could leave pork producers in a bind, and a recent survey shows that Coloradans want to support the state’s agricultural industry.

A survey of bank CEOs in rural areas indicates that rural economies are slowing down, the EPA continues to wrestle with problems related to the Roundup herbicide, and a residential developer in Hawaii is selling expensive land plots that can only be used for agricultural purposes.

A forecast for the Four Corners sees cooler temperatures continuing this fall, the USDA reports the value of the nation’s cropland in 2022 is up an average of 14% over 2021, history may be repeating itself with a possible farmland price bubble, and how to harvest the perfect ripe tomato.

Summit Ridge residents concerned about the impacts of a new trailhead near their subdivision renewed their pleas for help Monday before the Montezuma…