Long-time family farm proponent and friend of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU), Dr. William Heffernan, was presented with the National Farmers Union (NFU) Meritorious Service Award for Agriculture and World Agriculture during NFU’s 104th Convention in March, in Denver. The award is designed to recognize individuals and families who have made a major contribution to […]

By John Stencel
Illegal immigration has become an explosive topic, particularly over the past few months. Since production agriculture has traditionally employed immigrant labor, it is important that we continue to weigh in on this topic.
While some family farmers need limited, seasonal immigrant laborers, the majority of illegal immigrants are employed by large and mega-sized confinement […]

By Todd Hagenbuch
I had the pleasure of attending my first NFU national convention in March in Denver. How fortunate we are to be able to host this exciting event for our friends and colleagues from around the country. I was impressed with the events we hosted and was proud to say that I represented the […]

By John Stencel
How is it that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which was established with the purpose of helping farmers and ranchers, has become the department dedicated to enriching multinational corporations and ensuring that their share prices rise?
While not all divisions and certainly not all employees of USDA are oriented in this manner, recent […]

By Todd Hagenbuch
When I was little, I was intrigued by the huge boulders that sat along the driveway on the hill above my grandparent’s house near Steamboat Springs. These awesome rocks were situated near Green Creek, the stream which my family’s ranch derives its name. The two most prominent boulders had a large concrete structure […]

The mid-December announcement that Japan will reopen its market to U.S. beef was an early Christmas present for U.S. producers. Japan, previously the United States’ largest customer for beef, cut off all imports of U.S. beef in late 2003 when the United States announced that one of its processing plants discovered a carcass headed for […]

By John Stencel
The mid-December announcement that Japan will reopen its market to U.S. beef was an early Christmas present for U.S. producers.
Japan, previously the United States’ largest customer for beef, cut off all imports of U.S. beef in late 2003 when the United States announced that one of its processing plants discovered a carcass headed […]

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Dec. 12, 2005 on the Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting (LMPR) program shortfalls should serve as a call to action for farm groups and livestock producers everywhere.
The LMPR Act is a provision passed by Congress and enacted in 1999 that requires packers, processors, and importers to provide price, contracting, […]

By John Stencel
Reimbursable mileage rates have already gone up, surcharges are appearing on everything affected by rising energy costs, and the public is bracing for increased heating bills. Skyrocketing fuel costs are burdening most everyone, but agricultural producers are possibly the hardest hit.
Consumers have the option of carpooling to jobs or turning down their thermostats […]

By John Stencel
While Rocky Mountain Farmers Union feels complete empathy toward Canadian cattle producers who saw an unexpected and severe drop in domestic cattle prices following closure of the U.S. border to Canadian cattle, resumption of trade as usual is premature. There are measures that should have been taken but were not—prior to opening the […]

By John Stencel
More than a month after the Supreme Court’s May 23 ruling upholding the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 (beef checkoff), I am still reeling from shock that the court affirmed the defendant’s position that the checkoff is government speech.
Those bringing the case argued it is an issue of free speech and […]

By John Stencel
In April the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 8, Permanent Estate Tax Repeal Act of 2005. One Washington columnist calls it the Paris Hilton tax cut, and in fact, the idea of repealing the estate tax was planted in 1992 when heirs to the Mars, Inc. and other very wealthy families joined […]

By John Stencel
With fuel costs increasing nearly 25 percent over what they were a year ago, I am surprised that there has been no public outcry. While consumers are forced to devote more of their incomes to paying for fuel for their vehicles and to heat (or air condition) their homes, transportation, farming, and other […]

By John Stencel
European policy assures the continuance of an ample and diversified agriculture at all costs. Japan sees that its farmers, especially its rice farmers, stay in business, despite the fact that wildly escalating land prices make producing food in Japan far more expensive than importing it.
Yet U.S. policymakers, perhaps because our country has never […]

By Paul Stout
Do you remember back to your childhood when you were read the story, Little Red Riding Hood? Do you also remember the tale about the boy who cried wolf? From our earliest days, we were taught about the predatory instincts of these animals. As adults involved in the business of farming and ranching, […]

By John Stencel
Consumers who think they save money by shopping at discount chain stores need to think again. A congressional report released earlier this year shows that federal taxpayers pay over $2,000 per Wal-Mart employee to supplement the low wages paid by the mega retailer.
According to the report, a store with 200 employees, will require […]

By John Stencel
Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) is opposed to the possible purchase of a member of the Federal Farm Credit System, Farm Credit Services of America (FCSA), by the international, Netherlands-based banking conglomerate Rabobank. The proposal is attractive, as it would yield good payouts to cash-strapped producer owners, yet the long-term impact of such […]

By John Stencel
Unfortunately, the Colorado Legislature closed its latest session without acting on a number of important issues. The voting public via general election referenda will now have to deal with much of the Legislature’s unfinished business.
Rocky Mountain Farmers Union’s board recently decided to sign on with other supporters on two of the referenda.
The first […]

By John Stencel
Little media attention has been given to two very significant trade agreements passed into law in the last several months.
First there was the agreement between the United States and Australia, which provided better intellectual property rights for U.S. musicians, filmmakers and manufacturers into the Australia in exchange for reductions and, in some cases, […]

By John Stencel
The recently released 2002 Census of Agriculture shows a trend that we should find alarming.
Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming—all states represented by Rocky Mountain Farmers Union—have between 1997 and 2002 experienced significant declines in the number of farming and ranching operations between 500 and 2000 acres in size.
Colorado and Wyoming actually show significant […]