By Kent Peppler The Agriculture Committees of the United States House of Representatives and Senate have begun drafting, debating and developing farm policies for the next five years. We all have a huge stake in the process. The legislation will have a tremendous impact on the future of family farm and ranch agriculture and the [...]

By Todd Hagenbuch, RMFU Vice President The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service held a hearing Jan. 17, in Denver to ask the question, “What does the term ‘natural’ mean when applied to beef, lamb, pork or chicken?” One of the three meetings held in the country to pose the question, [...]

By Kent Peppler We have been dealing with a lot of different issues since I became president. Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) is a general farm organization that represents a huge variety of family farm interests. The office is a constant buzz of activity right now, and there are days when the threat of ‘overload’ [...]

By Kent Peppler Family farmers and ranchers have much for which they can be optimistic as they look forward to the new year. Representing 26,000 members in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union believes the new congressional leadership will make strengthening family farms, ranches and rural communities a top priority. Congress and [...]

By Kent Peppler Greetings to my fellow Farmers Union members. My name is Kent Peppler and I am very proud to be the new president of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. I am a fourth generation farmer from Mead, Colorado. Our farm currently consists of corn, wheat, alfalfa hay, and sunflowers. In addition, my family in [...]

By John Stencel As I address Rocky Mountain Farmers Union members through this column for the last time, my heart is filled with pride, joy, and a twinge of sadness. After 30 years of service to this organization, I will be retiring following RMFU’s annual convention Nov. 17-18. Following a stint at CSU, I came [...]

By John Stencel Federal estate tax law has to be among the most misunderstood and exploited laws on the books. Politicians vowing to repeal federal estate tax say it will devastate small family farms and other businesses. Yet when asked to come up with a single example of a family farm or ranch that has [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]