Agriculture

Colorado has 38,900 farms and ranches encompassing 32 million acres in Colorado. Many of these farms are in Colorado’s Third District and our hardworking farmers and ranchers help feed the nation. Agriculture generates $47 billion annually for our state’s economy and supports more than 195,000 jobs. Colorado has the second-highest milk production per dairy cow in America. Colorado is home to more than 275 breweries, over 4.5 million head of cattle, and more than 450,000 goats and sheep. Colorado is 5th in the U.S. in beef exports. I want to build on this progress and will continue to support Colorado’s agriculture industry however I can. 

Farmers and ranchers know that property rights are the foundation of their livelihoods and the American dream. Leftists are retreading their tired strategy of using the Endangered Species Act and the sage-grouse to trample on private property rights and lockup our lands. I stood up for farmers and ranchers and my legislative provision defunding efforts to list the sage-grouse as an endangered species was signed into law.

Unfortunately, our property and water rights are also under attack by the Biden administration’s 30 x 30 program, which aims to lock up hundreds of millions of acres and 30% of all lands and waters in the U.S., including private lands, over the next eight years through a massive federal land-grab. I introduced the 30 x 30 Termination Act to protect ranching, grazing, and multiple-use and block this radical initiative. I will always stand up for private property rights and will oppose encroachments by the federal government.

One of the biggest issues always facing agriculture is water. In Colorado, water rights are paramount to our economy, our environment, and our way of life. I introduced the Western Water Security Act to protect private property rights, prevent federal water grabs, and help ensure an abundant supply of clean water for future generations. We suffer from drought on a constant basis, and if it continues and we fail to act, our farms and ranches will suffer. That is why I also support effective water storage and delivery projects that will supply clean water in dry times.

I helped lead the charge to defeat the misguided proposalput forth by Renewable Water Resources to steal seven billion gallons of water per year and dry up 22,667 irrigated acres in perpetuity in the San Luis Valley and pipe the water to the Denver suburbs. The Third Congressional District has fought similar proposals for decades as someone is always trying to steal our water and send it to the Front Range. 

I cosponsored legislation and led an effort to prevent the return of the 2015 WOTUS rule, a land and water grab that sought to assert Clean Water Act and federal jurisdiction over areas with the slightest connection to water resources. Farmers, ranchers, and property owners will all suffer if the Biden administration attempts to reinstate WOTUS.

I am fighting to protect farmers and ranchers from even more burdensome federal regulations, so I was pleased when my legislative provision delaying new regulations on livestock haulers was signed into law. 

I support a full repeal of the estate tax or "death tax." Americans are taxed enough already on their earnings and holdings, and there is no reason they should be taxed again when they pass the family farm on to the next generation. 

When Colorado’s Governor attacked the meat industry, I stood with our farmers and ranchers by supporting Meat In Day.

I cosponsored the bipartisan PRIME Act to increase processing options for farmers and ranchers who want to sell meat to consumers at farm stands, farmers’ markets, or home delivery.

Farmers and ranchers face ever-increasing difficulties from the radical left encroaching on their livelihoods, including by reintroducing wolves and leaving farmers and ranchers powerless to defend their livestock. I am working to ensure government bureaucrats follow the science and that management of these predators are not hampered by an unjustified Endangered Species Act listing. Since the federal government and an activist California judge have exacerbated the wolf problem for farmers and ranchers, I took action to secure funds for the Wolf Livestock Loss Demonstration Program to compensate farmers and ranchers for lost livestock.

Liberal Washington, D.C. and Denver policies don’t work for rural Colorado farmers. I will continue to work tirelessly to protect the interests of our farmers and ranchers and ensure they are able to thrive off Colorado’s soil.