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The I-70 Scout & Eastern Colorado News

Category: Ag Notebook

  • Weather Buffs Invited to Report Moisture

    Weather Buffs Invited to Report Moisture

    Do you keep a rain gauge and check it regularly?

    Does it seem that the Drought Monitor doesn’t ‘see’ the droughts you experience?

    If so, you may be interested in participating in the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network or CoCoRaHS.

    Who Uses CoCoRaHS Data?

    CoCoRaHS is not just a fun activity.  The reports are used by many agencies and weather scientists.  The National Weather Service (NWS) looks at reports to track storms and their variability. Reports also help inform the U.S. Drought Monitor creators.  Weather modelers compare reports to radar information to improve predictions.  In addition to their weather spotters the NWS warning system relies on CoCoRaHS ‘significant weather reports’.  Many others use the data including emergency managers, insurance adjusters, USDA, and engineers.

    Additionally, various drought and range condition models and monitors are looking at using CoCoRaHS data.  Currently, most of these models use National Weather Service COOP stations and/or state sponsored automated weather stations.   But these stations are widely scattered across the west.  This leaves large gaps to fill in with statistics – and opportunities for error.

    Those gaps would shrink enormously if every person that has rain gauge(s) reported their results.  Knowing what rain or snow did, or didn’t, fall would vastly improve drought monitoring, forage & crop production predictions, and disaster assistance planning.

    Can I Use My Rain Gauge?

    CoCoRaHS does require that you use a 4” diameter high-capacity manual precipitation gauge.  Most automated rain gauges report less rainfall than the reference NWS Standard manual rain gauge.  These differences can be 10% or more – especially for storms with high intensity rainfall.  Gauges with small openings are also notoriously inaccurate.  The 4” gauges are within 1-5% of the NWS gauges.

    The gauge is easy to purchase from weatheryourway.com (or other sources) for about $40.  One nice feature is that the funnel reduces evaporation significantly.  So, you don’t have to beat the sun to your gauge every morning. If your gauge is in a remote location, you can simply submit multi-day reports.  You do not have to read it every day.  If it will be several days between checks, you can add a small amount of vegetable oil to your gauge to reduce evaporation even more.  Just remember to subtract the oil from your report!

    Because the gauge holds 11 inches of water, most Eastern Colorado downpours are not a problem.

    How Do I Join CoCoRaHS?

    Curious?  Check out their website www.cocorahs.org.  On the front page you will see the maps the volunteers make possible.  If you want to volunteer, the sign-up link is on the left-hand side.  Once you have a gauge, simply log in and report your moisture.  Zeros often are more important than rain, so don’t skip the days when your gauge is empty!

    Each volunteer is valuable in helping to fill in a piece of the weather puzzle.  These pieces are crucial for researchers, drought and flood monitors, and many others to make accurate assessments of conditions in your area.

    For more information contact your NRCS office.

  • Colorado Joint Budget Committee Completes Work

    Colorado Joint Budget Committee Completes Work

    We have 27 days left in the Legislative Session. The urgency to get things across the finish line is setting in! 

    The Joint Budget Committee has finalized their budget and it will be presented to the House and Senate today. As far as ag related budget items, there has been $75,000 allotted for the Colorado Ag Leadership Program, $75,000 for the Beef Sticks for Backpacks program, $1,000,000 towards wolf reintroduction rancher support, and $200,000 towards the Department of Agriculture to continue their Rural Mental Health initiative. RMFU has worked most directly on this last item as our AgWell program has been directly involved in this collaborative. 

    Other legislative updates for the week

    HB22-1301, Colorado Environment Agricultural Facility as Agricultural Property, passed out of its first committee 11-2 on Wednesday. This bill will allow for hydroponic greenhouses, used for food production, to receive agricultural tax status. RMFU policy supports agricultural taxes to be based on production as opposed to being tied to agricultural taxes being based on land. We have taken an amend position and hope to see this bill expanded to greenhouses that have additional production methods, such as soil-based systems, in addition to solely hydroponics.   

    HB22-1355, Producer Responsibility Program for Recyling, this bill, as introduced, would charge producers of packaging a fee to support regional recycling programs. It has been a challenging bill because our policy heartily supports incentivized recycling programs but is quiet when it comes to mandated fees for recycling. We have negotiated an amendment that would exempt agricultural producers from being subject to these fees and have now taken a neutral position on the bill.  

    SB22-029, Investment Water Speculation, one of the most perplexing bills of the session, this seeks to rein in out-of-state speculative interests that are increasing water prices in the state. Everyone agrees that these outside forces are making it harder for accessing agricultural water and for families to pass these assets down to the next generation. However, it’s very difficult to create language in statute that can curb these trends without injuring private property rights and changing our Historic Doctrine of Prior Appropriation. This bill was originally scheduled to be in committee today but has now been delayed. We expect it to be amended quite a bit if it is to move forward in the Legislature this year. 

    To see all the bills we are following follow this link to our Bill Tracker: 

    https://statebillinfo.com/SBI/index.cfm?fuseaction=Public.Dossier&id=30288&pk=925&style=pinstripe 

  • USDA Encourages Producers to Enroll in Grassland CRP

    USDA Encourages Producers to Enroll in Grassland CRP

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages producers and landowners to enroll in the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) starting April 4, 2022 through May 13, 2022. Grassland CRP provides a unique opportunity for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners to keep land in agricultural production and supplement their income while improving their soils and permanent grass cover.   The program had its highest enrollment in history in 2021 and is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader effort to equip producers with the tools they need to help address climate change and invest in the long-term health of our natural resources.

    Grassland CRP is a federally funded voluntary working lands program. Through the program, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides annual rental payments to landowners to maintain and conserve grasslands while allowing producers to graze, hay, and produce seed on that land.  Maintaining the existing permanent cover provides several benefits, including reducing erosion, providing wildlife habitat and migration corridors, and capturing and maintaining carbon in the soil and cover.

    FSA provides participants with annual rental payments and cost-share assistance. The annual rental rate varies by county with a national minimum rental rate of $13 per acre for this signup. Contract duration is 10 or 15 years.

    Grassland CRP National Priority Zones

    Because Grassland CRP supports not only grazing operations but also biodiversity and conserving environmentally sensitive land such as that prone to wind erosion, FSA created two National Priority Zones in 2021: the Greater Yellowstone Migration Corridor and Dust Bowl Zone. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on conservation in important wildlife corridors and key seasonal ranges, for this year’s signup, FSA is expanding the Greater Yellowstone Wildlife Migration Corridor Priority Zone to include seven additional counties across Montana, Wyoming, and Utah, to help protect the big-game animal migration corridor associated with Wyoming elk, mule deer, and antelope.

    Offers within one of these National Priority Zones will receive an additional 15 ranking points and $5 per acre if at least 50% of the offer is located in the zone.

    Alongside Grassland CRP, producers and landowners can also enroll acres in Continuous CRP under the ongoing sign up, which includes projects available through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE).

    Broadening Reach of Program

    As part of the Agency’s Justice40 efforts, producers and landowners who are historically underserved, including beginning farmers and military veterans, will receive 10 additional ranking points to enhance their offers.

    Additionally, USDA is working to broaden the scope and reach of Grassland CRP by leveraging the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to engage historically underserved communities. CREP is a partnership program that enables states, Tribal governments, non-profit, and private entities to partner with FSA to implement CRP practices and address high priority conservation and environmental objectives. Interested entities are encouraged to contact FSA.

    More Information on CRP

    Landowners and producers interested in Grassland CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply for the program before the May 13, 2022 deadline.  Additionally, fact sheets and other resources are available at fsa.usda.gov/crp.

     Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest voluntary private-lands conservation programs in the United States. The working lands signup announced today demonstrates how much it has evolved from the original program that was primarily intended to control soil erosion and only had the option to take enrolled land out of production. The program has expanded over the years and now supports a greater variety of conservation and wildlife benefits, along with the associated economic benefits.

  • Corn Farmers Thank Biden Administration for Counting on Biofuels to Lower Costs, Boost Energy Independence

    Corn Farmers Thank Biden Administration for Counting on Biofuels to Lower Costs, Boost Energy Independence

    President Biden announced today that his administration will use existing authority to prevent drivers from losing access to lower-cost and lower-emission E15, a higher ethanol blend often marketed as Unleaded 88. 
    The president made the announcement at a POET ethanol production facility in Menlo, Iowa, and NCGA President Chris Edgington participated in the event. 
    “Corn growers thank President Biden for ensuring drivers continue to have access to a lower-cost fuel choice and for acknowledging how renewable ethanol helps reduce prices, lower emissions and improve our nation’s energy security,” said Edgington. “Farmers are proud to contribute to cleaner, less expensive fuel choices.” 
     
    A 2021 court decision resulting from oil industry efforts to limit the growth of higher ethanol blends was set to end full-market access for E15 beginning this summer, absent action from the Biden administration or Congress. 
    “Renewable corn-based ethanol provides consumers with access to lower-cost fuel and contributes to energy security in the U.S. Colorado’s corn producers thank the Biden administration for recognizing the value that corn-based ethanol providers to consumers and making higher ethanol blends available to drivers this summer,” said Colorado Corn Administrative Committee President Jeremy Fix. “It’s a winning combination of lowering fuel costs for families and emissions during the summer.” 
    Ethanol has been priced an average of 80 cents less per gallon than unblended gasoline at wholesale through March, and drivers currently save up to 20 cents or more per gallon where E15 is available.  
    Ethanol adds billions of gallons to the U.S. fuel supply every year, lowering demand for high-cost oil while increasing the total fuel available to consumers. Corn farmers’ increased productivity and efficiency have resulted in higher yields, using fewer resources, to meet food, feed and fuel needs to help keep prices down. 
    Moreover, allowing continued E15 sales through the summer keeps a lower-emission fuel in the marketplace. E15 has lower volatility than regular fuel, which is a 10 percent ethanol blend, and using E15 results in lower evaporative and exhaust emissions, important during the summer driving season.