Julie and I traveled to Broomfield, Colorado, last week to attend the Farm Foundation summer meeting. I was fortunate to be invited into the membership of this organization approximately 15 years ago, and I try to never miss their summer meeting. Farm Foundation is comprised of just over 200 individuals from across the country involved in the food chain. This includes large producers, chemical and seed company executives, farm equipment manufacturers, economists, environmentalists, and others involved in the food supply. Meetings are held twice a year in January and June and focus on topics impacting the industry.

The theme for this meeting was “Bridging the Urban and Rural Divide.” What a timely topic. Tours and discussions focused on the challenges created by competing water needs, pressure to remove industrial agriculture from urban areas, and rural voices in heavily divided states.

Our meeting began on Wednesday with tours of various agri-businesses in the area. One of the stops on our tour was SkyWay Foods. SkyWay owns a building that hosts space for multiple food company start-ups. After the tour, I could not stop thinking about the fact that the building had a one-and-a-half-inch water main serving the building at a cost of $240,000 dollars. This only included the costs for the tap. This gave the right to purchase the water used within the building.

Another stop on the tour was Root Shoot Malting, a farming operation that produces a selection of craft base and specialty malts for multiple craft beer producers. They farm approximately 2,000 acres that they irrigate from surface water rights. The water shares that they purchased for $80,000 several years ago are now worth $600,000 per share today. Time will tell how long farmers in the area will find it more tempting to sell the water shares as the prices rise over time as the residential growth continues.

On day two, one session included a panel discussion dealing with the challenges of keeping a reliable supply of water available to all users as the population grows and the demand for water increases.

As much as I was tempted to mention the Perkins County Canal project, I thought it best not to bring it up since I was not close to the exit at the time. This will certainly add to the drama of Colorado’s water concerns as Nebraska continues down the road with further development. As I think about water challenges in Colorado, I have a renewed appreciation for the Ogallala aquifer and what a huge asset it is to our region. Protecting it will continue to be a priority of mine.

While touring the National Western Center, we toured the property’s packing plant. We learned along the way that there is a potential ballot initiative in the Denver area that would ban livestock slaughter within the city limits. This, of course, would put this facility out of business.

We also learned about the efforts to introduce wolves into parts of Colorado where ranchers are raising cattle. The State has already released ten wolves and plans to release another 15 in the near future. These kinds of intrusions into the rural lifestyle are clearly an example of the rural/urban divide. Given the population base in Denver and the other metro areas in Colorado, farmers and ranchers are clearly in the minority. How to bridge the gap and bring about a better appreciation for the consequences of these efforts will remain a challenge, not just in Colorado.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you regarding issues that are important to you. It is a privilege to serve as your State Senator, and I will continue to give my full effort to make a positive difference for the District and the State. You can reach me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729.