It’s going to be a busy one for CSU and CNGA! At the recent CSU President’s Ag Advisory Committee meeting, we heard about changes happening at CSU—James Pritchett, Dean of the Colorado State University College of Agricultural Sciences and director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, has been promoted to vice president for Engagement and Extension. So we will be seeing a new dean for the Ag College, hopefully by July 1. Members of the search committee are listed here. The College will hold some listening sessions for input from stakeholders, and we will keep you posted about those. CNGA will be present to represent your interests, and make sure the new dean has a breadth of experience in agriculture and is not just focused on one area.
CNGA staff’s busy start includes looking at new activities to bring our members together, both to offer new fellowship opportunities as well as learning opportunities. You are welcome to call or email at any time to let us know what would be helpful to you and your business.
Since 2024 is another election year, you will be hearing from CNGA/GreenCO this spring asking for your support as we raise funds to keep GreenCO operating and our lobbyists at the capitol. Additionally, during the summer, we will be asking you to donate as we prepare for legislative interviews. We will be sitting down with numerous candidates running for office, and donating PAC funds to those we support. PAC funds can’t be intermingled, which is why we will reach out to you twice. Remember, no one other than those of us in the industry, is going to defend our industry.
Another article in this issue of NewsLeaf talks about some of our expected legislative challenges. One more we may see is additional pesticides being added to the new “limited use” designation. These pesticides may only be sold by licensed dealers. The family of neonic pesticides was added to this designation last year, which means if you wish to sell those to the public, you must have a pesticide dealer license.
At the federal level, the Department of Labor proposed changes to the H-2A ag worker program that would essentially circumvent congressional intent, which exempted ag workers from some provisions of the National Labor Relations act, by imposing provisions through regulation. Then there’s the economy, which as a business owner, you are surely keeping an eye on. At the recent CU Leeds School of Business Economic Forum, the topic at hand was, not surprisingly, the economy. Will there be a slowdown in 2024? During 2023, GDP growth exceeded expectations both nationally and in Colorado. Although everyone is waiting for the economy to slow down, job growth continues to be relatively strong—estimated at 64,500 (2.2%) for Colorado in 2023 with an additional 41,900 jobs (1.4%) forecasted for 2024. Economic risks for 2024 are managing inflation, consumer growth (there are some signs consumer spending may be fading), the worker shortage, high demand for work-from-home jobs, and commercial real estate, with the remote work trend having significant effects on available office space. We will see how the year unfolds.
