Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet met with farmers, members of the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation (CWRF), Colorado Association of Wheat Growers (CAWG), researchers and officials from Colorado State University Fort Collins at Cooksey Farms to highlight Snowmass Wheat, an innovative new strain of wheat that combines the nutritional benefits of whole wheat with the taste of refined white flour. Snowmass was developed at CSU Fort Collins.
This was the first stop on Bennet’s Eastern Plains Listening Tour to highlight important issues for rural Coloradans, including passing the bipartisan immigration and farm bills.
Cooksey Farms, owned by Jerry Cooksey, recently began growing Snowmass wheat, which has superior milling and bread baking qualities, is adapted for dry conditions on the Eastern Plains, and is resistant to certain viruses. Colorado farmers have found the strain to be high yielding and profitable.
Bennet had the opportunity to tour the facilities at the farm and see the fields where the new seed is being grown.
“This type of innovation is essential for the future of our agriculture industry,” Bennet said. “And resources in the Farm Bill are critical to fostering this type of research, leading to breakthroughs like Snowmass. It’s yet another reason why we have to pass a comprehensive Farm Bill.”
Snowmass Wheat was developed utilizing research supported by the Farm Bill, which is set to expire in a month, threatening farmers, ranchers and rural communities with more uncertainty. Senator Bennet helped write the bipartisan Farm Bill that the Senate passed in June. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, he was selected as a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee, which will work out and negotiate the differences between the House and Senate versions of the Bill.