Today, Senator Michael Bennet held a community meeting at the Delta County Courthouse to discuss the recently passed Farm Bill, which he worked with Coloradans to help write and finalize. He also heard input on the next priorities for the state’s farmers and ranchers.
As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Bennet helped craft the Farm Bill with the help of Coloradans across the state. He was also selected to serve on the conference committee convened to work out the differences between the House of Representatives and Senate versions of the bill. Bennet helped ensure that Colorado priorities were in the final version of the Farm Bill, including a strengthened crop insurance program, improved conservation easements, reauthorization of the livestock disaster program, important forestry measures for reducing the risk of wildfires, and the continuation of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding for Colorado counties.
“Though passage of this bill is long overdue, we were finally successful in finalizing a five-year Farm Bill to provide much needed predictability for our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities,” Bennet said. “Throughout the process we ensured that Colorado voices, from the Western Slope to the Eastern Plains, from the San Luis Valley to northern Colorado, played an important role in crafting it .”
This stop was one in a series of statewide community meetings Bennet is holding to share information about the final bill and discuss agriculture priorities for the future. Bennet will also stop in Hayden today and hold a meeting in Greeley tomorrow.