Colorado Corn Legislative Site

The Colorado Corn Legislative Program

Over 60 years ago the Federal government began a program of cheap food for Americans. It pursued this policy by imposing rules and regulations on production agriculture. Over many years these rules and regulations now govern the most intimate details of a farm operation.

Americans enjoy a safe, abundant, and without question the cheapest food in the world. On average, Americans pay less than 10% of their disposable income to feed themselves and their families. European spend over 20% on food, and the Chinese people spend more than half of their disposable income to feed themselves.

However, this cheap food policy pursued by the government comes with a cost. This cost is too often born by those in production agriculture. American farmers are proud that each one can feed 127 Americans, around the world.

If the government policy is cheap food the cost of that policy should not fall upon farmers alone. The Colorado Corn Growers Association leaders recognize the overarching role of government in our lives. The association is vigilant in monitoring and opposing legislation that would increase the regulation over production agriculture.

The Colorado Corn Growers Association works closely with other Ag groups to provide a unified position for agriculture and the state legislature. At the same time it pursues legislative goals that are of particular interest to Corn producers. This year the following issues will be will be a priority for Colorado Corn:

Ethanol

Preserving and enhancing a role for ethanol will be the primary undertaking for Colorado Corn this legislative session. Colorado Corn strongly supports and will work actively for the passage of an e-10 requirement so every gallon of gasoline sold in the state of Colorado contains 10% blend of ethanol by volume.

Representative Cory Gardner will introduce this legislation in the Colorado House of Representatives, and a similar bill will be introduced by Senator Brandon Schaffer in the Senate. This bill is the result of hearings by the Joint Rural Economic Development Committee which sponsored the original legislation. Thus far the bill has attracted nine cosponsors

Secondly the corn growers association will lobby aggressively to retain the Denver metro oxygenated-fuel program. This program retained only by a four to three vote of the Air Quality Control Commission.

In its December meeting the commission removed the oxy-fuel program from the state’s implementation program for clean air. This move is designed to eliminate the Federal review process and thereby allowing the Commission to terminate the program without review. Colorado Corn will ask the leadership of both houses of the Colorado legislature to review this action.

Surface Rights

Protecting the rights of surface owners from uncompensated damage incurred with drilling operations is another priority for Colorado Corn As the number of wells drilled increases dramatically across the Front Range the issue of adequate compensation for surface owners who suffer as a result of oil and gas drilling operations on their land has become more urgent.

The Colorado Corn Growers will support and lobby for passage of Representative Kathleen Curry’s still on surface rights. Most importantly, this bill provides for compensation in instances when the drilling results in lower to property valuations.

Eminent Domain

The alarming result handed down by the Supreme Court in a case of Kelso vs. New London broadened government authority to condemn land. This is a direct attack on the protections we have to retain and control the use of our private property. Preserving the private property rights over land and water is and will be a principle activity of the legislative program. Private property must not be taken to advance another person’s private economic gain.