Burlington, CO – U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. and Michael Bennet (D-CO) held a field hearing Wednesday on the high plains regarding the historic drought impacting farmers and ranchers across Kansas and Colorado.
The Senators, who lead the Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources, discussed innovative solutions to the drought with experts in agriculture, conservation and policy from Kansas and Colorado.
“Colorado and Kansas share much more than a border. For about ten of the last fifteen years, we’ve shared this drought – and I believe that water will be the defining issue of our states for not just the near future, but for generations ahead,” said Marshall. “Farmers and ranchers need federal assistance to maintain their livelihoods and to produce our nation’s food supply, but they need more flexibility. Unfortunately, bureaucracy in DC sometimes delays the process. I’m confident that we’ll come out of today’s field hearings with innovative solutions for farmers and ranchers in our corner of the country and beyond.”
“Today’s farmers and ranchers face a 1,200-year drought, a changing climate, and a future that keeps getting hotter and drier. Yet America’s agriculture conservation programs haven’t kept pace with a West that looks very different from the Dust Bowl era,” said Bennet. “I was grateful to hear today from experts, producers, and partners concerned for rural America’s future. America’s farmers need our agriculture conservation programs to be much more flexible and allow for innovation because the future of rural America depends on whether the next generation decides to continue operating their family farms and ranches.”
You may click HERE to listen to the full conversation from the event.