This summer, in light of ongoing drought and extreme conditions throughout Colorado, I urged the Obama administration to make every effort to provide relief to farmers and ranchers facing losses as a result of drought. In addition, I have strongly supported the passage of a 2012 Farm Bill, which includes authorization of critical tools farmers and ranchers use to manage risk-from invasive pests, to volatile commodity prices and adverse weather events like this summer's drought. Though the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan Farm Bill (S.3240) and the House Agriculture committee reported a separate bipartisan bill out of committee, it awaits full consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives. I'll continue to fight for a five year farm bill that will provide the certainty farmers and ranchers need to operate.

I championed legislation in the Senate to ensure that Colorado's forest managers have the resources they need to be stronger stewards of a vital and critical resource in our state. The bark beetle epidemic has killed approximately 41.7 million acres of trees throughout the western United States. As a result of a bipartisan amendment that I offered during consideration of the 2012 Farm Bill, we are in a stronger position to ensure that forestry health officials can head off the problem of insect infestation before it decimates more trees in watersheds and other critical areas of Colorado and the West.

The future of agriculture is dependent upon empowering the next generation of farmers and ranchers, and we must encourage young Americans who have an interest in farming to enter this critical field. While there is no silver bullet, I offered an amendment during Senate consideration of the 2012 Farm Bill that could help new farmers and ranchers find the resources and technical assistance needed to access land from retiring farmers so that agricultural lands can stay in production. While my amendment was not included in the final bill, I will continue to support efforts to support America's newest farmers and ranchers.

Encouraging kids to get active and make healthy eating choices should be priorities as we combat the growing child obesity problem, which is why I have backed legislation, such as the Healthy Kids from Day One Act, to promote physical activity and healthy eating.  I led a bipartisan effort to prevent the U.S. Department of Agriculture from imposing overly rigid restrictions on the vegetables that schools can serve at meals. School lunch providers in Colorado told me that this restriction will result in significant challenges for food service operations through higher costs, reduced flexibility and fewer students participating in school meal programs. The law, signed on Nov. 18, 2011, now allows schools working within already tight budgets the flexibility to provide nutritious meals – including starchy vegetables like peas, corn and potatoes that are cooked in a healthy way – and teaching kids healthy eating choices.

I have been working to protect conservation program in the Farm Bill to ensure farmers and ranchers can meet the growing demand for food, fiber and fuel while remaining good stewards of our land.  On-farm conservation techniques can pay dividends by using our precious water resources more efficiently, improving a farmer's bottom line through a reduction in fertilizer use, or improving tilling or grazing practices to reduce erosion and environmental impacts.  This is why, in May 2011, I urged Senate appropriators and agriculture committee leadership to recognize express the importance of conservation programming and I will continue to let Washington know that Coloradans depend on the resources these programs protect. 

I introduced legislation (S.3387) to authorize the release of water from Ruedi Reservoir, on the Fryingpan River near Aspen, for the purposes of recovering four endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The water releases authorized in my bill will keep approximately 1,800 water projects on the Colorado River, including the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project and Colorado-Big Thompson Project, in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. These releases represent the West Slope's contribution of water for endangered fish recovery, but the bill does not take effect until East Slope water users have committed their corresponding share. This bill has the consensus support of Colorado River water users on both sides of the Continental Divide.

I have appealed to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on several occasions since the bank's closure in 2009, and successfully requested the transfer of funds to increase the pool of money available for Farm Service Agency direct operating loans by $110 million. Legislatively, I also urged my colleagues to provide adequate funding for the USDA's farm loan programs in the Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-32) and in the Fiscal Year 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-80). These efforts allowed the USDA to service backlogged qualifying loan requests and prepare to meet the lending needs of Colorado agriculture in the new fiscal year.