Aurelia Skipwith has ties to water interests fighting endangered species protection and worked for ag giant Monsanto.
Agriculture
Birds of prey wielded as guardians of orchards and landfills
Falconers and bird abatement can be used to protect crops, prevent the spread of disease, and keep refineries and housing developments clean.
A water ‘win-win’ in Colorado? Not so fast.
A plan to export water from the San Luis Valley to the Denver Metro area is met with defiance.
Colorado farmers fight to save their water and their community’s future
‘We can either wait on Mother Nature — or we can give it a shot ourselves.’
Trump’s trade war is draining profits for Montana wheat farmers
Today’s agricultural producers battle both environmental threats and geopolitical conflict.
I used to raise cattle for slaughter. Now I refuse to eat meat.
Once a holistic rancher, Laura Jean Schneider reflects on her decision to abandon the industry.
A family held their relatives captive; a community set them free
A labor trafficking case shows Westerners can sometimes still count on each other to protect those in need.
How beef colonized the West and America’s dinner plate
The author of a new book explains how beef consolidation in the late 19th Century shapes our ecology, economy and politics.
Rural anxieties derailed Oregon’s climate plans
Arguments over state environmental policy impacts ignore broader challenges to rural communities.
Bees, trees and a sense of unease
Will mutual dependence mean shared destruction for California’s almonds and bees?
The West’s worst fires aren’t burning in forests
Range fires get bigger every year, threatening sagebrush habitat and rural towns.
Farmers turn to prisons to fill labor needs
With immigration numbers low, the agriculture industry looks to another form of disenfranchised workers.
Potato living; safe landings; swarms at the bend
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Ranchers sue major meatpackers
Plaintiffs allege ‘The Big Four’ conspired to reduce cattle prices.
One rancher’s plan to establish water buffalo in Colorado
The challenges and possibilities of water buffalo ranching in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Can small-scale farmers grow a healthier California?
Where industrial monocrops dominate, small farms form an agricultural resistance in the Central Valley.
The radio station connecting California farmers
Multilingual broadcasts provide crucial resources to underserved refugee and immigrant communities.
The case for carbon farming in California
Can farmers and ranchers use plants to capture greenhouse gases?
A high alpine weed grower’s unusual harvest
Rob Trotter’s vision continues to deteriorate as he works on his marijuana farm in Gypsum, Colorado.
Contamination from an Air Force base devastates a New Mexico dairy
An investigation shows the impact toxic chemicals are having on the community of Clovis.
