Boebert Entertained Agriculture Round Table at Lamar Cow Palace
~Norman Kincaide
Representative Lauren Boebert, Colorado US House District 4, engaged in an agriculture round table discussion on September 12, 2026, from 12:30 to 1:45 PM at the Cow Palace in Lamar, Colorado. Around twenty people attended. Attendees were pleased the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) planned for southeastern Colorado was cancelled. However, there was disappointment in the Farm Bill as there was nothing in it for farmers and ranchers of Baca and Prowers Counties. Furthermore, the Drought Monitor did not effectively reflect the severity of the drought in Southeastern Colorado.
Rep. Boebert said that MCOOL (Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling) was not in the farm bill. But it may make into the appropriations bill through a continuing resolution. Currently, labels on beef lumps the product together with foreign imported beef, which does not have to meet the stringent standards required of American raised and slaughtered beef.
Jillane Hixson of Lamar, raised the issue of disparity in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments based upon the market value of the property, instead of the conservation value. Some CRP contracts pay only $13 per acre, while in other regions of the United States the rate is $300 to $700 per acre. Those with CRP contracts desire to graze their CRP property, some of which includes prairie chicken habitat. Prime grazing time is from March to July, but also coincides with prairie chicken mating and nesting.
Also of interest was the PRIME Act (Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption Act), a proposed bipartisan legislation designed to allow individual states to permit the local sale and distribution of custom-slaughtered meat without requiring continuous federal USDA inspection. This would reduce dependence upon the four major packing houses and increase competition in beef processing while expanding markets for smaller independent packing houses.
Barb Leininger of La Junta, addressed the issue of grazing on public land and the undue influence of environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) have upon federal government entities who oversee the management of National Forests and National Grasslands. ENGOs seek to enlarge the Endangered Species Act through listing of Species of Conservation Concern to restrict grazing rights, while supporting Wild & Scenic River designation on the Purgatoire River and Picket Wire Canyon. Leininger raised the question of how can the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other federal land management agencies be returned to their core functions, absent undue influence by ENGOs who litigate to restrict the ability of ranchers and farmers to engage in a profitable livelihood.
Rep. Boebert then attended the 9/11 Memorial observance at the Big Timbers Museum in Lamar and later attended the Bent County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner at the Las Animas High School.
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