Home to our Just Good Food programming, the Mariposa Ascendente Regenerative Gardens and Classroom has already grown into a gathering place for workshops and celebrations for gardeners, regenerative agriculture enthusiasts, natural builders, farmers and farm lovers throughout the region. Now through December 15, we are participating in the Seed Money campaign.

The water year, spanning from October 2023 to September 2024, plays a crucial role in understanding Western Colorado's water dynamics. This article delves into the observations from this water year and what they mean for the future of water in Western Colorado.

This Fall we partnered up with The Learning Council and Western Slope Conservation Center to bring regeneration to life on local North Fork Valley farms and at our regenerative gardens and classroom, Mariposa Ascendente.

Colorado Farm & Food Alliance is super excited to be partnering with Mountain Roots Healthy Futures and AmeriCorps to host Sarsa Buck here in the North Fork Valley. Sarsa is helping Colorado Farm & Food Alliance learn from the amazing agricultural producers in our community about their practices, successes, challenges and stories. This is so the Colorado Farm and Food Alliance, and others, can better support regenerative agriculture in the region and our farmers and ranchers doing this work.

Colorado Farm and Food Alliance is working to develop and build our Rural Resilience and Regeneration programming to assist small farm and food businesses in locating the resources, connections, and skills they need to help them succeed and to support rural communities that are prosperous, equitable, and climate-resilient.

Our much anticipated Regenerative Agriculture Farm Dinner with the Forage Sisters returns on October 23, at the Midway Schoolhouse, outside Hotchkiss. Held at the peak of harvest season, and when the Valley will be ablaze in autumnal colors, this ticketed event will sell out in advance. So right now is a good time to purchase your tickets here.

The butterfly is emerging at Mariposa Ascendente, Colorado Farm and Food Alliance’s new regenerative agriculture demonstration garden and classroom. Designed by Elizabeth Agee, the walking garden features many aspects of regenerative agriculture that can be incorporated into a farm or garden that wishes to become more drought resilient, less fertilizer dependent, pollinator friendly and water wise.

An update on climate change indicators documented throughout 2023, along with some new information on policy and local projects that highlight climate solutions.

Applications OPEN for Paonia AmeriCorps Service Position with CO Farm Food Alliance - The Rural Engagement, Empowerment & Education Associate combines conservation with food security, and is based in a small but vibrant agricultural community of Paonia, on the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains at the edge of the Colorado Plateau.

For the past 12 years, the North Fork Valley has stood out among small rural communities by consistently sending citizen delegations to Washington, DC each spring. Over time, these trips have helped establish valuable relationships, ensuring that North Fork’s concerns are considered in federal decisions.

New CO Farm & Food Alliance film features a riparian restoration project and rural conservation leadership in action

Colorado Farm and Food Alliance is excited for our spring workshop series to bring the Regenerative Agriculture Gardens and Classroom back, in partnership with our host, Arbol Farm, just outside of Paonia.

Spring workshops topics, from cover cropping in the market garden to alley cropping, teach practices proven to help with better water retention in the soil, higher yields for farmers, and more resilience to drought, erosion and fire.

On April 5-6, we will offer up Rivershed: A Weekend of Awareness and Action for Healthy Lands and Watersheds in Paonia, Colorado.

This weekend of activities will explore themes around our river and water in the west. Through conversations, film, discussion and hands-on activities, we will touch on watershed restoration, beaver and riparian life, the risks of persistent drought and building greater system resilience, and the role of healthy lands in the security of our western river systems.

RSVP today.

With days still blustery and cherry trees just starting to bud in DC, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition members convene at the beginning of each year to strategize around national priorities. This year the Farm Bill is back at the top of the agenda. That legislation, which covers many things related to farms, food, nutrition and rural development is up for reauthorization in 2024.

Agrivoltaics are the pairing of solar energy and agriculture. Some experts think it offers solutions that can help renewables better integrate with rural livelihoods and might also provide some enhancements for farming as we head into a hotter, drier, less predictable weather future. Community-solar is another way to ensure that communities are centered in the expansion of renewable energy.

In Delta County, the Colorado Farm & Food Alliance is part of a team of local leaders bringing agrivoltaics together with community-solar in a project at Thistle Whistle Farm on Hanson Mesa, outside the town of Hotchkiss.

Pete and Lauren embark on a journey to Carbondale for a round table on local food actions and initiatives in the Roaring Fork Valley. We were excited to join the discussion since The Roaring Fork and the North Fork of the Gunnison are both headwaters to the Colorado River and working together for greater bioregional food security is exactly what we are about.

Last fall, we relocated our Learning Garden and Classroom to its new home at Arbol Farm, just outside of Paonia on Lamborn Mesa. We’ve got big plans for this space in 2024 and beyond, and we are already busy planning for our spring workshops and other activities.

In 2015, when the Colorado Farm & Food Alliance became its own Colorado-incorporated entity, our first tag-line was “Healthy Lands and Clean Water Protect Colorado’s Farms, Food and Drink.” Overtime, since food truly does touch everything, our mission grew to include not only conservation goals, but climate action, food fairness, and small farm support.

The Western Colorado Alliance held a farmer grant writing workshop in Grand Junction last month with many Western Slope farmers attending to learn the grant writing ropes from the wonderful speakers that night.