I’m not sharing this to start a debate or stoke the fire, but it is my belief that the committee had the wool pulled over their eyes and were deceived by those who opposed this bill. Those who gave testimony for the opposition were well-prepared and showed up in force to give their 2 cents as to why this bill was, in their humble opinion, a bad choice for Colorado and a step in the wrong direction for the beef industry. However, I also feel that they chose to ignore the positive attributes of this bill and, dare I say, manipulate and distract the committee members by reiterating to them time and time again impertinent information and misleading assumptions as it related to the bill.

This bill would have in-fact given our consumers the right to choose where the beef they feed their families came from. Furthermore, it would have have made an important step in preventing the vertical integration of the beef industry and would have made a move in the right direction in keeping calf prices at a sustainable level giving both existing producers and those young producers trying to get a start in the industry a viable chance at making a decent living raising a healthy and wholesome product that our nations’ consumers are demanding.

To wrap this up, I would like to thank representative Kimmi Lewis and her staff for putting in countless hours in preparing this bill and continuing to work hard for the cow-calf producers, and agriculturists of Colorado. The bill may have failed for now, but our voice was heard and I hope that individuals from both sides of the isle on this issue learned from and appreciated all of testimonies they heard.