Letter to the Editor – “Family farms and ranches are not going to be saved by SB26-121”

To the Editor:

I grew up working on the Donnely Ranch and Armstrong Ranch in Beulah, Colorado. I bucked bales, fixed fence, branded calves, and learned a lot. Before the crash of 2008 and a drought, I had a few horses. I’m not a farmer or a rancher, but I know how to talk with them.

When I read Ty Winter’s op-ed about SB26-121, it sounded more like a corporate-farm-justification than something that would help the family farms and ranches that I’m familiar with. I suppose that’s mostly because I’ve never known a family farmer or rancher that had a large payroll. Well, that and the fact that farmers and ranchers, family or not, aren’t struggling because of overtime rules. They’re struggling because our federal government has a tariff policy that took away their markets. They’re struggling because national conglomerates control prices. They’re struggling because interest rates are growing as fast as their debt. They’re struggling because a senseless war, devoid of a coherent policy goal, has drastically increased their fuel, fertilizer, and electricity prices.

Those who do have large payrolls are struggling to find enough workers to harvest the crop in a timely
manner because their workers have either been deported or didn’t show up for fear of being deported. These are the reasons why America is on pace for another record of farm and ranch foreclosures, a record that was set the last time Trump was in the White House. Colorado lost as many farms in 2025 as the five years between 2017 and 2022.

Family farms and ranches representing generations of legacy are not going to be saved by SB26-121. They don’t walk away from their farms and ranches because of overtime rules. They walk away because it’s the only option left after not paying themselves, contracts that were suddenly reneged on after inauguration, and Wall St investors looking to make a buck swooping in like vultures.

Instead of putting the burdens of Trump policies on the backs of workers, we should be looking for ways to actually help farmers and ranchers survive a reckless federal government, for example, building regional processing co-ops so they’re not at the mercy of corporate buyers. That’s just one of many examples.

There are real ways to protect family farms and ranches without giving corporate operations another
advantage. That’s what SB26-121 does. If this were really about getting farms and ranches through tough times, it would include a sunset clause. When those times pass, the burden on workers should pass with them.

I’m not against farmers/ranchers. I want to fight for them, over the long run and not just until the next
election. And fighting for them means telling the truth about what’s actually hurting them, not pointing fingers at the wrong problem while the real one keeps getting worse. If we want to protect family farms/ranches in Colorado, we need to start there.

Vic Meyers
Candidate, House District 47