May 2025 || Newsletter Edition 176

Jonathan Cable

Community Engagement Specialist at CSU

Jonathan Cable is a two-time CSU alumnus and has recently begun his role as a Community Engagement Specialist in the Office of Engagement and Extension. In April, he completed his Master's of Agriculture degree in Teacher Development. Jonathan's graduate thesis explored stakeholder core values in School-Based Agricultural Education. Since January, he has supported the Colorado Building Farmers program through course management for the Business Development spring class and is currently developing an online course for those who are curious about beginning a farm or ranch operation.

Raised in Northeastern Colorado, Jonathan has a deep passion for connecting diverse members of Colorado's communities and food systems. Jonathan has worked as a research assistant for CSU Extension, the CSU Center for Public Deliberation and the University of Colorado-Denver’s University Technical Assistance Program. With skills in public deliberation and technical community planning and design, he continues to pursue new ways to support and inspire the next generation of agricultural and rural leaders to create a more inclusive and sustainable industry and world.

Apply for CDA's Climate Smart Showcase at Newtopia Now

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is offering an opportunity for brands that source climate-smart ingredients in Colorado to showcase their products at Newtopia Now, taking place on August 20th-22nd, 2025, in Denver. This event will foster meaningful connections between brands, buyers, and industry leaders to create a more responsible and regenerative marketplace. CDA will cover the majority of exhibition costs for a limited number of Colorado climate-smart brands. Climate-smart producers interested in learning about market opportunities are also welcome to apply to attend the event as CDA's guest.

Climate-smart agricultural practices include: activities that increase soil health, optimize water usage, enhance diverse ecosystems, or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Email Susan Enfield at susan.enfield@state.co.us with any questions.

Applications are due on May 2nd. Apply here.

Innovations in Food is Medicine Summit

Register for the 2025 Innovations in Food is Medicine Summit: Building and Supporting Public-Private Partnerships. This summit is being hosted by Prime Health and the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA). There will be a series of virtual events between May 1st and May 15th.

Agenda (times to be announced):

• May 1st - Bringing it all together: Farm to Table to Lab Work
• May 2nd - Medically Tailored Meals, Groceries, Produce Prescriptions: Action and Options for Innovation
• May 8th - Innovations in Nutrition and Food Security
• May 9th - Digital Health Driving Improved Behaviors in Populations
• May 15th - Sustaining Innovations in Food is Medicine

To make this event accessible, participants are encouraged to pay what they can. Registration is for all 5 zoom events and zoom links will be sent out following registration. All sessions will be recorded and made available on the website. Register here!

Annie's Project Facilitator Training Program

National Annie's Project is offering a free virtual facilitator training session on the following dates:

• May 6th: 9am-11am, 1pm-3pm MST
• May 7th: 9am-11am, 1pm-3pm MST

The first step to hosting Annie's Project in your county is to become a trained facilitator by taking this course. All 8 hours must be completed to be certified as an Annie's Project facilitator. Registration is limited to the first 20 participants. Register here!

Contact jenny.beiermann@colostate.edu or karisha@anniesproject.org with any questions.

Food Safety Training for Colorado Cottage Foods Producers

Learn how to safely produce food from home as a cottage food business. This online course covers a variety of topics, including: basic food safety, foods that are permissible under the updated Colorado Cottage Foods Act, ingredient labeling, special considerations for food preparation at high altitudes, and safe food sampling best practices.

Registration is $50; times are all in Mountain Standard or Daylight time. Click each date below to register and learn more about the program. For additional dates and to learn more, check here.

The next CSU Extension Cottage Food Safety Trainings will take place on:

• May 15th, 12:00pm-3:30pm, online, register.
• June 6th, 9:00am-12:30pm, online, register.
• June 19th, 9:00am-1:00pm, online, register.
• June 27th, 9:00am-12:30pm, online, register.

Center for Sorghum Improvement Seminar Series

The Center for Sorghum Improvement (CSI) at Kansas State University is hosting a monthly seminar series to engage researchers, industry leaders, and agricultural professional in meaningful discussions about sorghum research, from genetics to production practices to marketing opportunities.

View the seminar schedule and subscribe to the mailing list here.

For more information or to directly receive seminar notifications, contact Sarah Sexton-Bowser, managing director, at sarahann@ksu.edu.

Cottage Foods Business Training: Passion Into Profits

Join CSU Extension for a training to successfully build a cottage foods business and turn your culinary passion into profit! CSU Extension is offering a short course with tools to ensure success for cottage food producers. The training provides easy-to-use resources for ensuring producers account for their costs of production and product-market-fit.

Upcoming Training Sessions:

• May 14th, 2:00pm-4:00pm, online, register.
• July 7th, 10:00am-12:00pm, online, register.
• September 18th, 2:00pm-4:00pm, online, register.

Farm to Loading Dock Webinar

On May 16th, 2025 from 12:00 - 1:15 pm MT please join us for an informative webinar about a research project that explored the partnerships, training, and resources needed to move food from Colorado’s agricultural producers to wholesale institutional markets. This research, which culminated in the Farm to Loading Dock Landscape Assessment, has been referenced in federal and state grant opportunities, informed statewide data collection strategies, and coalesced support for statewide coordination around training and technical assistance, among other applications.

This webinar will cover the why, the how, and the process of completing this research, as well as how it is being utilized within Colorado and how it could inform strategies in other states working to make farm-to-institution the easy choice. The discussion will also focus on various policy solutions currently being implemented or considered to address pain points, increase resource allocation, and strengthen and sustain Colorado’s local food economy.

Please register here and we look forward to taking action together! 

Webinar: Strengthening Regional Food Economies: Food Business Center Impact Stories

In this Webinar, we will be highlighting the transformative effect of the Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center’s first 2 years of work by sharing several story maps of the farms and food businesses we have collaborated with, sharing a quick overview of our Technical assistance programming and reach, and looking forward to the Biz Builder investments we are making and our hopes to continue sharing about the contributions of this Center to our region’s food system.

When: Wednesday, May 28th at 1 pm Mountain

Register here.

Experiential Short Courses with Pueblo Seed & Food Co.

Come join Pueblo Seed & Food Co. in the Canyon of the Ancients! Throughout the year, they are offering 4 courses and 1 field day in southwest Colorado.

Upcoming courses:

• Farmer Field Day for Organic Grain & Legume (free) - June 29th, 2025
• The Whole Grain Experience - July 18-20th, 2025
• Soil, Seed, and Human Health - August 15-17th, 2025
• The Great Chile and Garlic Experience - September 26-28th, 2025
• Maize & Millets - October 31st-November 2nd, 2025

The cost without lodging for all courses (except the field day) is $695. For questions, contact info@puebloseed.com.

Solar Grazing & Growing: Front Range Agrivoltaics Demo Day

Farmers, ranchers, and ag support organizations are invited to participate in the Front Range Agrivoltaics Demo Day to learn more about grazing animals and growing crops under solar panels. Attendees can take a tour of a working agrivoltaic farm, connect with experts, and learn more about technical and financial resources. By the end of the event, you will have a better idea if agrivoltaics is right for your operation, or how you can provide technical assistance to those interested in agrivoltaics. Visit the web page here.

This event will take place on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025 from 8:30am-2:30pm at Jacks Solar Garden in Longmont. Registration, which includes breakfast and lunch, costs $25. Register here by May 27th.

Farm Resilience Online Course

Please consider joining this asynchronous, self-paced course now open for enrollment! 

Learn practical strategies and tools to boost your farm’s resilience amidst the challenges of climate change. This self-paced, online course is designed specifically for farmers and ranchers in the West, focusing on real-world solutions and hands-on techniques. Join a community of like-minded individuals and gain the knowledge you need to secure your farm's future. CSU was fortunate to partner with this program to develop some of the content and decision tools.

Enroll today and deepen your journey towards climate resilience and sustainability.  

Funding Opportunities-stay tuned for future opportunities!

On-Farm Energy and Efficiency Project Funding

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is requesting applications from farmers and ranchers for the Advancing Colorado's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ACRE3) program. Agricultural producers can apply for funding and technical assistance for reducing on-farm energy costs through renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The ACRE3 program guides farmers and ranchers through these projects with no-cost assessments and up to 50% cost share for the projects. The program is accepting online pre- applications through May 31st, 2025.

ACRE3 program staff will confirm each project's eligibility, and will then award funding for a project feasibility study or energy efficient audit report at no cost to the producer. These studies or audits will give the producer a reliable estimate of the energy- and cost-saving potential of the project. Upon completion of the studies or audits, CDA will run a competitive grant review process for applicants, awarding grants of up to 50% of the project costs. Projects not selected for funding can use their completed feasibility study or energy audit to apply for other funding options.

CDA will host a virtual informational session for questions from interested applicants on April 8th at 2:00pm. Register for the session here.

View the grant program website here for more information on the program.

Technical Assistance Funding to Land-Grant Universities



In 27 U.S. cities designated as urban priority locations, the USDA is funding the hiring of Urban Agriculture Extension Educators through land-grant universities' cooperative extension programs. These educators will provide technical assistance and connect producers to NRCS conservation planning and program opportunities. More details are available on the USDA webpage.

USDA Survey: Farmer's 2025 Planting Intentions

As the 2025 crop production season begins, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) contacted producers nationwide to determine their plans for the upcoming season.

The USDA compiles the survey results into a report which provides the first estimates of U.S. farmers' growing plans for 2025. The survey results are published in the annual Prospective Plantings and quarterly Grain Stocks reports.

Find the reports here.

Values-Based, Equity Centered Farm to Food Assistance Report

The Wallace Center's Food Leadership Network has announced 4 years of research, peer learning, and field building in the report "Farm to Food Assistance: A Model for Values-Based, Equity-Centered Approaches to Transforming the Food System". This report makes the case for how farms can transform food systems through food assistance programs. The Food Leadership Network highlights the most pressing challenges and offers recommendations for people looking to advance Farm to Food Assistance efforts across the country.

Announcing the Launch of Native Grown + Gathered

Native Grown + Gathered is an online platform supporting indigenous food sovereignty across the Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions. This platform brings together Native food producers, traditional food gatherers, and those committed to revitalizing traditional indigenous foodways to strengthen communities.

Through Native Grown + Gathered, you can explore

• A directory of Native-owned food businesses and producers
• Information on the upcoming Native Foods Expo
• Funding opportunities and educational resources to support Indigenous-led food systems

Visit the Native Grown + Gathered platform here!

List Your Business in USDA AMS Local Foods Directories

The USDA Local Foods Directories allow you to market your local food business to a wider nationwide audience. In particular, make sure your spring-season agritourism venture is featured on the USDA Local Food Directories! To create a new listing, answer quick and easy questions about the status of your business so consumers can learn more about you.

Click here to sign up for the directory.

Promise of Urban Agriculture Courses Now Available



USDA AMS, in partnership with the Cornell Small Farms Program and Rooted, is offering the Promise of Urban Agriculture courses. The courses represent an innovative and holistic approach to support urban farming businesses and communities.

This project is informed by The Promise of Urban Agriculture, a 2019 national study of commercial farming in urban areas conducted by AMS and the Cornell Small Farms Program. With information from this study, the project team created The Promise of Urban Agriculture courses designed to educate both growers and planners on urban agriculture and the impact of city plans and policies.

The Promise of Urban Agriculture courses are available online. Click here to access the courses.

From Our Communities

2025 Shared Kitchen Operator and Member Surveys

For Shared Kitchen Operators:

The Food Corridor has launched the 2025 Shared Kitchen Operator Survey and invites operators and managers of shared commercial kitchen facilities to participate. The survey aims to gather updated information on the shared kitchen industry. Those who complete the entire survey will receive a summary of the survey findings. It is expected to take 20-30 minutes to complete. Take the Shared Kitchen Operator Survey.

For Shared Kitchen Members:

The Food Corridor is also distributing a Shared Kitchen Member Survey for clients and members in order to measure the impacts of shared kitchens in communities. This form is expected to take 5-10 minutes. Take the Shared Kitchen Member Survey.

All those who complete the survey will get the compiled results for free to help in their own business planning.

Join the Colorado Grain Chain

Consumers and businesses are encouraged to join the Colorado Grain Chain (CGC). Heritage and heirloom grains are a great way to diversify, build soil, and add value to Colorado's agricultural abundance. Through the Colorado Grown Grains Co-Brand strategy, the Colorado Grain Chain supports producers and makers with co-branded marketing materials, grain chain business access, and networking opportunities.

For more information, contact Audrey Paugh at connect@coloradograinchain.com or apply to become a member here.

New Consumer Food Insights Series Available

A new series of Consumer Food Insights is now available. The survey, conducted in Winter 2023, captured current food shopping trends as well as changes in U.S. consumer food behaviors since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Click here to access the new series focused on regional data on market usage.

Connect with the Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center

The Northwest and Rocky Mountain USDA Regional Food Business Center (RFBC) is one of 12 Regional Food Business Centers funded by USDA, with the goal of improving local and regional food systems and better serving our region's farm and food businesses. The Northwest and Rocky Mountain RFBC serves Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

• Read our latest newsletter here.
• Learn about open funding opportunities through our Biz Builder grant programs.
• Find an event to launch or expand your business on our calendar.

Learn more about the Center's educational and technical support programs for small- and mid-sized food and farm businesses, and sign up for updates here: https://nwrockymountainregionalfoodbusiness.com/.