By Jeff Rice
May 21, 2020
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Two of Colorado’s leading agriculture figures joined former Gov. John Hickenlooper Wednesday evening on a conference-call town hall meeting, ostensibly to discuss concerns of citizens in northeastern Colorado.
Hickenlooper is the most visible Democrat so far to oppose Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, who is running for a second term. The former governor faces Andrew Romanoff, former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, in the June 30 primary election.
Most of the discussion Wednesday focused on the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on Colorado and the state’s response.
Darrell Hanavan, former executive director of the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee, said the pandemic is impacting the prices of cattle and calves, hogs, dairy and corn.
“Forty percent of the corn grown in Colorado is consumed through the production of ethanol, so we’re having a major disruption of the supply chain, and it’s affecting prices all the way back to the producers,” Hanavan said.
John Stulp, former Colorado Agriculture Commissioner, said the pandemic is having a ripple effect on the food supply chain.
“You see the ripple effect, as the packing houses go down, the market for fat cattle goers down, and it just backs down the whole (food supply) chain,” Stulp said. “Most of the corn for this year is already planted in eastern Colorado, so production is going forward because they have to.”
Hickenlooper said the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the value of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He said rural hospitals in Colorado have been saved because of a provision in the ACA that taxes large hospital corporations to benefit smaller hospitals
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