Throughout the comprehensive planning process, community members consistently identified agriculture and the local food system as a priority. Participants draw a link between food and issues of affordability, climate resilience, health, cultural heritage, social connection, land stewardship and business vitality. Food is a basic essential for life and community access to affordable, healthy and culturally relevant food has impacts on the quality of community life and the environment.
Agriculture and associated activities support a stronger local food system.
Agriculture in the Boulder Valley
Both the city’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department and Boulder County Parks and Open Space provide extensive and diverse agricultural leasing programs that support dozens of local farm and ranch families and their employees. Agricultural leases often include valuable water rights that are required to support viable agricultural production in Boulder Valley’s semi-arid environment. Protecting these working landscapes and waters has been critical in preserving an important element of the valley’s cultural heritage, supporting agricultural production and providing opportunities for the broader community to purchase locally grown foods from individual farmers, farmers markets and many local restaurants.
Agricultural operations are diverse and include hay and forage production, grain production and livestock production on native prairies and irrigated pastures. Smaller market farms also produce a wide variety of vegetables including salad greens, peppers and tomatoes. Other products include milk, eggs, honey, chicken and pork. Some farms in the Boulder Valley also host weddings, farm dinners, and educational events as a way to grow awareness of local agriculture and to create secondary income streams. Promoting regenerative agricultural practices helps maintain healthy soils and diverse native grasslands throughout the Boulder Valley’s agricultural and natural landscape.
Local Food Systems
The food system is generally considered the chain of activities connecting food and feed production, processing, storage, distribution, wholesale and retail sales, consumption and waste management. A strong local food system can positively impact the resiliency, culture, health, economy and environment of the Boulder Valley and its surrounding areas.
As the community works towards ensuring that all community members have healthy and nourishing foods regardless of individual or family economic situations or locations, the comprehensive plan includes policies that can improve and enhance our local food system.
Where Does Agriculture Happen in the Boulder Valley?
