Introducing: the Sugar Beet
Northern Colorado's newest newsletter. Reporting and resources for farmers and foodies in our food system.
“The most notable event in the history of Fort Collins in a material way, since the completion of the Colorado Central Railroad in 1877, was the building of the beet sugar factory in 1903.” - Ansel Watrous, History of Larimer County (1911)
“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.” - Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace
Ecologists define an ecotone as a “transition area between two biological communities,” a “gradual blending of two environments across a broad area or a sharp boundary line.” Think saltwater meeting freshwater (an estuary), ocean meeting coast (a beach), desert meeting forest (a grassland). Ecotones are imminent and infinite; like any mapped territory, an environment has its borders. Those borders may shift, rise, or sink over time, but until that environment disappears, its boundary will always neighbor another’s to create a unique community in and of itself.
Given the nature of their contrasting characteristics, ecotones are also known as “conflict zones.” It’s here that environments must make a decision: enter an agreement, or enter war. Shake hands and learn to live with the stranger, or attempt a slow conquest. No matter the choice, the result invites activity. “The clash between one way of living on the earth and another can be violent and charged,” poet and professor Camille T. Dungy writes. “They are spaces that reward study, revealing diverse possibilities for what it might mean to be alive.”
In Colorado, 86% of the population resides in an ecotone known as the Front Range, a 200-mile corridor running north-south from Cheyenne, WY to Pueblo, CO. This ecotone marks the divide between the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. Two adolescent environments that, so far, have chosen to shake hands.
Here in Northern Colorado, our food system is defined by the relationship between these two environments. Farmers here know that this isn’t the easiest place to grow. 5,000 feet above sea level, the air is dry and water is sparse. The moisture we do receive prefers to arrive in large quantities, taking the form of violent afternoon thunderstorms and heavy feet-deep snowfalls. The summers are sunny and scorching, and the winter temperatures, though slightly mediated by the mountains, still dip below zero for days at a time. And the wind certainly won’t let you forget about it. When a front moves through the mountains and slides down the slopes, the resulting chinook and bora winds can blow over 90 mph near the foothills, knocking down high tunnels and barns as if they were made of toothpicks.
Despite the elements that make it unlikely, this region is home to a vibrant, bustling food system, containing nine of the ten most productive agricultural counties in the state. Though the number of farms in the U.S. declines significantly year after year, Larimer, Weld, Boulder, Broomfield, Adams, and Jefferson counties have all seen an increase in the number of farms since 2012. Weld County alone accounts for over a quarter of state agricultural sales. In Larimer County, farming is anything but an old practice — nearly a third of its producers are considered “New & Beginning”.
I could keep throwing numbers at you, but if you’ve tried to find parking at any of the region’s farmers markets, then you understand what I’m trying to say: here, local food matters.
What’s the recipe for a healthy food system? It’s a question that begets a variety of answers on numerous topics: policy, climate, geography, infrastructure, economics, stewardship, etc. If one of these elements falters, so too does the entire apparatus. But ask any producer where our system’s strength lies (I’ve asked a few), and they’ll say the same thing: Culture. Of collaboration. Of connection. Of care.
The Sugar Beet, in essence, is a record of our Northern Colorado food culture, a way to bridge each facet of the food system through information and awareness. To shed light on the issues we face and share the solutions we’ve found. To evaluate, deliberate, and celebrate what’s going on in our neck of the woods.
Some quick context on this project. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a planning grant to a coalition of six Fort Collins food organizations: The Growing Project, The Family Center/La Familia, Northern Colorado Foodshed Project, Poudre Valley Community Farms, ReKaivery, and CSU Extension.
This group, called the Poudre Food Partnership, was instructed to build a more equitable, vibrant, and resilient food system in Northern Colorado by addressing three key areas of growth and opportunity: food sovereignty and access, production growth and land access, and community outreach and education.
For the last two years, we’ve been planning. We’ve built a framework to achieve our long and short-term goals. We’ve assembled four working groups of local experts and advocates who are designing tangible, concrete strategies to improve the economic, environmental, and agricultural health of our community. Each month we host a Community Convo at Stodgy Brewing Co., where farmers and foodies convene, converse, enlighten, and inspire one another to go forth and spread the good word.
This Sugar Beet is our latest initiative, created to highlight the important issues, ideas, events, people, and places impacting our food system. Food. Farming. Policy. Markets. Environment. If it has to do with Front Range food, it has a place here.
And so do you. Even if you don’t grow, produce, process, aggregate, distribute, market, cook, bake, or sell food, I know for a fact that you eat it. That, dear reader, makes you part of our food system. Join us as we learn to shake hands with this wonderful ecotone we call home.
Calendar
March 1: Community Convo: Let’s talk policy
Later today, chicken whisperer and RMFU membership coordinator Sara Mayer will lead a discussion about the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, its role in regional and local policy change, and how community members like us can advocate for small farmers in Northern Colorado. Join us at Stodgy Brewing Co. from 4-6 p.m. for this month’s Community Convo. No registration required. Open to all.
March 1-3: Founded in FoCo 2023
A free, three-day entrepreneurial event bringing together startups, creatives, solopreneurs, nonprofits, small businesses, students, and community members. Click here to view this year’s schedule and RSVP.
March 3: 8th Annual Poudre River Forum
The Poudre River Forum, an annual initiative of the Poudre Runs Through It Study/Action Work Group, is an event that brings together agricultural, urban, and environmental stakeholders to learn about the multifaceted river corridor and to collaborate on practices to make the Poudre River “the world’s best example of a healthy working river.” Click here to learn more and purchase tickets.
March 4: Seed Swap & Giveaway
Home Grown Food Colorado is hosting its 16th annual seed exchange on March 4, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at Old Town Library. Free seeds. Seed trades. Free seed-starting soil & pots. Master gardeners for Q&A. Presentations include Creative Water Reuse and Composting 101.
March 7: El Mercado Community Assessment
Since January 2022, CSU’s Energy Institute has been planning an expansion — Powerhouse 2 — on the corner of Vine and N College Ave. In addition to the Insitute’s plans, there’s potential indoor and outdoor space for El Mercado (aka Spanish Marketplace) to operate. On March 7, 5:30-7:00 at the Old Town Library, project partners will be holding an assessment to gather the community’s thoughts and feedback for the use of this space. Click here to learn more about the assessment and its partners.
March 7-14: Double Up Food Bucks/SNAP workshops
Double Up is hosting four workshops for customers, SNAP/EBT shoppers, farmers, market managers, non-profits, and agency partners to connect and find ways to improve the program. Free dinner and a $25 participation stipend will be provided, and childcare stipends are available upon request. Spanish interpretation will be provided and all venues will be wheelchair accessible. Click here to learn more and register.
March 8: LCFM Vendor Mixer
Larimer County Farmers Market will be hosting a Market Vendor Mixer at the CSU Extension Office on March 8 at 6 p.m.
March 1-14: Great Plates of Downtown 2023
Back again for its 18th year, Great Plates 2023 is featuring $25 menu specials across local 48 restaurants to benefit the Food Bank for Larimer County. To view the full list of specials and participants, click here.
March 24: Vendor applications for Larimer County Farmers’ Market close March 24
Click here to learn more about becoming a vendor at the LCFM.
March 24-25: Wyoming Bee College and High Prairie Garden to Market Conference
Presented by UW Laramie County Extension, this two-day conference offers workshops and classes on beekeeping and gardening for any experience level. Click here to see pricing, schedule, and registration info.
2023 Food Safety Trainings for Cottage Foods Producers
Interested in launching a home-based food business? CSU Extension’s food safety training courses are your first step.
Stray Links
Coloradoan: Where to try these six trending foods in Fort Collins
Edible Denver: Morning Fresh Dairy’s fifth generation brings a bigger voice to agriculture
Thanks for reading!
📖 Read more about the Sugar Beet here.
🏔 Learn about the Poudre Food Partnership here.
📸 Follow the Poudre Food Partnership on Instagram.
💡 Submit story ideas, resources, and upcoming events here.
Photos courtesy of the Fort Collins Historical Connection.