U.S. Department of Agriculture

Governor Jared Polis has signed a law that moves Colorado closer to making good on a school meal program passed by voters in 2022. On today’s Farm Friday Ag markets are anxiously awaiting USDA's first forecasts for the supply and demand situation for crops now being planted. On today’s Farm Friday feature we take a look at the growing Delta County Farm to School program….literally in our backyard.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced yesterday that the Department is investing $2.7 billion to help 64 electric cooperatives and utilities. The Colorado State Patrol held a press conference last Friday to talk about recent crashes involving vehicles in District 1 in the Denver Metro area.Proposed state legislation in our region is all over the map when it comes to transgender rights. Emma Gibson of the Mountain West News Bureau has more on what types of trans-related bills are being considered. Remote Hinsdale County is not a ski destination like Aspen or Telluride. Lake City, the county’s only incorporated town, touts its ski hill as what skiing was like before the rise of mega ski resorts.

Some of the best snow in the nation is right in our backyard according to Spencer Christensen owner of Grand Mesa Lodge. Christensen says the snow began in November and just keeps coming. Mesa County officials forced two private property owners to clear what they call “unsightly debris and trash” from their land, according to the Daily Sentinel. Paonia trustees debated adding two more paid holidays to the town’s handbook without added expense, reported Frank Witowski for the Delta County Independent. Delta Health unveiled the Western Slope’s first digitally combined PET and CT scanner earlier this month, according to the Montrose Daily Press.

The nation's organic food industry will soon be operating under a new set of USDA rules and regulations. You can find more information on the new organic food industry rules and when they will go into effect at USDA dot org. Vehicles are cutting the lives of animals short as they move across roadways, however, researchers have found one possible solution help them live longer.

Four people have died in avalanches since December 26 and there is more snow forecast for Colorado this week, reports the Colorado Avalanche Center. “Dangerous avalanche conditions will last through the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.” said Ethan Greene, Director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Applications for Colorado’s Centennial Farms & Ranches 2023 program's deadline for applications is May 1, 2023. To apply or learn more, visit h-co.org/CentennialFarms. Supporters of a planned lithium mine in Northern Nevada say it would provide essential materials to build electric vehicles and address the climate crisis. But a coalition of Native American tribes is fighting against it. K-U-N-R’s Bert Johnson reports.

As parts of our region face the worst drought in 1,200 years, some states are looking for new ways to create fresh water. In today’s KVNF Farm Friday USDA meteorologist, Brad Rippey, looks at increasing precipitation in much of the West for the final week of this year. In our second KVNF Farm Friday report. Gary Crawford and USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer look at how many acres of soybeans U.S. farmers plan to plant this spring.Today we wrap up our series, Saving Amache. We explain more about the National Park Service’s plan to preserve Amache. It’s one of the Japanese American internment camps built in our region during World War Two. Emma VandenEinde of the Mountain West News Bureau reports. It’s not too late to make a donation to your Mountain Grown Community radio station. A Year-end gift of $60 or more will get you a cool 2023 Calendar featuring the pets of KVNF. Sustaining members can request a complimentary calendar by going to kvnf.org

KVNF's Gavin Dahl explores broadband developments in rural Colorado with Virgil Turner, regional broadband project director for the nonprofit Region 10,…

Department of Agriculture works on improving rurual broadband accessAnimas River survives toxic contamination, drought and wildfireConservation program…

In many countries, eggs aren't refrigerated and they're still considered safe to eat. But in the U.S., we have to chill them, because we've washed away the cuticle that protects them from bacteria.