I made a few simple changes to my lifestyle (less sugar, smaller portions, and more veggie juices) and have never felt better! I'd like to share a number of "Before and Afters" with you to detail the differences from my old life to new.Īfter.I am in the Healthy BMI range at 166, with a goal to get to 140.Īfter.I love being creative in the kitchen and coming up with delicious easy healthy meals.īefore.I ate one or two pieces of candy a day at the office. I have lost 55 pounds in the last year and am currently working on the last 25. Let’s celebrate and learn our Colorado agricultural legacy, as we relish the sweet harvests of this season.Struggling with my weight for my entire adult life, I finally decided life is too short to live perpetually unhappy. In Colorado, we are lucky to have them so close in our collective genealogy. We can draw strength from these histories of endurance, persistence, perseverance and resilience in the face of momentous change and challenge, as we face new challenges of climate change and significantly shrinking water supply.Įvery single human on earth has agricultural ancestors. And still today, Colorado continues to be shaped by the rich agricultural legacies and land practices of families and communities that existed on this land long before we became a state. The legacy and continued operation and leadership of Hirakata Farms is important to Colorado’s history and economy.įor millennia, people inhabiting the place we now call Colorado have fed their families and sustained communities from the land. It wasn’t until the passage of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act enabled Issei (or Japanese-American immigrants) to become citizens that the Hirakata family purchased their first 30 acres of farmland. For example, the Hirakata family, recognized this year and known for their world-famous Rocky Ford cantaloupes and melon, has been farming in Otero County since 1915, after Tatsunosuke Hirakata immigrated to the U.S. Most noteworthy, we have expanded how we define agricultural heritage in Colorado beyond land ownership, making space to include ag families with at least a 100-year tradition of working the land, who – for economic, political and discriminatory reasons – haven’t owned the land. These contributions are an important part of our industry, economically and commercially. We are also celebrating centennial agribusiness that recognize the historical value and impact multigenerational organizations have on our agricultural communities. Colorado’s agricultural legacy is sweeping and must include these deep traditions, Indigenous practices, and collective care for the land and water that sustains and feeds us. More than ever, in addition to the farmers and ranchers, these new categories of ag contributors are also preserving important pieces of our state’s commercial and cultural history.įor example, this year’s event will recognize the centuries-old communal water management practices of acequia communities, with Spanish and Moorish origins that pre-date Colorado’s statehood -and that still are utilized in the San Luis Valley. That’s why moving forward, we have expanded Centennial Farms and Ranches to also recognize enduring agricultural practices, businesses, individuals and cultures that have shaped and redefined Colorado agriculture.
NOURISH MOVE LOVE BEFORE AND AFTER PLUS
Century-long survival in agriculture requires an alchemy of past and future, generational intuition plus innovation, ancestral land practices combined with technology. This is the 36th year that Centennial Farms and Ranches has celebrated farms and ranches that have worked the same land for more than a hundred years.