On open space agriculture
I’d like to offer some comments from the perspective of heritage farmers and beekeepers in Boulder County on the article, “Cropped out” by Matt Cortina in the Jan. 11 issue of BW.
As you may be aware, there is a group in Boulder County called Farmers Alliance for Integrated Resources (FAIR), and a group called the Colorado Professional Beekeeping Association (CPBA), which represents not only Boulder County but state beekeepers as well.
Essentially, we’d like to relate to you that the farming and beekeeping communities in Boulder County predate the activities and interests of folks like Mr. Guttridge and Mr. Pounds by many decades and many generations, and for the most part have done so in an economically viable and environmentally sensitive way.
Many of us do not see the problems that Mr. Guttridge and Mr. Pounds describe, as we are aware or appreciative of the long-standing agricultural traditions that have been practiced here for over a century. From our observations, Mr. Guttridge has never been sustainable in his operations, were it not for the “ancillary” activities like farm-to-table dinners and the volunteer labor he uses. Wanting additional financial support from the County to perpetuate this sort of approach seems unrealistic and unfair to the rest of the agricultural community in the County.
As you can perhaps see, this “all-organic” approach is not what traditional farming and beekeeping has been built upon, and is economically and productively unsustainable without other means of support, as Mr. Guttridge apparently has realized. We also feel that were this approach and mindset to become predominant with farming and beekeeping in general, there would not be enough food production to feed the people who need it. To be fair here, though, we are not singling out Mr. Guttridge per se, but realize that there are many other wannabe organic farmers and beekeepers around the County that share his views (practically speaking, it is impossible to do organic beekeeping in the U.S. by the way). Many of us, myself included, prefer to refer to our approach as being one of “all-natural.”
Many of us who have farmed and kept bees for many years — and sustainably — follow what’s called an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach. We do not advocate for or automatically resort to the use of pesticides, inorganic fertilizers or strictly mechanized practices, particularly in Boulder County. If we can control pest problems, be productive and sustainable without the use of these products and practices, we do so. However, if the situation becomes one of potentially sustaining total or significant loss, we reserve the option of using these products when necessary. If I may suggest here, this IPM approach is what differentiates the practical from the ideological. Visit faircolorado.org and coloradoprobeekeeping for more information.
Al Summers/Longmont
Agree with comment on ad
I was glad to see Katalin Fabian’s Jan. 18 letter regarding the 14erboulder.com ad that ran on Jan. 4 (Re: “Ad in poor taste,” Letters). My response was similar, and I wrote to the company but have received no answer as yet.
As I told them, I appreciate the wish to celebrate women, but was concerned and discouraged to see that they found it necessary to thoroughly diss men in order to do so.
Just a clever tongue-in-cheek metaphor? But words are powerful, especially negative ones, and men also need all the encouragement and support they can get right now. The ad, supposedly humorous or not, bolsters the thinking that men just can’t do it right and might as well not even try.
Would love to see ads which acknowledge women without discounting men, or which — what a thought — honor all of us as we each learn how best to contribute to the world and to each other’s lives.
Anneliese Schultz Jr./Boulder
Think twice, POSAC
(Re: “County halts process to prohibit open space protests ahead of oil and gas drilling,” News, Jan. 18): First of all, I want to be clear that Boulder County Parks and Open Space (POS) does employ some decent people.
Bevin Carithers, POS Ranger Supervisor and his well-intended posse of rangers should take off their rose-colored glasses and stuff this in their pipe. Boulder County POS exists because of the generosity of the taxpayers of Boulder County.
Out of the commitment of the stakeholders (aka taxpayers), Boulder County is blessed to publicly own thousands of acres of land that is protected from urban sprawl and industrial activity. This is the idea that the stakeholders/citizens of Boulder County have held dearly for the last 40 years! Just think about every time you and your posse throw a leg over a $3,000 mountain bike or sit in the comfort of a $60,000 SUV with flashy lights on top. You and your band of merry people have a job because of your employer: the taxpayers of Boulder County. Have you heard the old saying, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you”? Maybe when the time comes, instead of passing out tickets, maybe muster up enough intestinal fortitude to pass out hugs and handshakes, thanking your job creators for protecting what we all hold dear.
Rod Brueske/via internet
Tell it like it is
Now that our illustrious (cartoon) president has coarsened public-printed discourse, it becomes permissible to truthfully tell it like it is. Donald Trump is a sociopathic, sexist, racist, capitalist pig. Long live the pig!
Robert Porath/Boulder
Manhattan Hillbilly-in-Chief
Running government like a business on the surface seemed to be a good idea. However, given Trump’s bankruptcies (plural), lack of respect for women, dismissal of hard-working Americans, and his elitist, entitled and sheltered upbringing on his island, he has earned himself the title of “Manhattan hillbilly” with a side of serial marriages.
This is not a person we want leading America into our future.
Tommy Holeman/Superior
