Photos by Scott Crabtree/The Daily Sentinel

Bruce Talbott, left, of Talbott Farms in Palisade talks about the farm’s operation with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. Vilsack talked about the Inflation Reduction Act, which will direct $4 billion to address drought issues in the West and $20 billion for soil conservation programs on working lands.

Charlie Talbott, left, and Bruce Talbott, far right, talk with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during a tour of Talbott Farms.

Bruce Talbott of Talbott Farms in Palisade speaks during a tour with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on Wednesday.

The ink is barely dry on the federal Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday, but that didn’t stop Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack from touting how it will benefit Colorado farmers and ranchers Wednesday.

On a two-day tour of the Western Slope, Vilsack said his department is poised to help them not only find more efficient ways to grow their crops and raise their livestock, but also in bringing them to market.

Beyond the new act, the former Democratic governor of Iowa who served as ag secretary during the Obama administration said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a number of programs aimed at helping boost the ag industry, including through more than 40 grants designed to help them get what they need to be successful.

“We want to build a really strong local and regional presence,” Vilsack said during a tour and roundtable discussion at Talbott Farms in Palisade. “The way we do that is, basically, we provide a series of grants during the year for facilities like this on equipment needs, storage, processing, whatever it might be. USDA has grants to help you do that because we want to invest in you.”

Photos by Scott Crabtree/The Daily Sentinel

Bruce Talbott, left, of Talbott Farms in Palisade talks about the farm’s operation with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. Vilsack talked about the Inflation Reduction Act, which will direct $4 billion to address drought issues in the West and $20 billion for soil conservation programs on working lands.

While the act covers a wide range of other things, such as reductions in prescription drug costs, changes in the tax code and reducing the deficit, it also addresses climate change and water issues aimed at keeping the nation’s food supply secure.

The bill, which passed both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate strictly along party lines, would raise about $737 billion over the next decade, primarily through raising taxes on the richest corporations. It also calls for about $369 billion in spending, mostly on clean energy projects and in combating climate change. The remainder is to be used to lower the deficit.

But for farmers and ranchers, the real boon will be $4 billion to address drought issues in the West, $5 billion aimed at forest restoration and $20 billion for soil conservation programs on working lands, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo, said.

Charlie Talbott, left, and Bruce Talbott, far right, talk with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during a tour of Talbott Farms.

“Agriculture does not have a target on their back, we made sure of that in this bill,” said Bennet, who accompanied Vilsack on his Palisade tour.

The first day of Vilsack’s Colorado trip was to Camp Hale near Leadville to highlight aspects of the new law that center on forests as a way of preserving and boosting the state’s outdoor recreation industry.

That event also included Bennet, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, all Democrats.

All Republicans in the House and Senate, including all three Colorado GOP members of Congress, opposed the act for various reasons.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Silt, said on the House floor last week when the bill was being debated that she opposed the measure partly because it raises taxes and expands the size of the Internal Revenue Service.

“We cannot continue to increase taxes on the American people, and put a target on American energy production while spending a historic $370 billion on Green New Deal initiatives and expect to lower inflation and improve our economy,” she said. “You are sacrificing American families at the altar of climate change.”

Bruce Talbott of Talbott Farms in Palisade speaks during a tour with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on Wednesday.

Her Democratic opponent in her first reelection bid, Adam Frisch, praised passage of the bill, and said Boebert isn’t considering how it would benefit farmers and ranchers in her own congressional district.

“Ongoing drought in the western U.S. is putting the livelihoods of everyone in CD3 on the line, but particularly the farmers and ranchers who put food on all of our tables,” Frisch said in a statement. “While I was encouraged that Congress approved $4 billion in drought funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, I was troubled to see that the very person who should be fighting for our farmers and ranchers voted against this funding.”

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