Keeping hops alive: The Colorado farmers giving beer a local taste

Story first appeared in: Colorado’s craft beverage producers are tapping into a best-in-class source of flavor. And it’s coming from the farmer up the road or the next county over, from the Western Slope to the Front Range. A handful of small Colorado farmers grow and supply hops, the pungent flower that lends its punchiness…

“I haven’t slept good all summer”: Farmers worry about delayed Pueblo chile crop after wild weather

It’s mid-September and many chile roasters stand clean and silent at farm stands east of Pueblo. The smell of roasting chiles wafts only occasionally through the air. Workers are idle.  The first day of picking at Mauro Farms and Bakery brought in just 70 bushels instead of the usual 500. The tired, grim-faced farmers are…