Boulder County Cropland Policy

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

With 25,000 acres of agricultural land, Boulder County is the largest agricultural land owner in the community. The county’s vision is to be a national leader in sustainable agriculture, so in 2008 it embarked on a three-year process to create a Cropland Policy that would help achieve this vision. The policy covers a broad range of topics: water, pest management, soil health, soil fertility and amendments, livestock management, recreation and natural resource protection on cropland, and the controversial question of whether to allow genetically engineered (GE) crops to be grown on public lands. Staff designed a public process to engage citizens through farm tours, public forums, open houses and formal public hearings. A key feature of the process was the Commissioner-appointed Cropland Policy Advisory Group (CPAG), representing organic and conventional farmers and at-large citizens. CPAG evaluated proposed policies in the framework of environmental, economic and social sustainability. Over the course of nine months, CPAG developed 86 policy recommendations, 83 of which were recommended by consensus. Formally adopted in December 2011, the Cropland Policy links the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan with the operational activities of Boulder County Parks and Open Space, setting forth the practices that will define sustainable agriculture on Boulder County open space croplands in the future.