Open Space Agricultural Tours

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

In 2009, against a backdrop of heightened inters in local food production and federal decisions deregulating genetically modified sugar beets, Boulder County Parks and open Space initiated a project to develop a policy for managing county-owned agricultural cropland. Though agricultural land is vital to the County’s open space program, it was poorly understood by the larger community. In order to create a responsive and comprehensive policy, the staff recognized the need for an informed community. To foster that informed community, Park and Open Space staff organized four bus tours of county agricultural land. Each tour included visits to three different types of agricultural operations: vegetable farms, conventional diversified crops, and livestock. On the tour, ranchers and farmers met participants at each stop to describe their operations and answers questions. Between stops, Parks and Open Space employees provided information on agricultural lands and its program of stewardship through its partnership with the agricultural tenants. The strong attendance during the tours and the positive feedback resulted in the development of an online tour through the website. The virtual tours provide video and photos of crops currently being harvested. The website also provides maps and directions if people desire to go to the fields themselves to observe the harvest of sugar beets, sunflowers, and corn.