Three Colorado Grain Chain leaders—Eric Skokan, the owner of Black Cat Farm and Bramble & Hare restaurant, which recently won a Michelin Green Star; Kelly Whitaker, a star chef who this year won Restaurateur of the Year by the James Beard Foundation; and Claudia Bouvier, owner of Pastaficio Pasta—are slated to speak at Newtopia Now.

The question really is whether they can base their businesses on those crops and others, like kernza, that are still being researched, said Montezuma farmer Landan Wilson, Brian Wilson’s son. He is growing alfalfa on some fields, while dedicating others to alternative hay crops, like spring wheat, oats and beardless wheat and barley, as part of the Colorado and federal water programs.

Nearly a decade ago, Todd Olander, 44, started worrying about that snowpack, the future of the family’s farm, and whether he could count on the run-off being a reliable source of irrigation water. “There's been times where we've gone into spring planting or planting corn where we're planting into dry soil knowing that there's really not any irrigation water either available, but Mother Nature’s always come through for us,” Olander told CPR News

“The whole reason why I’m here and doing this is because I believe in regenerative farming and sustainability and lowering our carbon footprint,” Pembridge adds. “You’re creating a genuine community by buying from local farmers and producers.”

Farmers and ranchers in California and Colorado can apply to receive up to $25,000 for projects that sequester carbon such as cover cropping, prescribed grazing, hedgerow establishment and more.

We are hiring an Executive Baker to oversee our central bakery that feeds 35,000 children a day...

The Executive Baker will lead our central bakery, which currently produces sandwich bread, dinner rolls, granola, cinnamon rolls and quick breads. The EB will be responsible for recipe development and will play a role in expanding our bakery over the next few years as we look to add more scratch baked goods to our product line. We are building a new bakery that will be double in size over the next year and a half - this is a great opportunity for someone with big ideas! Looking for someone with commercial baking experiences who wants to lead an innovative whole grain bakery feeding 35,000 kids a day.