Roberts’ bill, S. 191, the Regulatory Responsibility for our Economy Act, would put the power of law behind the president’s widely touted, but largely ignored, executive order directing federal agencies to review their regulations ensuring they cause no harm to the economy or job creation.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued new policy directives at the beginning of February that emphasize “compassion and concern” and increases “public transparency” for wild horses on federal lands. The changes come on the heels of a number of media stories sharing alleged abuse and potential flaws in the system.

A small group in western Colorado is doing their part to make sure agriculture in their community does not become a piece for only the history books.

The CEO of arguably the most controversial animal welfare group visited Colorado’s land grant college to promote his latest book and share his thoughts on animal welfare, but instead of a room full of like-minded vegetarians, the room was filled with agriculture supporters.

Signs of optimism that Democrats and Republicans can work together appeared last week when eight senators pledged to move much needed immigration legislation through the Senate by summer. Monday’s proposed legislation would provide a possible path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people now in the U.

Along with the record attendance day, the Junior Livestock Auction had a record year raising $610,500 with a percentage of the total going to fund the Scholarship Trust. The Citizen of the West dinner, honoring Dr. John Matsushima, sold out the Events Center arena floor.

Recently, two large parcels of land in west Fresno County sold for between $8,000 and $10,000 an acre, about double what land in that area was selling for a year ago. In California, the average price for farmland rose about 4 percent to $7,200 an acre in 2012, the highest price ever.

Peel forecast U.S. beef production to decline 4.8 percent in 2013, the second largest year-over-year decrease in 35 years. Peel attributed the decline to a combination of mostly steady carcass weights and a projected 5 percent or more decrease in cattle slaughter.

On one of my last days at the National Western Stock Show, I had a great visit with a longtime friend and ag educator, Pat Stanko from Steamboat Springs, CO. We spent some time discussing the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and their latest at- EATHERTON.

While in office, Salazar has been less than popular with many organizations, and has oft been accused of creating tension and conflict between industries and environmentalists. His battle between improving industry relations and protecting the environment has been controversial.