2002 Annual Colorado Agricultural Outlook Focuses on Mexico, Colorado

In today’s global economy, other nations play a significant role in Colorado’s economy and agriculture. In particular, Mexico’s connection to Colorado through trade agreements and migrant labor has a significant impact on our state.

The annual Colorado Agricultural Outlook Forum, focused this year on Colorado and Mexico relations, is Feb. 19 at the Denver Adam’s Mark Hotel.

The forum, "Colorado-Mexico Connection: Agricultural Trade, Labor and More," is sponsored by Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, the Colorado Department of Agriculture and the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Associates.

Featured at this year’s forum are experts from Colorado, United States and Mexico.

Don Ament, a farmer and rancher in northeast Colorado, is an expert in water and property rights and will be overseeing the forum. He was appointed commissioner of agriculture in 1999 after serving in the Colorado General Assembly for 12 years, the House of Representatives for four years and the Senate for eight years.

Leticia Calzada, consul general of Mexico in Denver, has more than 20 years of public service to Mexico, focusing on promoting sustainable development of the nation through political reform, education, information management and environmental protection.

Jorge Bustamante is a Mexican sociologist and endowed chair at Notre Dame. He is a leading expert in international migration and served on the Mexico committee for the Binational Study for Migration in 1997.

Philip Martin is professor of agriculture and resource economics at the University of California-Davis. He is editor of Rural Migration News and served on the U.S. committee for the Binational Study for Migration in 1997.

Frank Lee is deputy administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service in Washington, D.C. He is responsible for international marketing and agricultural intelligence analysis for foreign markets. He has served as agricultural attaché or counselor for agricultural affairs in Venezuela, Costa Rica, Egypt, Spain and Mexico.

Enrique Lobo, agricultural minister at the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, D. C., worked for Pulsar International-Salvia-Bionova Holding Corp. in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, as the director of sourcing and procurement in 15 Mexican states. He worked for 15 years for H.E. Butt Grocery Company, also in Moneterrey, Nuevo Leon.

Smaller workshop sessions scheduled for the event are "Colorado’s Agricultural Marketing Successes and Issues with NAFTA"; "U.S. and Mexico’s Small Scale Agriculture: Coping with Globalization"; "Hispanic Labor Force in Colorado’s Agriculture and Economy"; "Colorado’s Power Supply: Are We Susceptible to California’s Problems?"; "2002 Farm Bill Update"; and a legislative update.

The forum will be preceded by a reception the evening of Feb. 18. Forum registration is $90 per person before Feb. 8 and $100 thereafter. To register or for more information, call 1-800-886-7683 or visit www.coloradoagforum.com. A special rate of $115 for a single or double room is available at the Adams Mark Hotel by calling 800-444-2326 and mentioning the Colorado Agricultural Outlook Forum.