When Ronnie Wright heads to the Delta Sales Yard to bid, it’s about more than just the business of buying and selling cattle. “I tell everybody, I go to the sale barns to fix my addiction because I’ve done this professionally since 1980,” Wright said. “I don’t think of the money. I think of the love that I’ve got in what I do and the people, my friends, in agriculture.” Wright is semi-retired now and living in Delta, but he said the cattle and agriculture industry is incredibly important to the entire Western Slope. However, Wright said he’s nervous about the future of that industry and that moves by the governor, like the recent Meat Out proclamation encouraging Colorodans to not eat meat on March 20, don’t help.
“Agriculture, at one time, that’s what carried the Western Slope,” Wright said. “It’s changed and Grand Junction has changed. We’ve got more older people moving into our area. We’ve subdivided a lot of the good farms in the area down through here, but it’s still a very strong industry for the state of Colorado.” The governor’s proclamation is part of a growing nation-wide effort that began in 1985 to highlight some of the impacts of the meat industry on the environment and animals. The governor’s office issued a statement saying it had also issued proclamations for Agriculture Day, Colorado Farm Bureau Day and Truck Driver Appreciation Day. However, the meat industry and some local governments pushed back. To view the full article visit the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.