U.S. Department of Agriculture

Photos: a steer slaughter at Callicrate Ranch - and why rebel Mike Callicrate has a beef with just about everyone

Earlier this week, on Monday, I spent the afternoon in Nebraska -- specifically St. Francis, Nebraska, a small, sleepy town just a few miles east of the Nebraska/Colorado border, population a mere 1,200. Cattle far, far outweigh humans in St. Francis -- there are thousands and thousands of them -- ... More >>

Can Triple M Bar's flock create a Colorado lamb comeback?

See also: Panzano chef Elise Wiggins makes the most of Colorado lamb

Hemp bill to set up registration process for would-be farmers making progress

A bill to register hemp farmers with the state Department of Agriculture has been introduced at the State Capitol. As explained in our cover story, "Green Acres," the marijuana-centric Amendment 64 also made it lawful to grow hemp, weed's sober stepsister. The bill, known as SB 241, creates a proc ... More >>

Animal cruelty case: Shelter upset at deal that returned animals to part-time Santa Bill Lee

Last week, we told you the latest in the case of Bill Lee, an Idaho Springs rancher and mall Santa whose animals were seized in a cruelty investigation. Lee has agreed to plead guilty to one count of animal cruelty and has been granted a two-year deferred judgment -- meaning that if he complies with ... More >>

Can hemp escape the role of marijuana's sober stepsister?

See also: Top ten hemp legends: Which myths are true -- and which went up in smoke?

Mandatory life jackets for dogs in kennels? Colorado could be the first

How safe are doggy pools in Colorado pet-care centers? Apparently dangerous enough that the state's Department of Agriculture is now considering rules to mandate life jackets for dogs in the state's boarding kennels and daycare facilities. And officials say that if they ultimately go forward with th ... More >>

Reader: Elected officials need to pull their heads out of the sand and help Il Mondo Vecchio

Il Mondo Vecchio, a Denver salumeria and production plant, opened in 2009 in a bare-bones industrial building on South Cherokee Street. Mark DeNittis and his partner, Gennaro DeSantis, quickly earned acclaim for their fresh sausages and dry-cured artisan salumi products, many of which are sold at lo ... More >>

Exclusive: Il Mondo Vecchio will close at the end of the month, ceasing its salumi and sausage production

If there's anyone in this city who's become synonymous with salumi and sausages, it's Mark DeNittis, the co-founder of Il Mondo Vecchio, a Denver salumeria and production plant that opened in 2009 in a bare bones industrial building on South Cherokee Street. DeNittis and his partner, Gennaro DeSanti ... More >>

Marijuana: THC-infused jerky being removed from dispensary shelves over USDA rule?

The Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division confirms that an investigation is underway involving meat products infused with THC, the active ingredient of marijuana. In the meantime, multiple sources tell us that meat products like a jerky made by local firm Benjamin's Edibles are being removed from m ... More >>

My five worst school lunches

Public school students are being awfully whiny about their school lunches right now. The reason is because the United States Department of Agriculture just restructured standards for school lunches for the first time in over a decade, and now students have to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole gr ... More >>

For some Cambodians in Houston, water spinach provides a figurative and literal lifeline

Colorado ranks lowest in obesity rate study: We're still the skinniest state

Those summer bike rides to the local farmers' market have apparently paid off. Once again, Colorado ranks lowest on the state-by-state adult obesity rate analysis conducted by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Maybe it's because there are so many appealing outd ... More >>

Rebrand the cantaloupe with these suggestions

Even before pizza, ketchup was almost a vegetable

Before the 'Pizza as a vegetable' debacle made national headlines and inspired legislation from District 2's House Representative Jared Polis, there was the original school lunch controversy: the battle over ketchup.

Five ways to make public-school food and drinks healthier

When money and ethics collide, the crash is usually fun to watch. But when you throw public school meals into that mix, you get an ugly food fight with few winners and lots of losers -- and those losers are kids who are just trying to eat their lunches and get to recess.

Homemade crepes and Dry Dock Brewing's Tripel make for a sweet treat

In pondering the purchase of some local eggs recently, I recalled an article I'd read about the terminology of egg labels and how misleading they can be. So I was hesitant to buy "free-range" eggs, but I really wanted to make crepes and decided to pull the trigger. Unfortunately, I made the wrong c ... More >>

Top five food resolutions you should make -- and keep -- for 2012

It's a new year, and 2012 should be another rich, full year of food, drink and, with any luck, a few more naked photos of Anthony Bourdain. It's time to kick 2011 in the gnocchi and usher in a brand-new 365 days of fresh foodie resolutions. We all know that willpower can wane with the first plate ... More >>

New study says junk food makes you dumb as well as fat

Lay off the junk​Hot on the heels of the new USDA nutrition guidelines, which basically boil down to "lay off the calories, fatty, and consume a vegetable once in a while," comes a study that gives you more incentive to eat right: Junk food doesn't just cause you to gain weight; it also make ... More >>

Where's the beef? Taco Bell sued for putting too little meat in its "meat"

​Where's the beef? Not in the Taco Bell tacos. At least not according to Beasley Allen, an Alabama-based law firm that has filed a class-action lawsuit against Taco Bell for misleading advertising. Its beef is the beef, or lack thereof: Allegedly, the taco filling has only 36 percent animal p ... More >>

Nick Sculac: Serenity Springs tiger sanctuary operator scammed $40,000 from volunteer

​There's more than one way to get mauled at a big-cat sanctuary. After he was attacked by a tiger at the Serenity Springs Wildlife Center last year, a volunteer then had the bite put on him by the refuge's founder -- who claimed that the victim had to pay $40,500 as his "share" of the result ... More >>

Season's eatings: The Boulder Farmers' Market opens for 2010

Can we afford to get Mexicans out of the kitchen?

What's the difference between pot and parsley?

​Blackberries and beets are on the list. So are horseradish, hops and horehound. Even wasabi, wormwood and watermelon are eligible to receive money under the Colorado Department of Agriculture's Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. But marijuana? Sorry, says agriculture spokeswoman Christi L ... More >>

What's the difference between parsley and pot? Grant money!

​Blackberries and beets are on the list. So are horseradish, hops and horehound. Even wasabi, wormwood and watermelon are eligible to receive money under the Colorado Department of Agriculture's Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. Marijuana? Sorry, says agriculture department spokeswoman Ch ... More >>

Feds put $40 million hit out on bark beetles

The $40 million bug...​Yesterday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that the federal government would devote $40 million to dealing with the bark-beetle problem that's turned wooded areas in Colorado and other western states from green to brown. Governor Bill Ritter, who wrote a ... More >>

Denver Blogs: Trade Kenyon Martin for Shaquille O'Neal? Are you kidding?

I'd rather have Ben Stein suit up for the Nuggets than Shaq.​Colorado blogs that fulfill the USDA recommended amount of cyber. Andrew Feinstein at Denver Stiffs floats the possibility of the Nuggets trading Kenyon Martin for Shaquille O'Neal, who's dragged down both Phoenix and Cleveland in r ... More >>

Before you take another bite of beef steak fritter...

The USDA recently recalled almost 111,000 pounds of frozen beef steak fritter due to the risk of small pieces of plastic that may be in the food. That's all well and good and nice to know the USDA has our back, but what in the hell is a beef steak fritter?Moo.​ Maybe it's a regional thing or ... More >>

Top five most shocking food facts from Food, Inc.

Do you know where your cluck comes from? ​Following a recent birthday barbecue feast, I woke up before the sun with a wretched bellyache and proceeded to hurl my guts out. Nothing reminds you that you aren't 21 anymore like puking bacon cheeseburgers and red wine and going up against a hangove ... More >>

Milking It: EnviroKidz Leapin' Lemurs

​​ Leapin Lemurs EnviroKidz Rating: Two-and-a-half spoons out of four Cereal description: Here's a partial list of ingredients in Leapin' Lemurs: "organic corn meal," "organic whole grain corn meal," "organic evaported cane juice," "organic peanut butter," "organic molasses," "organic ... More >>

Swift beef recall: Beware of tainted "Butt Ball Tip"

Yesterday, Greeley's own JBS Swift Beef Co. recalled over 41,000 pounds of meat contaminated with O157:H7 E.coli bacteria, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The stuff went out on April 21 to enterprises in Colorado and a dozen other states rangin ... More >>

Learn where the meat comes from

When Obama began his presidency, he pledged transparency. And last week, the USDA had new regulations go into effect for labels of origin. The labels of origin will be put on beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat meat, fish and shellfish products, noting which country the product came from. When I heard a ... More >>

Diane DeGette Testifies on a Hot Topic

Ten Years of Aeroplane plus Other Assorted Goodies

Prime 121

The steaks may be prime, but the restaurant isn’t choice.

Pet Peeve

If one schnauzer is nice, what's wrong with 150?

Bite Me

It's All Relative

Bite Me

Full of Beans

Bite Me

Act Natural

Bite Me

Out of the Bleu.

Best Steakhouse for the Common Man

Texas Land & Cattle Steak House

Here's the Beef

We brake for jerky, America's fastest-growing snack food.

Best Guilt-Free Butcher

Timberline Meats

Mange Rovers

The Colorado Springs Airport hopes to keep coyotes off the runways.

The Bite

Still game to try venison despite disease scares.

Where the Buffalo Moan

They’ve been worshiped, they’ve been slaughtered. Now bison are back—so why won’t you buy some burger?

Mouthing Off

Growing, Growing, Gone

When the U.S. declared war on drugs, Colorado's carnation industry went up in smoke

MOUTHING OFF

MOUTHING OFF

PRIME TIME