Community Agriculture Alliance: Local businesses benefit from state grant
Community Agriculture Alliance
Agricultural producers face unprecedented challenges, between high operational costs, low margins and declining commodity pricing. These challenges are exacerbated in places like the Yampa Valley where the region’s agricultural heritage is also threatened by rising land prices and changing demographics.
Consistent with its mission to preserve agriculture in the Yampa Valley, the Community Ag Alliance recently sponsored a grant application through Colorado’s Community Business Preservation Program, an Office of Economic Development Grant. This program is designed to help Colorado communities preserve culturally significant businesses that are important to their residents, but are at risk from displacement pressures.
For 2025, a group of five agricultural businesses from Moffat and Routt counties will receive grant funding, thanks to the support and sponsorship of the CAA. The five producers are Moonhill Dairy, Snowden Cattle Company, Mountain Bluebird Farm, Fetcher Ranch and Murr Made Meats. This funding will help preserve the working landscapes and Western heritage that are foundational to the Yampa Valley.
Specifically, the grant funding provides these five producers with capital to make necessary operational improvements and infrastructure investments without taking on additional debt.
“We’ve tried to keep our business mostly debt-free, and because of that we’ve had to push back some of these improvements on the farm due to lack of capital,” said Noah Price of Mountain Bluebird Farm. “This grant will allow us to improve efficiencies on the farm, produce more food, and keep costs down, all without going into debt.”
Snowden Cattle Company is using the grant to purchase a large freezer trailer that can double as freezer storage.
“Having an asset like this opens up so many opportunities for us. We can store a larger quantity of products and create a more efficient process in our slaughter schedule,” Sarajane Snowden said.
The opportunities afforded by this grant further underscore the critical role the CAA plays in helping producers address today’s challenges. By serving as a conduit between local producers and state and federal grants and agricultural funding opportunities, the CAA supports and strengthens the local ag economy.
“We would not have known about this grant without the CAA. Having a local organization that advocates on behalf of the interests of all ag producers in the region benefits all of us and our access to safe, healthy and locally produced food,” Noah Price said.

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