The Peak to Plains Alliance connects local family farms, ranches, and heritage sites with local consumers, to help create a healthy, economically strong, and food-secure community. In 1853, the first commercial farming enterprise in Colorado was founded at the confluence of the Arkansas and Huerfano Rivers in present day Pueblo County. Early farms and ranches in the Arkansas and Fountain Creek val
leys provided much of the food that allowed Colorado City to become a service town for miners and the first capitol of Colorado Territory. Since World War II there has been a steady erosion of the local food and farming systems. Development pressures on agricultural land, sale of water rights, cheap subsidized food from California and Latin America, and an appetite for processed food have contributed to this state of affairs. In response, a diverse group of rural and urban people created an initiative that envisions a system in which local consumers enjoy the health benefits of fresh local food, and farm and ranch experiences; farmers and ranchers are compensated fairly for their products; and working lands and adjacent environments are stewarded according to ecological principles. The Peak to Plains Alliance (PPA) formed as a coalition of community and agricultural leaders in Southeastern Colorado seeking to collaborate on myriad projects related to local agriculture and conservation. PPA consists of established organizations and sole-proprietorships already involved in community-based agricultural activities and historic sites. PPA strives to increase business for its members and to sponsor joint marketing and educational projects, including tours, pertaining to agriculture, food and working landscapes in Southeastern Colorado.
