Colorado lawmakers delivered a rare unanimous victory for farmers and shoppers Tuesday, passing a bill that slams the door on out-of-state producers who slap “Colorado Grown” stickers on products never touched by Colorado soil.
The measure, carried by Western Slope Republican Matt Soper and bipartisan co-sponsors, now heads to Governor Jared Polis’s desk with overwhelming support from both parties.
Consumers have been tricked for years. Palisade peaches from Chile, Rocky Ford melons from Mexico, and Olathe sweet corn from Nebraska have all showed up in grocery aisles wearing fraudulent Colorado labels. Farmers say the deception crushes local prices and erodes trust.
Bipartisan Muscle Behind the Bill
House Bill 24-1245 sailed through the Colorado House on a 62-0 vote and cleared the Senate 34-0. Every single lawmaker, from urban Democrats to rural Republicans, backed the crackdown.
Rep. Soper told fellow lawmakers the fake labels are “straight-up theft of our brand.” He pointed to grocery chains and distributors who knowingly stock mislabeled produce to cash in on Colorado’s premium reputation.
Sen. Cleave Simpson, a rancher from Alamosa and chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, called it “the easiest yes vote I’ve ever cast.” He said real Colorado farmers are tired of watching their identity get hijacked.
Real Cases That Sparked Outrage
Last summer, Costco stores in Denver sold watermelons labeled “Rocky Ford Grown” that actually came from Arizona. Rocky Ford farmers watched their own melons rot in fields while the cheaper imports undercut them by 40 percent.
Similar scams hit Palisade peaches in 2022 when imported fruit showed up in King Soopers with Colorado Proud stickers. The Colorado Department of Agriculture had to issue public warnings telling shoppers the fruit was fake.
Those incidents lit a fire under lawmakers. Farmers flooded committee hearings with photos of the counterfeit labels and stories of lost sales.
What the New Law Actually Does
If Governor Polis signs the bill (and his office says he will), starting August 2025:
- Only products with at least 90 percent Colorado-grown ingredients can use the phrase “Colorado Grown” or any similar claim
- Violators face fines up to $5,000 per incident through the Colorado Department of Agriculture
- Grocery stores and distributors must keep records proving where labeled items came from
- The state can immediately pull mislabeled products from shelves
The penalties mirror existing rules for “Colorado Proud,” but this bill specifically targets the wild-west phrase “Colorado Grown” that anyone could previously use.
Farmers Celebrate, Consumers Win
“This is the biggest win for Colorado agriculture in a decade,” said Olathe sweet corn grower Mike Mahaffey. He lost an estimated $180,000 in 2023 when mislabeled corn flooded Front Range stores.
Shoppers will finally know what they’re paying premium prices for. Colorado peaches routinely sell for $3.99 a pound when labeled local; imports wearing the same label fetch the same price while costing growers nothing in Colorado wages or water bills.
The law also protects smaller producers who can’t compete with industrial-scale imports disguised as local.
Colorado agriculture pumps $47 billion into the economy each year and supports more than 170,000 jobs. Lawmakers say protecting the brand is simply protecting paychecks.
Governor Polis is expected to sign the bill within days. When he does, Colorado will join states like California and Florida that already aggressively defend their regional food brands.
For the first time in years, when you see “Colorado Grown” on a peach, a melon, or an ear of corn this summer, you’ll know it actually came from here. And the farmers who grew it will finally get the price their work deserves.
What do you think, Colorado? Will this law stop the scammers for good, or will bad actors find new ways to cheat the system? Drop your thoughts below and tag #ColoradoGrownReal if you’re sharing photos of legitimate local produce this season.
