Jan Kochis – Candidate for District VI

Jan currently serves on the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) Board as Director from District 6 which includes 15 counties in Southeastern Colorado and the Denver Metro area which include:

BACA, BENT, CHEYENNE, CROWLEY, DENVER, ELBERT, EL PASO, JEFFERSON, KIOWA, KIT CARSON, LAS ANIMAS, LINCOLN, OTERO, PROWERS AND TELLER. She currently serves as Chairman of the Board. She is a knowledgeable, experienced and dedicated director for the farm organization and all of its members.

She and her husband, Virgil, farm and ranch in Elbert County near Matheson. On their Centennial Farm they raise Winter wheat, White wheat, Corn, Birdseed Millet, Feed millet, Triticale and Forage Sorghum on a dry land operation. In addition to the farming operation, they have a 200 head Angus cow-calf herd. Their most recent “Cash Crop” is Royalty Payments related to energy generation from the Wind Turbines which are a part of the Rush Creek 1 Wind Farm in Elbert County. She is the Office Manager and Accountant for the farm/ranch operation. They have two grown children, Pamela, who has two sons, Devaughn and Brayden, and Michael who lives in Limon and works with them on the farm as the 4^th Generation.

Jan is a long time Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) member. She was born into the organization and went through the youth program culminating with becoming a Torchbearer. While at CSU in Fort Collins she met Virgil one weekend at a Young Adult Weekend in Bailey, Colorado at the former National Farmers Union (NFU) Education Center.  She and Virgil participated in National Farmers Union American Farm Project in 1977-1980 and the First Fellows Class in 1986.  Following her participation in the Fellows program, Jan was a leader in the Elbert/Lincoln County chapter and was subsequently elected to the RMFU Board in 1988 and as Chairman in 2000.

Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Board (Chairman)

Farmers Union Service Association (Secretary)

RMFU Educational and Charitable Foundation Board Member

Farmers Union Rural PAC Board Member

RMFU Representative on Hudson Ranch Board (Secretary/Treasurer)

She was a shareholder and board member of Mountain View Harvest Cooperative, which was a farmer-owned cooperative that owned a bakery.  This cooperative was a project of the Coop Development Center.  Through Common Ground Colorado—a volunteer group of farm and ranch women who advocate for agriculture, Jan has provided programs to schools and to other community groups.  She has presented to the Colorado Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Colorado Food Service Association and Aspire to Grow Conference at Colorado State University to show audiences the connection between their food and what farmers and ranchers do to provide safe, healthy food.  As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) who had her own a Consulting Business in Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas for 48 years, being part of Farmers Union was the perfect fit. SHE BELIEVES IF YOU EAT YOU ARE INVOLVED IN AGRICUTURE!

She is running for the Board of Directors to stand up for Family Farmers and Ranchers and their communities and to do whatever we can to help them be successful and thrive in today’s society and to strengthen our member voices through education, legislation and cooperation.