Is Colorado Primed to Become the Silicon Valley of Agriculture?

Since moving from NYC to Boulder I've become much more aware of the sources of my food.

I've begun purchasing beef in bulk from a farm down the street from my house, trading crock-pot meals with co-workers who have chickens, asking where meat comes from in a restaurant, etc...

I've noticed this pattern with other transplants as well. Perhaps we're genuinely interested in creating a better future?

Nah....it's the pot :).

Colorado's always been pretty great. Scenic, with outdoorsy, mellow people. However, the conclusion of the Graff report sounds like parroting of common theory.

Only in the past few years has it started to be thought of as a money and startup hub. What's different about Colorado then everywhere else? Particularly in agriculture? What's changed in the last couple years? What has become so high value that there would be a strong desire for constant drone overwatch?

Oh yeah... Pot.

What makes it a startup hub? Duh. A strong cultural / legal difference that doesn't exist elsewhere and creates a powerful money gradient across its borders. Investors see more potential for profit or new ideas for profit or new environments for profit, and swarm with green in their eyes.

People have been saying this about UC Davis and North Carlolina as well. Agriculture has no center of gravity in part because agriculture has such a wide value chain and because operations are geographically distributed around the world. This also makes it difficult to bring capital to the sector because you don't have a concentrated community.

In my experience, Coloradans are always looking for some justification as to why they live there - whether that's a "new center of tech", or "freedom to toke", or "Colorado NATIVE". I guess it's not enough that they simply enjoy it.