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The 2025 honorees include both farms and ranches as well as families who have dedicated more than 100 years to agricultural pursuits within Colorado. Each century-long commitment will be recognized at the 2025 Colorado State Fair at 11 a.m. on August 22 during the Centennial Farms & Ranches Celebration at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo. 

A complete list of the 2025 honorees can be found here.

In addition to the full list of honorees, below is a small selection of the remarkable farms, ranches, and families that are being honored for their dedication to Colorado's agricultural legacy, as well as the recipients of the annual Agricultural Legacy Awards presented by Dawn DiPrince, president/CEO of History Colorado and State Historic Preservation Officer, and Colorado’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Kate Greenberg.

Highlighted Honorees:

Candelaria Family | Ranchito Alegre | Archuleta County

One of the families being honored this year for their dedication to Colorado’s agricultural industry is the Candelaria Family of Pagosa Springs. The core 60 acres of the ranch were settled sometime before 1905 by Juan Gurule and his wife, Victoria Anita Calendaria Gurule, a sister to Anastacio and Francisco Candelaria. When Victoria died in 1955, the homesteaded land was transferred to Roger Candelaria, Anastacio’s grandson. Roger’s family, wife Maria “Maggie,” and sons Gabriel and Daniel, continue to operate the farm today.

For more than 120 years, maintaining soil health and protecting the land have been among the highest priorities for the Candelaria family. When they bought adjoining property in 2014, the family began enhancing the agricultural potential of the land through regenerative agricultural practices, such as covering crops and mixed species adaptive grazing. The family’s shared goal is to honor their ancestors’ legacies by producing ecologically sound farm products and giving back by sharing both the goods produced and the lessons learned. They are proud that, to the best of their knowledge, no synthetic agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, insecticides or other similar products have ever been used on their fields or trees since 1905.

Edgar Family | Edgar Ranches Inc. | Otero County 

Founded in 1905, what is now Edgar Ranches Inc. began with a marriage and ingenuity on the part of the McIntosh and Edgar families. Daniel Burt McIntosh applied for a Desert Land Patent on 160 acres on Dry Creek, north of the town of Timpas. A few years later, his future son-in-law, Roy Edgar, purchased land nearby along Timpas Creek. In 1910, Roy married Daniel’s daughter, Lena McIntosh, connecting the two families and their joint legacies. Roy and Lena built the Edgar Ranch over the next 60 years, along with their sons Lyman and Gayle. Gayle passed away in 1971, and in 1980, Lyman and his wife, Alice Jane, bought out Gayle’s family, incorporated their land to create Edgar Ranches Inc. Through descendants of Lyman and Alice Jane’s children, the ranch thrives with its seventh generation of family involved in its care and continuation.

The family proudly salutes the efforts of their ancestors during challenging times, including the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. When ranching in southeast Colorado became difficult, Roy, Lyman and Gayle sold off cattle to afford to keep their land. They also used that money to purchase and rent land from homesteading neighbors who were leaving. They rented some of the land for 70 years before the owners’ families decided to sell. At the same time, they also rented out part of their range to neighbors who could no longer afford their homesteads. One of those renters who brought cattle to their property unfortunately also brought anthrax. The industrious Edgars were able to save 90 of their 100 head of cattle by giving them all daily shots for 30 days, at the hefty price back then of $1.00 per injection.

Lee (Paulek) Family | Silver Creek Ranch (Paulek Homestead Ranch) | La Plata County

In 1904, Anton Paulek filed a claim through the 1862 Homestead Act, creating what is now the Silver Creek Ranch, then known as the Paulek Homestead Ranch. Anton worked with the U.S. Department of the Interior to get water rights and easements through the Fort Lewis Indian School, beginning a legacy of giving back to the student community. After he secured water from the La Plata River, Anton and other men, with the help of horses and often their bare hands, dug the Big Stick Ditch, an irrigation ditch that still operates to this day. Anton and his three brothers, also nearby homesteaders, cleared the land and began keeping sheep, pigs, cattle, horses and growing wheat, hay and alfalfa among other crops. Anton was ultimately deeded the land in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson. 

The family is very proud that their ancestors helped teach and support young agrarians from Fort Lewis College at their ranch, training them in animal husbandry and animal judging. Five generations of family members have continued the agricultural traditions at the ranch, including participating in 4-H, the La Plata County Fair and the prestigious National Western Stockshow, where they received the coveted Grand Champion award in the Colombian Sheep Wool category. In addition to their livestock and feedstuffs, the Paulek Homestead Ranch grows and maintains apple, cherry, plum and apricot orchards, and supplies milk and milk delivery to the area. Two of the original structures belonging to Anton and his brothers are still on the property and are lived in by their direct descendants.

Dr. John Masushima | State Historic Preservation Officer Agricultural Legacy Award

Dr. John Masushima is a professor, researcher and innovator, and at a remarkable 104 years old, he is still actively involved in the field of agricultural education. Born in 1920 to Japanese immigrants, Dr. Masushima grew up on a vegetable farm near Platteville. He raised cattle as part of 4-H and FFA, and attended Colorado A&M, now Colorado State University. He earned his doctorate at the University of Minnesota.

Early in his professional career, Dr. Masushima was a professor of Animal Nutrition at the University of Nebraska and taught at Colorado State University for more than 30 years before retiring with the title of Professor Emeritus. Besides teaching thousands of students over his career, Dr. Masushima invented steam flaked corn and built the  prototype mobile feed mixer, which later revolutionized the beef industry and cattle nutrition. The research he partnered in has changed the cattle industry in Colorado and nationwide, and he has traveled internationally to teach and serve as an ambassador for U.S. beef exports. Dr. Masushima continues to share his stories and enthusiasm for Colorado’s agricultural past and present with students across the state through the Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom program.

Dr. Masushima has been inducted into the Colorado Agricultural Hall of Fame, earned distinguished honors from the Emperor of Japan and was awarded Citizen of the West by the National Western Stock Show in 2013. In addition, he was named one of CSU’s Best Teachers in 2002 and earned its alumni achievement award in 2003.

Ben Rainbolt, chief executive officer of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union | Commissioner of Agriculture Agricultural Legacy Award

Ben Rainbolt, Jr., has dedicated his professional life to agriculture, education and serving rural communities. Rainbolt was born and raised on a farm near Burlington, Colo. He attended Northeastern Junior College, and then went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as a secondary principal license at Colorado State University (CSU). He taught throughout Weld County and served as principal at Valley High School in Gilcrest.

Rainbolt values community involvement. He has served on many boards and foundations, and has taught and lectured with the CSU College of Agricultural Sciences. After retiring in 2007, Rainbolt started working with the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and was named as the organization’s executive director in 2010. He also serves as the president of the Weld County School District Re-1 School Board.

About the Centennial Farms & Ranches Program

History Colorado, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and the Colorado State Fair have partnered to honor Colorado’s agricultural heritage through the Centennial Farms & Ranches Program since 1986, when the program was initiated by former Governor Richard Lamm. 

In 2022, the Centennial Farms & Ranches program was expanded to recognize four categories of honorees associated with the agricultural history of the State of Colorado:

• Centennial Farms or Ranches – farms or ranches that have belonged to the same family for at least 100 years, and are currently working farms or ranches
• Centennial Families – families with agricultural experience in Colorado that spans 100 or more years (e.g. 1923-present), not necessarily as landowners
• Centennial Farmers or Ranchers – individuals 100 years of age or older who have spent a majority of their life in agricultural pursuits within the State of Colorado, even if they were not landowners
• Centennial AgriBusiness – organizations or businesses that have been in operation for 100 or more years and primarily serve the agricultural community in Colorado (examples: seed companies, farm implement manufacturers, Farm Bureaus, etc.)

More than 700 families, agribusinesses, and individuals have been recognized by the program. Collectively, they represent the powerful history of Colorado’s farmers and ranchers who have sustained, supported, and innovated for more than a century.

About the Colorado Department of Agriculture

The Colorado Department of Agriculture exists to support the state's agriculture industry and serve the people of Colorado through regulation, advocacy, and education. Its mission is to strengthen and advance Colorado agriculture, promote a safe and high-quality food supply, protect consumers, and foster responsible stewardship of the environment and natural resources. Learn more at ag.colorado.gov.

A division of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the mission of the Colorado State Fair Authority is to celebrate Colorado’s vibrant and diverse agricultural industry and culture by creating an entertaining, inspiring, and educational inter-generational experience. 

About History Colorado

History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 145-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation which provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and other access to archaeology and historic preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is one of the nation’s largest state funded preservation programs of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state. Additionally, the offices of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Officer are part of History Colorado. 

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and 10 other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information. #HistoryColorado