Shrinking Utah County farms: How to keep pavement at bay

Shrinking Utah County farms: How to keep pavement at bay

(Stuart Johnson, Deseret News, File)


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SANTAQUIN, Utah County — A yearlong collaborative effort unveiled a bevy of recommendations aimed at keeping Utah County farmland from being paved over, including zoning changes and financial incentives that could serve as a blueprint for action throughout the state.

The Agriculture Toolbox released Thursday by Envision Utah says Utah County farmland is worth saving; it's the No. 1 agriculture-producing county in the state, bringing in cash receipts of $245 million a year.

It is first in berry production and is the state's premier growing location for raspberries, sweet and tart cherries, pears and apples. With more than 6,000 acres of orchards, it also dominates first place among other counties.

In its research with multiple partners that include the Utah Farm Bureau and the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Envision Utah — founded on the premise of smart growth — found a challenging paradox that confronts the state's fastest-growing county, and is a concern throughout the state.

While their own survey shows that 65 percent of Utah residents want more farms and greater self-sufficiency through local food production, a combination of factors is causing farmland to disappear.

In Utah County, for example, it is projected that 63,876 acres of farmland — or half of what exists there today — will be lost by 2050.

"We have a limited number of acres in Utah that are viable for growing fruit," said Ari Bruening, Envision Utah's chief operating officer. "Fruit Heights, for example, is no longer growing fruit."

Utah County has an ideal so-called microclimate that results in productive orchards that yield fantastic results. The fertile soil also helps Utah farmers grow nearly 60,000 acres of alfalfa and hay and 8,600 acres of vegetables.

Farmers face a tough battle staying in business due to challenges like urban encroachment, roadblocks in getting their product to market, lack of cohesive planning and in many cases, having someone in the family to carry on their legacy.

For Curtis Rowley, whose family has been farming since the 1920s in Utah County, he foresees the availability of affordable water becoming a defining factor for them to stay in business.

Curtis Rowley, one of the owners of Cherry Hill Farms, is pictured in Santaquin on Monday, October 17, 2012. The Agriculture Toolbox released Thursday by Envision Utah says Utah County farmland is worth saving; it's the No. 1 agriculture-producing county in the state, bringing in cash receipts of $245 million a year. (Photo: Brian Nicholson, Deseret News Archives)
Curtis Rowley, one of the owners of Cherry Hill Farms, is pictured in Santaquin on Monday, October 17, 2012. The Agriculture Toolbox released Thursday by Envision Utah says Utah County farmland is worth saving; it's the No. 1 agriculture-producing county in the state, bringing in cash receipts of $245 million a year. (Photo: Brian Nicholson, Deseret News Archives)

"I don't think people understand how big of a concern that is for farmers," he said. "We're worried about the cost of water and trying to save every drop."

Rowley said agricultural producers have embraced more efficient water delivery systems, including drip irrigation, sprinklers, pivots and well lines.

"Farmers are being as conservative as anyone out there."

The Envision Utah Toolbox has a number of recommendations for water — a premiere commodity in the nation's second driest state — including developing alternative water transfer options that allow cities to allocate water while still preserving agricultural land.

Other recommendations with an eye at saving farmland include reducing the size requirement of what's called Agriculture Protection Areas, which protect growers from nuisance lawsuits and the pressures of surrounding urban development.

Under state law, the protection areas must be 20 contiguous acres, but the report recommends allowing 5-acre parcels to also be eligible for protection. In Utah County, there are 70 of these protection areas surrounding all sides of Utah Lake, but Envision Utah says a change in the law would allow smaller farms the same benefits.

The report is built around two goals: to work to make and keep agriculture economically and socially viable, and encourage development patterns and implement measures to support agricultural land and water.

Utah County farming (Photo: Joseph Tolman)
Utah County farming (Photo: Joseph Tolman)

Among its voluntary recommendations are simple steps the state and county could take to bolster the viability of agriculture, including a more aggressive campaign to promote farmers markets, co-ops and other programs to connect producers with consumers. Utah, for example, lacks any facility to process the vegetables that are grown in the state, so most are shipped to other markets.

There are also financial proposals that should be weighed, including diverting a portion of the county property tax to a farmland fund or allowing voters to vote on a bond issue for a local farmland preservation fund, the report notes.

Some recommendations are more controversial, such as stemming the growth of large lots, or hobby farms that do not necessarily go into any sort of agricultural production.

The report notes that it takes only 20 five-acre residential lots to eliminate 100 acres of agricultural production.

This spread of very low density residential development is helping to accelerate the demise of Utah farming, Bruening notes.

A possible answer in Envision Utah's toolbox?

The report recommends establishing 40 acres as a minimum lot size for homes built in established agricultural zones.

Cherries from Tony's Produce in Santaquin are seen on Wednesday, July 8, 2009. The Agriculture Toolbox released Thursday by Envision Utah says Utah County farmland is worth saving; it's the No. 1 agriculture-producing county in the state, bringing in cash receipts of $245 million a year. It is first in berry production and is the state's premier growing location for raspberries, sweet and tart cherries, pears and apples. (Photo: Deseret News Archives)
Cherries from Tony's Produce in Santaquin are seen on Wednesday, July 8, 2009. The Agriculture Toolbox released Thursday by Envision Utah says Utah County farmland is worth saving; it's the No. 1 agriculture-producing county in the state, bringing in cash receipts of $245 million a year. It is first in berry production and is the state's premier growing location for raspberries, sweet and tart cherries, pears and apples. (Photo: Deseret News Archives)

Those five-acre lots begin to change the character of the farmland and before too long, housing replaces crops.

"The subdivisions always win," Bruening said. "You can make a lot more per acre growing houses than you can growing anything else. The question is can we slow the reduction in farmland and can we protect some of the key, irreplaceable land."

Bruening said city planners and elected local officials need to change their way of thinking when it comes to how they view farmland.

"One of the big picture things we would like cities to think about is that we generally think about farmland as a holding zone that will someday be something else," he said. "But we don't treat any other business that way. These farmlands are already a business. They are already generating economic benefits to the state of Utah."

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