Land Trusts are saving Utah’s farmland and preserving family farms.

As urban sprawl spreads rapidly across the state, Utah farmers are at a crossroads. Farmland is disappearing at an alarming rate, and many multi-generational farmers are under immense pressure to sell their land for housing developments or commercial use. But amid this struggle, nonprofit land trusts are offering a lifeline — one that ensures Utah’s farming heritage will continue for generations to come. Two organizations that are actively involved in working with farmers and ranchers are Utah Agricultural Land Trust (UALT) and Summit Land Conservancy (SLC). 

Summit Land Conservancy has been working with farmers and ranchers to save their land for the past 22 years. They work alongside other organizations such as UALT with a direct mandate to help Utah’s agricultural landowners create conservation easements that legally prevent farmland from being developed while allowing families to continue working the land. These agreements preserve the landscape and protect Utah’s food supply and rural economies.

“Farming in Utah has always been a challenge, but now we’re facing a new era where land values and development pressures threaten their way of life,” says Deborah Van Noy, founder and board member of UALT. “We want to provide a path for farmers and ranchers to keep their land productive, in their families, and allow them to continue productive agriculture operations.”

During a recent conversation, Van Noy explained how one of UALT’s current projects, Cascade Farms in west Provo, nearly succumbed to development. Having entered into a contract to sell their 20-acre property, owners Colton and Alicia Burr, at the eleventh hour, decided instead to protect the land with a conservation easement to be partly paid for by USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NCRS), Utah Department of Agriculture (UDAF), LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund, Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation, and private donations from foundations, corporations, and individuals.

“Fundraising for the easement is underway, and we are so grateful for the funding that has come in thus far,” said Colton Burr.  Cascade Farms, located in rapidly growing Utah County, sits among more than 700 acres of already protected land in west Provo, which includes the Despain Ranch, whose owners were early proponents of open space protection in Utah.

It is estimated that over 20,000 visitors enjoy this area throughout the year for hiking, walking, kayaking, and just the scenic beauty.  Cascade Farms, not only a stronghold of local food production, will also offer “pick-your-own” vegetable gardens and a small animal petting zoo for the public’s enjoyment. Without intervention, Cascade Farms, like so many others, could be lost to development.

The conservation easement, once in place, will preserve Cascade Farms as a working farm indefinitely. This agreement will ensure that the land remains dedicated to agriculture rather than succumbing to commercial or residential pressures.

It’s not just Cascade Farms that is under attack. Multiple farmers across the Wasatch Front and the Wasatch Back (Morgan, Henefer, Coalville, and Heber) are within the drainage system heading towards the Great Salt Lake. (Water in the Wasatch Back flows through the Weber River into the Great Salt Lake.)  

The latest hit for farmers, published in the journal “Environmental Challenges,” states that agriculture is Utah’s top water user. Farmers in Utah are facing increasing legal battles over water rights as growing urban areas and environmental concerns put pressure on agricultural water use.

Utah and much of the West follow the old-time law of “first in time, first in right,” meaning that the first person to use water from a source has the right to continue using it before others. This principle is known as the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation and is premised on the concept that water is the property of the public, and a right to use the water should only be maintained if the water is put to beneficial use. In the past, this may have meant that if a farmer didn’t “use” all the water, they would in essence, dump it or flood their land because they had to use it or they wouldn’t rightfully own it anymore.

That isn’t quite the case anymore, though, as many farmers have been sued over their water consumption despite their essential role in providing food and maintaining open space. Meanwhile, the Great Salt Lake is shrinking at an alarming rate, threatening the region’s ecosystem, air quality, and economy. 

Sustainable water management and conservation efforts are critical in balancing agricultural needs with environmental preservation. A new pilot program is set and ready to compensate farmers who temporarily stop irrigating some of their land. The practice is known as fallowing, and the technique could involve letting the land rest with cover crops. The water they would have normally used for irrigation can then stay in the river and eventually work its way into the Great Salt Lake. 

UALT is working to help farmers navigate these challenges while promoting responsible land and water use that benefits both agriculture and the environment. “NRCS and UDAF provide farmers with important guidance and funding for water conservation programs,” said Van Noy.

The journal article focuses on two water-intensive crops, alfalfa and hay, stating that “farmers and ranchers are growing those crops because of increasing demands by consumers for dairy — specifically, yogurt and cheese.” 

This, according to Van Noy, is further justification for protecting our agricultural lands — the consumer’s demand for food products that can be sourced within the state. 

“The statistics are alarming,” Van Noy said. “In the seventies, Utah could feed its population with what was grown and raised within the state. Today, we can supply only 25% of the dairy demand and 5% of the fruit and vegetable demand. So, 95% of our produce demand must be imported into Utah.” Cheryl Fox, CEO of Summit Land Conservancy agreed, as we recently discussed the impact of losing farmland as it extends beyond the fields themselves.

Farms such as Cascade Farms dot the state, providing food, vegetables, hay, and alfalfa for feed, which directly coincides with beef and dairy products. 

Fox went on to say that “when farmland disappears, so does a way of life — one that has shaped Utah’s culture and economy for generations.” 

According to the American Farmland Trust, Utah is among the top states losing farmland at an accelerated rate of 500,000 acres of farmland every decade, and while many farmers and ranchers would like to stay in farming, they feel financial pressure to sell. 

With conservation easements, farmers and ranchers are selling the development rights to their property and can do very well (a nice retirement) by placing an easement on their property. They do not lose ownership of their property and they get to keep farming. The USDA’s NRCS is a strong advocate for this and helps out with a large part of the funding, raising additional funding through foundations, and public and private grants for the conservation easement. The land trust raises additional funding through other public grants, private foundations, corporate gifts and individual donations.

Many people have some experience with gardening and agree that experiencing the outdoors in an agricultural environment can be measured by a sense of calmness and the peaceful feeling associated with the sounds, fragrances, and touch of growing produce about to be picked for their consumption. 

Colton Burr, of Cascade Farms, explained that “the benefits of meandering through the vegetable gardens, selecting items for a basket, and then walking over to the peach tree orchards for that bounty are hard to quantify but do exist.” On his property, “visitors can enjoy the small animals and poultry pecking about throughout the farm. All of this provides a much-needed connection with the land — something so many of us have either forgotten, or, for the young, perhaps they never knew.”

When I asked Fox what the ultimate lesson to learn is, she said, “If the land is converted to urban sprawl it leaves great deleterious effects on the land. The Great Salt Lake Commission is of course looking at all the causes that are harmful to the Lake in order to save the Lake. After all, it wouldn’t be the first saline lake system to dry up. The ultimate lesson here is that we are going to have to learn to work together to solve the problem. Instead of looking at farmers and ranchers as the problem, perhaps it is time to look at them as the solution. Because If the land is sold to an outside entity for development and we lose that land, we lose the water rights that go with it.” 

“For landowners interested in conservation easements, the Utah Agricultural Land Trust and Summit Land Conservancy offer guidance, resources, and a vision for the future — one where farming remains a vital part of Utah’s identity. By supporting farmers and preserving land, UALT is ensuring that Utah’s agricultural heritage thrives in an era of rapid change.

Feature Image: Alfalfa field in Smithfield, Utah, Cache County is an historically important region for agriculture in Utah. Photos courtesy of Utah Agricultural Land Trust.