Sara Patterson’s love of gardening led her to start a farm that now feeds several dozen families and cofound a nonprofit that advocates for policies benefiting small rural and urban agriculture. The venture just outside of Cedar City is thriving. The for-profit Red Acre Farm sells shares in the operation, and in return, the 40 member families get food for three meals a day, … [Read more...]
Search Results for: agriculture
“Agriculture is my passion” — Benjamin Stutman
"Agriculture is my passion." This statement encompasses a wide-ranging interview with Benjamin Stutman, owner of Paizlee's Grass Fed Beef in Southern Utah. The national meat industry is currently dominated by four major packing companies that provide their products at low cost to consumers because hamburger is just hamburger. Stutman's response is to sell a healthier … [Read more...]
Behind the Scenes at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Utah’s Own
Receiving certification from the Compliance Officers through the Utah Department of Agriculture is one of the most difficult steps any food entrepreneur faces. But in order to sell in stores and most farmers markets, it’s a necessity that anyone with a dream of owning their own food or farm business must endure. I hear the lamentations of makers throughout Utah, most gripes … [Read more...]
Snuck Farm: Ethics and Agriculture Transcend Generations
Page Westover started Snuck Farm in Pleasant Grove in 2015 on land that her grandparents inherited from their grandparents. From the beginning she wanted it to be something different. She says, “I’ve always had a love of nature and good food. I went to Utah State University and majored in nutrition with an emphasis in dietetics.” After working in her field for more than 10 … [Read more...]
Putting the Aggie in Agriculture: Student-run Garden Provides Fresh Produce and Experience
As spring brightens and days lengthen, students in Utah State University’s Student Organic Farm class are diligently monitoring the temperatures in their hoop houses and the soil moisture in their fields. It’s already planting time, and they’re helping ensure the first baskets of fresh veggies are ready for their Community Supported Agriculture customers on the third week of … [Read more...]
Why Community Supported Agriculture is Great for Utah Farmers
Community Supported Agriculture or CSAs have caught on big among Salt Lake City localvores. “It is absolutely worth the cost!” Joanna Mull is talking about the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program of which she is an enthusiastic participant. Joanna is trying the CSA program for the first time this year and is signed up with 3 Squares Produce. When she picks up her … [Read more...]
Saving Great Salt Lake: 47-Day Vigil for Shrinking Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake as a public health hazard There has been increasing media coverage in recent years resulting in growing awareness around the human health implications of the shrinking Great Salt Lake. It is becoming known among Utahns that the drying lakebed will soon become a public health hazard due to hazardous chemicals that have been recklessly discharged into the … [Read more...]
Utah Businesses to Shop for Unique Holiday Gifts
Many Utahns would like to support the local economy and at the same time, seek alternatives from big box stores to find meaningful gifts for their loved ones. Here is a roundup of 13 small businesses in Utah that you might consider shopping with this holiday season. We’re sure you’ll find something on this list for several of the local-loving Utahns in your life. Time … [Read more...]
Vanishing Farmland: Paradise Lost as Vital Farmland Gives Way to Development in Ogden Valley, Utah
Utah’s best farmland is disappearing. Just ask Utah Farm Bureau Federation President Ron Gibson. “We are losing the most productive farmland in the state to development,” Gibson said recently, referring to the fertile land that first attracted pioneers to settle in Salt Lake City and along the Wasatch Front. “We have one of the best economies in the country … so people … [Read more...]
New Roots SLC, Organic Vegetable Farm Supports Refugee Families to Continue Tradition of Gardening and Farming
In the midst of West Valley urban sprawl is a somewhat unexpected sight: a diverse, organic vegetable farm called New Roots. The farm is a local program of the IRC (International Rescue Committee), an organization serving people whose lives have been upended by war and natural disasters. While the IRC has had offices in Salt Lake since the 90s, New Roots SLC was developed in … [Read more...]