Legal change keeps the Bangerter's farmland productive A year after Farmington granted agricultural protection for the Bangerter family farm, a 22-acre plot of farmland, and ended any effort to put soccer fields on the site, the city’s economic development director still receives pleas to leave the property alone. Brigham Mellor says he gets about one email a week from people … [Read more...]
Every farmer is a gambler, every gardener is a believer
Thank a farmer Every farmer is a gambler, every gardener is a believer—he or she is betting that tiny seeds buried in the ground will bring forth a bounty of crops. To closely watch a plant grow strong throughout the months and then see flowers transformed into fruits and vegetables, is miraculous. It humbles one into realizing there is a provident power in the … [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...]
Bangerter Family Farm Wins Zoning Battle for Farmland Usage
Alan Bangerter is no stranger to moving his farming operations in the name of “progress,” which usually comes in the form of freeways built on top of and replacing fertile farm ground. The Legacy of Legacy In 1999 UDOT moved the main Bangerter family farm (30 acres that they bought in the 1970s). The farm was located in the intended path of the Legacy Parkway , so … [Read more...]
Farms vs. Suburbia: Does Population Growth Mean the End of Family Farms?
The Wasatch Front has been growing out rather than up for years. Sprawl is now threatening Utah’s most successful family farms. Over eighty percent of Utah residents say they want more farms, open space, and locally produced food, but it appears that city, state and local leaders haven’t received the memo. As with most things political, it’s all about the money. Thayne … [Read more...]
Utah’s Intermountain Farmers Association
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? In the Intermountain Farmers Association history, the egg came first. Launched in 1923 as a business cooperative to boost local economies, the Utah Poultry Producers Association achieved success by quickly establishing egg receiving plants in key Utah locations. Recognizing market growth in other commercial territories, the … [Read more...]
Cash or Crops?
The foothills in Perry, Utah, are flourishing with fully loaded green peach and apricot orchards. Looking west are lake views of Willard Bay, the Great Salt Lake and a few large homes. To the east are small canyons and a gravel pit. Thayne Tagge is taking me on a tour in his nearly bumperless Toyota Prius on a narrow dirt road,.“This is way cool. You have got to see this,” … [Read more...]
Suburban Sprawl in Utah– its effect on Utah Farmers
Freeway projects and growth along I-15 are gobbling up Utah's family farms For the past 15 years a mass migration has been underway from the Eastern to the Western United States. Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago have all had population declines while Tucson, Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City and Provo have seen significant population increases. A major reason for the western … [Read more...]