Two years ago there were 80 hopeful applicants vying for the coveted “golden ticket” to be one of ten of the official medical cannabis growers for Utah’s medical cannabis program. Only eight were chosen, one provisionally. The capital requirements disqualified 90% of applicants. Indoor-growing using hydroponics disqualified many more. To produce a consistent product, an … [Read more...]
Bulldozing Utah Farms For Vacation Condos: Is this what progress looks like?
Why isn’t food security and the preservation of farms and fertile soil and water an issue in Utah? Fights in Costco and grocery stores over scarce food items during Covid-19 demonstrate that food security and preservation of farms must be a greater concern of Utah political leaders. This past spring we had a small window into what happens when food insecurity and the … [Read more...]
Why Are Beef Prices Skyrocketing? Can Utah Ranchers Survive?
Covid-19 has revealed the huge problem Utah cattle ranchers face due to multinational corps controlling beef processing. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST WATCH THE VIDEO In Utah and the west cattle ranching in our rural areas is one of the most defining characteristics of what most would consider our cultural heritage. But today more than ever, rural Utah ranchers and small towns … [Read more...]
Utah Farmers Adapting to Farmers Market Changes: Getting Creative with Selling Utah Local Goods and Produce
This summer will be Tamera and Randy Hed of Blue Spring Farm’s 19th year at the Downtown Farmers Market, but things are going to look a little differently this year. The typical festival-type atmosphere of the event will be reduced to simply a place to pick up essential foods like locally produced meats, dairy, and produce. There will be no arts and crafts booths, no prepared … [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 is at an Impasse Over its Water Strategy
Steve Erickson is the self-identified “public policy person” for the Utah Audubon Council. He is part of the advisory team that is meant to send a state water strategy to Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s desk. He said on Wednesday on Utah's capitol hill that the 197-page plan should be a “live document.” It’s due on July 19. But that didn’t keep Erickson from adding this: “The … [Read more...]
Sheep Wool Fertilizer Pellets
In an emerald-green valley in Croydon, Utah, tucked away in Morgan County like a well-kept secret, lies Albert Wilde’s farm. Albert produces a unique product, one that is growing in popularity with gardeners and farmers as it becomes more available and more familiar—sheep pellets. No, not that kind of sheep pellets. Albert’s pellets are made of wool. Albert is … [Read more...]
Utah Ranch Viable Thanks to Wildlife not Livestock
Croydon UT—The Wilde family is now in their sixth generation of raising 2,800 sheep and 300 head of cattle on 17,000 acres. But despite having all of these animals and all this land, the Wildes earn close to nothing on the livestock. Instead, their living is made from the wildlife. In a changing trend of both consumer demand for wild game, which is healthier, and the growing … [Read more...]
How Our Choices Affect Our Landscape – Utah Stories Farm Issue July 2017
We recently took a close look at the farms in Sevier County. There are some massive, football field sized warehouses housing thousands of chickens. You don’t see the chickens. There are acres of alfalfa pastures watered automatically—no animals. Across the street there is a very smelly feedlot where cows are standing atop piles of their own manure while putting on massive … [Read more...]