Gary and I had the privilege of traveling with fellow Trumbull County Farm Bureau members last month to the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in Salt Lake City. Farm Bureau members from all over the U.S. gathered to do the business of this national organization.
Having never been to Utah, nor knowing much about the state, our visit made a great first impression. First off, it was warmer than it was here in Ohio, a big plus in January. The mountains surrounding the city were snow-covered making them look even more beautiful!
The trip left me wondering about the specifics of Utah agriculture. What crops do they grow? Do they raise a lot of livestock?
What I found was diverse agricultural production that contributes about $1.8 billion to Utah’s economy every year.
The best farmland is an area called The Wasatch Front, which extends 105 miles, running north and south, from Brigham City to Provo. This also happens to be where 75% of the population lives. Utah has lost about 100,000 acres of farmland over the last decade, but the average farm size has remained about 600 acres.
The statistics I found were pretty detailed. They show 62.1% of the 17,900 farms are between 1 and 49 acres. Farms with 50 to 179 acres make up 17.2%. Farms with 180 to 499 acres make up 9.6%. And the biggest farms that are 500 or more acres make up 11%.
So, what crops do they grow? Utah has six primary crops that contribute to its economy.
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Photo Credit: wisconsin-farm-bureau
Categories: Wisconsin, Government & Policy