Utah Farmland Values Up 5.6 Percent in 2013

Average farm real estate values, a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms, in Utah at $1,900 per acre was up 5.6 percent compared to 2012, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Utah Field Office.

Cropland in Utah averaged a value of $2,820 per acre in 2013, an increase of 4.8 percent from 2012. Irrigated cropland in the State was valued at an average of $5,200 per acre, up 4 percent from 2012 while non-irrigated cropland was valued at an average of $1,100 per acre, a rise of 6.8 percent from the year before.

Utah pasture land in 2013 was valued at an average of $950 per acre, an increase of 3.3 percent from 2012. USDA

For a look at the more detailed report and comparisons with the rest of the nation, see here.

Senate immigration bill would remake economy

Landmark immigration legislation passed by the Senate would remake America’s workforce from the highest rungs to the lowest, bringing more immigrants into numerous sectors of the economy, from elite technology companies to restaurant kitchens and rural fields.

In place of the unauthorized workers now commonly found laboring in lower-skilled jobs in the agriculture or service industries, many of these workers would be legal, some of them permanent resident green card holders or even citizens. Salt Lake Tribune

National Agricultural Statistics tools

The USDA has several online tools to help users get commonly requested statistics in an online database. Through these tools you can access agricultural data published by NASS, obtain an agricultural statistics profile for a particular subject area or commodity. See here to gain access to these tools from the USDA.

Census of Agriculture Helps Grow Your Farm Future

Planting season is here and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is providing Utah farmers and ranchers a final chance to respond to the 2012 Census of Agriculture.

The Census of Agriculture, conducted only once every five years, is the only source of consistent and comprehensive agricultural data for every state and county in the nation. It looks at farms, value of land, market value of agricultural production, farm practices, expenditures, demographic data, marketing information and other factors that affect the way farmers and ranchers conduct business. The information is used by town planners, policy makers, agri-businesses and others to help make important decisions for Utah communities.

NASS recently began mailing a final copy of the 2012 Census of Agriculture to producers who have not yet responded. NASS is committed to ensuring that every farm and ranch operation in Utah is counted. National Agricultural Statistics Service

Utah Annual Chicken and Egg Production

Utah egg production during the year ending November 30, 2012 totaled 1.0 billion eggs, up 4 percent from 2011. Utah chicken layer numbers during 2012 averaged 3.65 million, up 5 percent from 2011. The annual average production per layer on hand in 2012 was 276 eggs, down 1 percent from 2011.

The full report can be found here.

Agriculture plays important role in Utah economy

Agriculture continues to play an important role in Utah’s economy, according to a Utah State University study.

The study found that when taking into account related industries such as food processing, agriculture contributed $17.5 billion to the state’s economy in 2011, or 14.1 percent of the total. It also found that agricultural production and processing directly and indirectly generated about 78,000 jobs and $2.7 billion in compensation.

The study, released Friday at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food offices, took a broader view of agriculture’s impact than previous studies by examining all related sectors. Insurance Journal

USDA Designates 597 Counties in 2013 as Drought Disaster Areas – Seventeen in Utah

Source: USDA

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today designated 597 counties in 14 states as primary natural disaster areas due to drought and heat, making all qualified farm operators in the areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans. These are the first disaster designations made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2013.

The 597 counties have shown a drought intensity value of at least D2 (Drought Severe) for eight consecutive weeks based on U.S. Drought Monitor measurements, providing for an automatic designation. The Drought Monitor is produced in partnership by USDA, the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It helps USDA determine county disaster designations due to drought. The Drought Monitor measures drought intensity on a scale from D1 to D4, as follows:

D1: Moderate Drought
D2: Severe Drought
D3: Extreme Drought
D4: Exceptional Drought

Visit www.usda.gov/drought for the latest information regarding USDA’s drought response and assistance, and http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_state.htm?UT,W for information on Utah. Southeast AgNet

Deal Reached for Stopping Spike in Milk Prices

The top leaders in both parties on the House and Senate Agriculture committees have agreed to a one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill that expired in October, a move that could head off a possible doubling of milk prices next month.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., indicated the House could vote on the bill soon, though House leaders have not yet agreed to put the bill on the floor. In addition to the one-year extension that has the backing of the committees, the House GOP is also considering two other extension bills: a one-month extension and an even smaller bill that would merely extend dairy policy that expires Jan. 1.

Expiration of those dairy programs could mean higher prices at the grocery store within a few weeks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Americans face the prospect of paying $7 for a gallon of milk if the current dairy program lapsed and the government returned to a 1948 formula for calculating milk price supports.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday that Republican leaders had not decided how they would proceed on the farm extension, though a vote could come as soon as Monday. Boehner has pushed back on passage of a new five-year farm bill for months, saying there were not enough votes to bring it to the House floor after the House Agriculture Committee approved it in July. The Senate passed its version of a farm bill in June. Salt Lake Tribune

World Food Prices Drop

United Nations agency says prices of basic foods fell by 1.5 percent last month, with the international prices of all commodities except dairy products dropping.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said Thursday that the decline puts the value of its November index nearly 3 percent below a year ago.

It said sugar prices underwent the sharpest drop, followed by oils and cereals.

Earlier this year the food agency had warned that bad weather, including severe drought in North America, could send prices soaring and trigger a repeat of the rioting and unrest that hit parts of the developing world in 2007-2008. But prices in recent months have been steadily declining. Salt Lake Tribune

Foreign sheepherders in Utah divided on wages, working conditions

Some migrant herders who have worked in Utah complain that their living conditions were inadequate, food was scarce and pay was poor.

Some fled from the employers who paid to bring them to the U.S., while others are now making a legal complaint to the U.S. Department of Labor, petitioning for better working conditions for future herders coming from Latin America to work on Utah's isolated ranges.

Most migrant sheepherders come from Peru or Chile, contracting to work long, lonely hours in harsh conditions for a minimum of $750 a month, most of which is sent home to their families in South America.
They are specialized in their field; most have tended sheep all their lives.

Curt Stewart, spokesman for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, said the monthly rate for sheepherders hasn't changed in "a long time."

The program has sparked debate about living conditions, treatment of workers and compensation, drawing rave reviews from some H-2A visa holders —temporary agricultural work visas —and criticism from others.
Some employers have complained that after paying to bring workers to the U.S., the men abandon their posts after only a few months to seek more gainful employment in other industries, such as the oil fields. Others take pride in seeing workers return to their ranch for several contracts.


The life of a sheepherder is taxing. Herders spend weeks or months living alone in tiny trailers on the range, working seven days a week without a day off and no one but the sheep and a few dogs for company.
Tonia Fuller, a spokeswoman for the Utah Wool Growers Association, said complaints by foreign workers are trumped up by unnamed groups seeking to harm the sheep industry.

Those who accept sheepherder jobs do so knowing what the conditions will be like and what the job expectations will be thanks to a screening and interview during the application process.

Chad Edgington who owns Ace Land Livestock, said it's in ranchers' best interest to treat the workers well, provide them with top-of-the line gear and encourage them to return. More than that, he said, it's the right thing to do.

In 18 years, Edgington said he has only had one migrant worker skip out on a contract. As returning workers come back for new contracts, they bring hugs, gifts and tales of their families to share with him.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services facilitates the inspections, as required by the Department of Labor. Ranchers in rural areas have the option of conducting and reporting self-inspections, although an in-person inspection is required by the department every three years.

Inspections include checking the housing site, water supply, restroom and bathing facilities, cooking areas, safety measures and other standards stipulated by the Operational Safety and Health Administration, Stewart said.

The Department of Workforce Services also provides an ombudsman who can take employee complaints or those filed on behalf of employees by concerned parties.

Simple violations such as missing window screens or dead batteries in smoke detectors are met with a warning and sometimes a fine or a follow-up inspection. Serious violations are handled by the Department of Labor, which is responsible for issuing fines.

In the past year, Workforce Services has conducted 30 investigations of sheepherder operations in Utah, citing four violations, he said.

Retaining skilled sheepherders who have familiarized themselves with the operation is the best way to benefit ranchers, Stewart said, which is why it is important the workers have the option of a three-year contract and aren't required to spend six months outside of the U.S. between contracts.

"Experience and continuity are key to successful sheep herding because of the large, expansive grazing land that comprise most sheep operations and the necessity to care for the animals themselves," Stewart said. Deseret News

Road corridors, housing, businesses devouring agricultural spaces

Mormon crickets played a key adversarial role in the early history of farming in Utah, but increasingly the pest is giving way to an even greater challenge facing modern-day farmers in the Beehive State: development.
Utah’s growth is coming at the expense of its farmland, creating more questions than definitive answers when looking at the state’s future.

Randy Parker, president of the state Farm Bureau, is hesitant to be too specific about where agriculture will be in the Beehive State in the next two decades, but he’s confident the need for agricultural products will grow, even as the state may lose farmland to development.

Of the state’s roughly 16,600 farms, approximately 12 million acres are in agricultural use. Of those 12 million acres, 1.2 million are irrigated. Read more: Standard Examiner

Continued Drought Could End Farming Tradition

Lee Ray Sorensen once told his sons Mark and Neil that the groundwater ditch that ran alongside their hay and cattle farm would always have enough water to feed their fields. The brothers can now stick half of the length of their arms into cracks between the dried mud where that water used to be. With all of Utah’s 29 counties now declared drought disaster areas, the Sorensen brothers near Spring City in northern Sanpete County are not the only farmers who have seen this season’s hopes dry up and become dusty before their eyes.

Since October 2011, only 17.2 inches of rain has fallen on northern Sanpete County, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That is just over half of the previous water year's 32.5 inches.

While many farmers throughout the state, including Utah County farmers, have been able to fall back on water storage and reservoirs, the farmers in the Sanpete Valley have little to no water storage to draw from for their crops and livestock. The natural springs and runoff from the mountains that usually supply the region fell short this year after last winter's lessened contribution in spring snow melt. Daily Herald

Wildfire Rehabilitation Funding for Utah

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced $972,000 in additional conservation funding is now available to help with rehabilitation of private rangelands impacted by Utah wildfires this year. Ranchers impacted by officially-designated fires should apply at NRCS offices by September 10.

NRCS State Conservationist Dave Brown said the following conservation practices will be eligible for payments: prescribed grazing (deferred grazing for a minimum of rest for two growing seasons), fence construction (interior fencing only), range seeding (aerial or drilling), construction of watering troughs (only those destroyed by fire), and brush management (chaining). He noted that the applications of eligible producers will be placed in a pool of applicants and be screened using established ranking criteria. Main Street Business Journal

Drought not the only thing killing crops in Utah

A bumper crop normally is a good thing for farmers, but some say the unusually large harvest is having the opposite effect.

Under normal circumstances, a bumper crop of cherries would be a good thing. But Washington state also had a bumper crop, which usually follows the Utah market, and Utah follows the California market.

There is some overlap between the end of the California cherry season and the beginning of Utah's season, and again with the end of Utah's season and the beginning of Washington's. Michael said that could cause the markets to have too many cherries.

"The price dropped," said Janna Tyler, owner of Nielson's Fruit at 2055 S. U.S. 89, "and we could not afford to pay our pickers and get the price out of them that we should have gotten because people can buy them elsewhere." Deseret News

Utah’s hardy harvest

Recalling last year’s cold, wet June and its deleterious effects on hot-weather-loving plants, we should welcome this year’s long, blistering summer with open arms and empty bellies. The first corn appeared in farmers markets around July 4 — two to three weeks ahead of schedule. Peaches weren’t far behind, coming on at the same time as cherries.

What this means is certain vegetables and fruits are peaking earlier than usual, and other crops will have a longer growing season. "This season will be perfect for me, as the market generally closes too early and I end up throwing late-harvest produce away," says Ron Jensen, of North Ogden’s Jensen Farms, one of the seven original vendors 20 years ago at the Downtown Farmers Market. August promises to be exceptional for those of us who love fresh, local produce.



Whether you are making regular visits to a farmers market, participating in a local food delivery from a local farm, or harvesting crops from your own garden, high-quality fruits and vegetables — familiar and less so — are both accessible and abundant. While corn, tomatoes and zucchini are old friends, perhaps it’s time to get acquainted with two other denizens of the garden: chard and blackberries.

Now’s the time to explore the wonders of the produce world, whether your treasures come in the form of a weekly delivery from a farm’s community supported agriculture share, or from wandering through one of the many farmers markets around the city, or from the new crops you’ve added to your garden this year.

Not only can you savor these fruits and vegetables at their summer peak, you can freeze or preserve them, allowing you to relive the exquisite flavors of summer all year round. Salt Lake Tribune

Related: Utah seeing a bumper crops Salt Lake Tribune

Families struggle to build savings as grocery costs rise

In an already struggling economy, building up savings can be hard for families, especially when food prices start to soar, according to Money Morning.

On July 25, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told Americans to expect to pay 3 to 4 percent more for groceries in 2013, according to Money Morning.

The cost of beef will rise the most, as prices are expected to rise 4 to 5 percent, and dairy products will cost 3.5 to 4.5 percent more as well, according to the USDA. Egg and poultry prices are expected to rise 2.5 to 3.5 percent in 2013.

The warm winter had many farmers thinking this summer's crop might be a good one, but the heat wave has changed that, according to Money Morning. The drought has now affected approximately 60 percent of the continental U.S. That's the largest portion of the nation since the droughts of the 1930s and 1950s. Deseret News

Federal agency declares drought disaster in Utah and 25 others

Sixteen drought-stricken Utah counties been declared natural-disaster areas, the biggest such declaration ever by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The action makes farmers and ranchers eligible for low-interest loans to help them weather the drought, wildfires and other disasters, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday.

Utah’s remaining 13 counties are considered to be so close to the natural disaster areas that they also are impacted, and eligible for emergency loans.

About $39 million is available under the program nationwide. But Mike McCandless, economic development director for Emery County, said drought and wildfires have brought so much devastation to ranchers that his county alone could use up a sizeable chunk of the money.

Wildfires recently scorched 50,000 acres in Emery and Carbon counties, burning up summer grazing pastures. On top of that, drought in the San Rafael Swell of south-central Utah forced ranchers to remove their cattle from the desert range in early June — rather than September or October during normal years. Now, ranchers are feeding hundreds of head of cattle hay that’s typically reserved for December. Salt

Lake Tribune

UDAF establishes emergency animal feed fund

Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) has received numerous requests for assistance from livestock owners impacted by the unprecedented string of wildfires. As a result, UDAF announces the activation of an emergency animal feed program in coordination with the Utah Emergency Animal Response Coalition.

The "Animal Feed Fund" account has been established at Wells Fargo Bank, where the public can make cash donations that will be used to purchase for livestock and other animals in need.

In addition, an interactive website, http://www.uearc.org, is now available for the public to make donations and for livestock owners to make requests for assistance. The site is also reachable via www.ag.utah.gov.

UEARC (U-ARK) is an authorized 501(c) 3 organization that has been established for some time to care for animals during times of emergencies. One hundred percent of funds donated will be used to feed and care for affected animals.  ThePyramid

USU awarded bulk of state specialty crop grants

The Utah Department of Agriculture & Food has approved 16 projects to  receive a total of $260,151 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Specialty Crop Block Grant funds.

Twenty seven applications were submitted which requested a total of $600,000 in funding. The selected projects demonstrated a measurable benefit for the specialty crop industry and are expected to assist more than just a single producer. Recipients were selected based on USDA requirements that projects enhance the competitiveness of other Utah specialty crop producers. Standard-Examiner

Keeping sage grouse off endangered species list helps state, economy

By early July, Gov. Gary Herbert will receive a list of recommendations that could shape Utah's plan to keep the imperiled sage grouse from landing on the endangered species list.

Such a classification could jeopardize energy development and ranching while forcing a federal solution rather than a local one — reminiscent of the economic fallout from endangered listing of the northern spotted owl.

The listing is not what any of the 11 impacted states want, said Kathleen Clarke, chairwoman of the Utah Governor's Sage Grouse Working Group.
In a legislative interim meeting earlier this week, Clarke updated state lawmakers on efforts made so far to craft a locally driven plan to conserve the species, which has suffered drastic declines in population due to myriad threats.
In March 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the species warranted being listed, but the designation was precluded because of a backlog of other species with higher priority.

The delay in the designation has given states a new deadline of 2014 to prove to the federal agency that conservation efforts on a state-by-state basis are sufficiently protective. After a one-year progress review period of the affected Western states, the agency will make a decision in 2015. KSL