Reviewing a Century of Utah Agriculture

www.agclassroom.org/ut

Prospering in the Desert …Self-sufficiency

“We will raise our wheat, build our houses, fence our farms, plant our vineyards and orchards, and produce everything that will make our bodies comfortable and happy and in this manner we intend to build up Zion on earth.”

Brigham Young

Current Land Use in Utah

Federal 69%

Private 17%

State 8%

Indian 5%

Urban Area (roads) 1%

With these statistics, it is easy to see why Utah has few crops, but large livestock numbers as livestock graze on public/federal land, unsuitable as cropland.

Growing and Growth in Utah Major Agricultural Enterprises in Utah

1800s to 1940: Utahans desire self-sufficiency

Late 1800s, cotton for cloth, failed in dry environment, rail road made fabrics easier & less expensive to obtain from the east1900s Utah is a major fruit region in the west: cherries, peaches, apricots, pears and applesEarly 1900s surplus dairy products sold to neighboring states (especially those with mines and hungry miners who easily stored cheese)1920s, major sheep and cattle area 1934-35, Utah Drought and Dust Bowl

Growing and Growth in Utah Major Agricultural Enterprises in Utah

1940s - Present day: Utahans no longer self-sufficient

1940 – 1950s, Major western canneries locate in Utah; Utah is the celery capital of the west, pecans, sugar beets, turkeys, chickens, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans, hay, hay, & hay is produced and sold beyond self-sufficiency1970s, largest number of purebred sheep in the world1980s, 2 million Utahans, population outstrips agricultural production, most food is imported into Utah

Growing and Growth in UtahIn the late 1960s Utah could no longer compete with California fruit and vegetable production. The variety of fruits and vegetables once grown in Utah for self-sufficiency and then for export began to disappear.

At the same time other industries including medicine, space, and electronics began to diversify Utah's economy. While crop production is important to the states agricultural economy, the variety of crops are few in number. Livestock now plays a greater role in Utah agriculture.

Growing and Growth in UtahCalifornia ranks first in agricultural receipts (31.7 billion dollars), Why?

A Mediterranean climate favorable to a variety of fruits and vegetables

Extensive irrigation systems were completed in the late 1950s

Improved transportation railways and roadways, linking California field with the rest of the nation

Improved refrigeration and storage technologies

Proximity to a migrant workforce that can move from crop to crop

What is a billion?If you had 1 million dollars and had to spend $1,000 dollars every day, your money would run out in 1000 days. If you had 1 billion dollars and had to spend $1,000 every day, your money would run out for 2,740 years.

Growing and Growth in Utah21st Century

Utah ranks as the sixth most urban state in the nation. The U.S. Bureau of the Census classifies 87 percent of Utah's population as urban. A person is considered urban if they live in an urbanized area (Utah has four: Logan, Ogden, Salt Lake City and Provo-Orem) or in a city over 2,500 persons. Urban sprawl has converted much of the best farmland in Utah to homes and roads.

Pieces of Utah Agriculture

Cash receipts by Commodity

Cattle & Calves 21%

Vegetables 1%

Fruit & Nuts 1%

Food Grains 3%

Greenhouse & Nursery 5%

Feed Crops 1%

Other Livestock 3%

Poultry & Eggs 10%

All Other Crops 3%

Hay 15%

Milk 24%

Hogs 11%

Sheep & Wool 2%

(poultry, honey, trout, mink)

Livestock and Livestock Products 71%

Crops 29%

1.3 billion dollars annually to the Utah economy

2007