TAKEAWAY
Crop production in Utah supports local food security, and work is ongoing to improve plant varieties and growing practices while remaining profitable.
Location matters in fruit, vegetable, forage, and grain production.
Plant scientists at Utah State University assist Utah farmers in answering a key question: What crops should be grown each year with less available water, soil and temperature constraints specific to their area, and to make a profit?
It isn’t always an easy question to address—the answer for a farmer in Caineville isn’t necessarily the same for a grower in Payson. Test plots at Utah Agricultural Experiment Station research farms and with cooperating growers across the states help to identify crops—whether it’s alfalfa, wheat, peaches or cherries— that perform best under the growing conditions specific to locations around the state. This effort allows for better stewardship and sustainability on Utah lands, which includes both caring for natural resources and sustaining profitability.
As less water is available to agricultural producers, salinity in agricultural water sources is a growing problem. Utah soils tend to be high in salts, and less water means higher concentrations of salts, which impede a plant’s abilities to take up water.
Orchards and other fruit production operations are especially impacted by residential and commercial development in the state because they are concentrated in areas with growing populations on land attractive to developers. Location matters for the production of fruit, vegetable, forage, and grains—crops that are highly dependent on temperature and soil quality. Fruit crops are especially sensitive to temperature changes in the spring and fall.
A few degrees difference at critical points in development can determine whether there will be a plentiful crop or little-to-no fruit produced in a year. Unlike crops that are planted annually, orchards and berry farms require substantial, long-term investmentin the establishment of trees, plants, irrigation systems, soil fertility, and insect management. These perennial crops can’t be easily moved and remain productive and profitable.
Agriculture provides ecosystem services, including preserving open space, holding soil to prevent wind and water erosion (which impact air and water quality), carbon and nutrient cycling, filtering water that recharges groundwater, and some temperature regulation. Local food production has become more important to consumers and is especially important to the economies and people in rural communities. Utah may not be a crop-production powerhouse, but it ranks high in certain categories. In 2021, Utah ranked 13th in barley, 12th in alfalfa, and 4th in safflower production. Utah has also long been the country’s second-largest producer of tart cherries (2021 Utah Agricultural Statistics, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service).