4D: Animal agriculture in Utah, a multi-billion-dollar industry

There are about 18,409 farms in the state, 9,728 of which raise livestock. In 2020, the most recent year available, Utah’s total cash receipts for agricultural production was nearly $1.8 billion. Livestock and animal products made up roughly 70 percent of this output, bringing in more than $1.2 billion in cash receipts annually. Meat animals make up about half of that figure, with beef representing the largest portion of this sector, at nearly $.5 billion. Dairy products and milk make up another $400 million of this total.

The major factors currently challenging beef producers in Utah are drought and increasing input costs. As a result, Utah’s beef producers are improving genetic selection practices that better match genetic predisposition and available production system resources. They are also implementing innovative management approaches such as incorporating non-traditional feed supplement strategies. Access to range and range conditions have also declined in many parts of the state, which puts further strain on the industry.

The Utah sheep and goat industries experience a number of challenges, including costs of labor, impacts of drought, animal loss from predation, and access to range. However, despite these challenges Utah sheep and goat producers continue to provide Utah with wool, food, grazing of noxious and invasive weeds, and fuel reduction for mitigation of wildfires.

Labor and drought are the two major issues facing the Utah dairy industry. People willing to perform the manual labor required to milk, feed, bed, and care for the animals are in short supply. As water restrictions increase, it is critical that priority be given to use water to produce food, including feed for animals that produce food. The Utah dairy industry is engaged in conversations with the public about the value of animal protein in human diets and education on the food supply chain. Poultry production numbers in Utah in the form of turkeys and chickens for egg production and meat birds have remained steady the past five years, but avian Influenza has become a threat, infecting over a million birds in 2022.