AGRICULTURE
In April and May 2015, 52,845 Utahns shared their voice through the Your Utah, Your Future survey. Participants chose their favorite scenarios for Agriculture and other topics. After choosing their favorite scenarios, survey participants had the option to answer a series of questions to prioritize agriculture among other issues, determine the most important outcomes related to agriculture, and identify how willing they would be to take specific actions to ensure those outcomes. The survey results were cross-checked against a random-sample survey to ensure they represented the desires and opinions of Utahns.
What Utahns Want
Utahns want to protect and increase food production in Utah. 97% chose one of two scenarios in which food production in Utah substantially increases for all products by 2050. In both these scenarios, Utah’s communities grow more compactly and use less agricultural land for urban development. Though some farmland is converted, much of the agricultural water from those lands is transferred to other farmland. Other land is put into production, and a portion of Utah’s irrigated alfalfa and hay is converted to fruit and vegetable production. Protein, dairy, and grain production also increase.
Why They Want It
Utahns want to improve food self-sufficiency to be less susceptible to droughts, food supply interruptions, and food contamination that occur in the states and countries that produce Utah’s food. Utahns also want to feed themselves and their children healthy, locally grown food.
What They Are Willing To Do
Utahns are highly willing to cut back on watering their lawns to ensure there is enough water for agriculture. They are also highly willing to avoid building on high-quality farmland and to build their communities more compactly in order to slow the amount of farmland being converted to urban uses. In addition, Utahns are willing to spend more money building water infrastructure to bring non-agricultural water to growing urban areas.
