 |
| Photo courtesy of eoearth.org |
Recently released survey results have
indicated that a large number of Southwestern Utahns have expressed concern
regarding the future of agriculture in the state.
By 2050, it is expected that Utah's population
will have doubled in size to around 5,400,000 residents, potentially cutting
the per-person production in half.
Participants in Envision Utah's "Your
Utah, Your Future" survey were asked to rate their preferences in
different scenarios relating to agriculture. Residents of southwestern Utah
have rated the improvement of Utah's self-sufficiency as the highest priority.
The improvement of rural Utah's economy and the maintenance of open space
provided farms and ranches were ranked second and third.
According to the Envision Utah results,
Utah's food production has declined. The state is only producing two percent of
its vegetables, two percent of its fruit and twenty-five percent of its dairy.
This may be due to loss of water and
farmland, which is a result of land development, according to Ari Bruening,
chief operating officer at Envision Utah.
"One way to create food
self-sufficiency is to increase that land," Bruening said.
"This could also maybe mean moving
away from hay and alfalfa in some places and using it for root
vegetables."
The survey indicated that 98 percent of
participants want to increase self-sufficiency from agriculture. Residents want
to do this by using more land for agricultural purposes.
Many Southwestern Utahns are willing to
stop building homes and businesses on high-quality agricultural land to make
this possible.
People in Southwestern Utah are even more
willing to use less water for their lawns.
"We found what came out on top was
water for agriculture food was more important than anything else,"
Bruening said.
"What people were saying is, I would
rather take water from my own yard than take it from agriculture."
Bruening said the results will be utilized
by the task force in order to "put together a vision" that can be
implemented for Utah's future.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com
No comments:
Post a Comment