Ken White discusses how he believes many of the trends seen in farming over the last twenty years will slow or reverse themselves. He also explains the role he sees family farms playing in the future.

This shows how land use has changed in Cache County from 1986 to 2015.

This is a comparison of future growth affecting Cache Valley Agriculture under four regulatory scenarios: current trends (far left), some regulation aiming to protect farmland (middle left), some regulation aiming to protect farmland and waterways (middle right), and stringent regulation protecting farmland and waterways (far right). It was created by USU graduate student Enjie Li. Click to animate.

We see agriculture continuing to play a vital role in Cache Valley's economy and culture for the forseeable future. Clark Israelsen said, "A hundred years ago, 80% of our population was directly tied to the farm. The percentage obviously diminishes with each generation, but it seems that we all like to have some connection with the past. And that is certainly one of them."

The demand for agricultural lands remains high, but the availability of such land is limited. Israelsen also explained that farms are landlocked, meaning that family farmers are unable to buy land either because it is unavailable, or because the price is so high that the farm is unable to generate enough income to afford it.

Industrial farms also face pressures from regional land development. Many of them have tight budgets and find it difficult to find affordable locations where citizens won't complain about the side effects of industrial farms, such as smells and noise. 

Another pressure farmers are facing is an ever-increasing population in the valley. We’ve included on this page a gif showing a simulation of how population growth will squeeze agriculture under different regulatory scenarios. While we certainly don’t recommend that construction on agricultural land be prohibited and that Logan become a city of high-density housing, the types of construction allowed by each town in the valley will have an incredible impact on where farming occurs, what is produced, how much of it is produced, the profitability of both family and industrial farms, and the availability of irrigation water for crops. The image showing how land use has changed tells an interesting story. In the last 30 years, we’ve seen the amount of urbanized land in the valley nearly double. It would not be unrealistic to expect the whole valley from Smithfield to Hyrum and along Highway 89 to Wellsville become urbanized. We’re certainly already headed in that direction.

Despite the gobbling up of agricultural lands for people and the many other challenges Cache Valley farms will face in the future, there is a great deal of good news for both family farms and industrial farms as well. Ken White explains, “The big farms are always going to be there because those are how we feed the world.” Industrial farms are an important economic engine because of their contribution of food and jobs in the valley. Additionally, industrial farms are adept at adapting to changing market forces and complying with regulations.

In the face of economic and market changes, family farms also continue to thrive in Cache Valley. Ken White said, “There’s a new corner in agriculture. It’s smaller-scale, more of a niche market, more of a local market, and I think people today like that.” There will always be the need for food and there is a need for both family and industrial farms because of free market demands both domestically and abroad.