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Lt. Governor Gary Herbert honored nine farmers and ranchers from Box Elder, Tooele, Summit, Juab, Kane, Duchesne, Emery and Sevier Counties during a two-hour celebration at the Salt Lake Little America Hotel Tuesday, October 17, 2006.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s (UDAF) $56 million Agriculture Resource Development Loan Program (ARDL) celebrated its 30th anniversary during a special program. The ARDL program is credited with helping hundreds of farmers remain in business, strengthen Utah’s rural economy and improve the environment.

Lt. Governor Herbert and Utah Commissioner of Agriculture and Food, Leonard Blackham, honored the following farm operators with the “Lifetime ARDL Conservationist Award” that evening:

Charles Taylor of Tremonton, Box Elder County;
Darrell Johnson of Rush Valley, Tooele County;
Jerrold Richins of Coalville, Summit County;
Kent Bateman of Levan, Juab County;
Norm Carroll of Glendale, Kane County;
Allan Smith of Roosevelt, Duchesne County;
Merrill Duncan of Ferron, Emery County;
Brad Johnson of Aurora, Sevier County; and
David Pace of Richfield, Sevier County.

Award Recipients Biographical Sketches

Each recipient is pictured with Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert (l) and Commissioner of Agriculture Leonard Blackham (r)

 

Charles R. Taylor
Mr. Taylor and his family moved to the Snowville area from Kansas in the early fifties. After acquiring significant acreage and water rights in the area, they were able to develop the land for successful farming. He and his children’s families still work more than 5,000 acres in the area. Although alfalfa hay is the main crop they also grow grain crops including wheat for the organic market. Mr. Taylor was also a successful equipment dealer in Tremonton for many years.

 

Darrell Johnson
Mr. Johnson has been a successful rancher and farmer in the Rush Valley area for many years. Much of the ranch property he owns is in the Johnson Pass area (named for an ancestor) that he has improved to provide greater spring flows, better water quality, less soil erosion and better grazing for livestock and wildlife. He has worked with Utah State University and other entities to improve conditions and provide an excellent subject for research in range development. He is a member of the local conservation district; the chair of the Utah Grazingland Network and member of State Grazing Advisory Board.

 

Jerrold Richins
Mr. Richins, a Coalville rancher in Summit County, has provided local leadership that resulted in the successful cooperation of landowners for the improvement of the Chalk Creek watershed. This water quality project serves as an example of how a waterway can be improved, for all water users, through proper practices and partnerships among landowners, state and federal agencies. He served as chair of the local conservation district and worked closely with the Coalville irrigation companies during this watershed project.

 

Kent Bateman
Mr. Bateman, along with extended and immediate family members, operated a large dairy farm in Salt Lake County for many years. They conducted farm tours for many children over the years, thus helping to educate Utahns in their area of agriculture and conservation. Their recent move to Juab County has benefited that county’s economy. Their state of the art facility contributes to water quality and serves as an example for progressive, efficient and successful agriculture.

 

Norman Carroll
Mr. Carroll served as a local, zone and state conservation district leader for many years. As a rancher in Kane County, his rangeland projects cover many acres and demonstrate the best practices available and reflect his consistent desire to care for the land while improving the efficiency of his operations. Mr. Carroll became an effective advocate for the ARDL program, and his efforts convinced others to finance beneficial projects on their farms and ranches.

 

Allan Smith
A third generation successful rancher, Mr. Smith helped pioneer several effective land management practices in the Sand Wash watershed of the Eastern part of the Uintah Basin. These projects effectively improved a 14,000 acre area in addition to providing information, through successful results, to government agencies that could provide help for others. He has been very active in various local and national organizations related to conservation and agriculture.

 

Merrill Duncan
As a rancher, farmer and canal company manager in the Ferron watershed, Mr. Duncan contributed greatly to the completion of a large project in his area which has resulted in pressurized irrigation for the entire area. The results are impressive throughout the watershed and in the conservation of precious resources. Not the least is the irrigation projects on Mr. Duncan’s property which have greatly improved his water efficiency and crop productivity.

 

David Pace
Mr. Pace has been an employee of the Utah Association of Conservation Districts (UACD) for over 23 years. UACD zone coordinators are the first line field staff to get ARDL projects on the ground. He has been instrumental in the development and success of the ARDL program especially in the central and southwestern Utah Zones. He has been the program’s best and most successful backer in its development and operation using his experience, knowledge, skill and influence has further its effectiveness at the local and state levels.

 

Bradley Johnson
As a member of the Utah Legislature for the past 16 years, Mr. Johnson has been instrumental in the passing of legislation to initiate and improve the ARDL Program as well as other important agriculture and conservation related programs. His family has set good examples of land and water stewardship on their ranch properties in Central Utah. They have enhanced the productivity and environmental health of their property. His efforts have enabled many families to stay on the farm and ranch for another generation and left the land better than when he started.

BACKGROUND

ARDL is a low-interest loan program that encourages farmers and ranchers to make improvements to their operations such as adding more efficient irrigation systems, or planting grasses on their livestock rangeland. These improvements increase their production while helping care for the state’s natural resources. Most ARDL recipients are more profitable which means they contribute to their local economy. A secondary benefit is the protection of open space. Financially stable farms and ranches are able to be passed down to the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

“We’ve enjoyed 30 years of a very successful program and we are pleased to honor several outstanding farmers and ranchers,” said Commissioner of Agriculture and Food, Leonard Blackham. “Our celebration will also help kick off the next phase of our program by introducing the Grazing Improvement Program.”

GIP is a program that is intended to help Utah’s $600 million livestock and grazing industry by supporting ecologically sound grazing practices and strengthening the voice of ranching during the public policy debate. By making ranching more profitable, the program is helping to strengthen the economy of rural Utah.

History: The Utah Legislature created the Rangeland Development Loan Program in 1976 to encourage livestock owners to remove invasive pinion cedar trees and sage brush and replant native grasses as forage for their herds. The practice became very popular since it lead to increased herd size and improved animal health. It also increased the amount of water on the land, and its downstream quality. It also replaced water-consuming plants with water-stingy grass. This practice is generally regarded by the livestock industry as an effective tool to prevent overgrazing of the state’s natural resources.

In the 1983 the program changed its name to the Agriculture Resource Development Loan program (ARDL) and offered its low-interest loans to other farmers and ranchers. Many hay and alfalfa growers have participated and have increased their production while reducing water consumption. The funds have also been used for manure management, farm-energy and flood mitigation projects.

EXAMPLE: Kane County rancher Norm Carroll of Glendale, reconditioned 4,000 acres of his rangeland over the past 20 years with several ARDL loans and reports that his cattle are heavier, in better health, and they consume about 10 percent of the grasses; and that the water runoff has increased significantly and has less silt.

EXAMPLE: Dairy farmer Kent Bateman of Juab County used two ARDL loans to construct one of the most advanced manure management systems in the state for his large dairy. He constructed a gravity-flow water system that flushes the manure into settling ponds where the solids are separated and composted and mixed with sand for bedding for the animals. The other solids are spread on his alfalfa fields as fertilizer. Half of the water is used for alfalfa irrigation and the other half is pumped back up to higher elevation ponds where it starts the process over again. He says the ARDL loans have helped keep him in business.

The theme of the celebration is “Resource Conservation is Everybody’s Business.”

Posted October 19, 2006