Findings from a recent joint study between the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and Utah State University Extension Department of Applied Economics indicates Utah markets demonstrate the potential for growth opportunities for Utah beef processing and sales businesses.

Utah’s cattle industry accounts for roughly 78% of the state’s cash receipts for meat animals, bringing in just shy of $450 million annually. Dairy and hay are two other large sectors of Utah agriculture, both heavily impacted by local cattle and meat processing. Currently, most Utah cattle are sold as calves and are sent out of state for finishing. With enough demand and processing facilities, Utah beef could feasibly stay in Utah to be processed and sold. This could potentially provide additional revenue for Utah ranchers and economic benefits throughout the state, particularly in rural areas.

The impacts of COVID-19 on the food supply chain highlighted the need for increased capacity and resiliency in Utah’s meat supply chain. Processing plants faced significant impacts, with harvest and processing numbers approximately double those from the same period the previous year. The study indicates wait times for beef processing in 2020 reached 6-12 months, with some wait times lasting as long as 24 months according to anecdotal accounts from producers.

The study also emphasizes the desire of Utah consumers for local beef products and the strong interest of Utah producers in growth opportunities. Smaller processing plants in regional areas can increase the resiliency of the meat supply in Utah and provide the potential for ranchers to develop additional revenue streams. Efforts to build brand awareness and availability as well as education for consumers on how to directly purchase beef from producers will be critical to the success of local beef operations. Programs like Utah’s Own or marketing cooperatives could help satisfy this need.

Read the study in full, including a detailed financial feasibility assessment for very small-scale processing plants here. For questions or additional information about economic development opportunities, please contact Linda Clark Gillmor, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food Director of Marketing and Economic Development at: lgillmor@utah.gov

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This year marks the 100th year in operation for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF). For the past century, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) has proudly supported agricultural and food producers throughout the state. 

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s roots date back to the year of Utah’s statehood when the 1896 legislature formed the State Board of Horticulture, later combined with other agencies in 1921 to form the Department of Agriculture. Through records and photographs available in archives, we’re able to see that farmers even 100 or more years ago faced many of the same challenges familiar to us all today.

“Anniversaries like this centennial can be valuable to help us evaluate where we’ve been and where we’re going. I hope to take this opportunity to look to the future and build on the past,” says UDAF Commissioner Craig Buttars. 

Whether large or small, urban or rural, UDAF serves our farms, ranchers, and food producers as they provide us with safe and delicious food, build our economy and conserve our beautiful mountain valleys and desert landscapes. 

As Utah’s population continues to grow and technologies continue to advance, UDAF’s programs and services will rise to meet the needs and challenges ahead. We look forward to the coming years with great optimism.

Craig W. Buttars

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) is pleased to welcome Craig Buttars as the new Commissioner of Agriculture and Food. Commissioner Buttars has served as Cache County Executive for the past six years and as a member of Utah’s House of Representatives from 1997-2006.  Along with his experience in the legislature and as Cache County Councilmember he brings a wealth of service and experience in production agriculture as a dairy farmer as well as his time in the Utah Farm Bureau where he served as the State Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee Chairman and the Cache County Farm Bureau President.

Click here to learn more about Commissioner Buttars.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) and the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) continue to work with Federal partners, including the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to respond to confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 in people) at Utah mink farms. After multiple rounds of testing and ongoing research and investigations, UDAF and UDOH are pleased to report encouraging findings.

In response to the outbreak, UDAF placed quarantines on all the affected farms restricting movement of mink, products and waste on or off affected farms; these quarantines will remain in place until health officials are confident that the virus is no longer circulating on the farms. UDOH and CDC began testing mink and other domestic animals on the farms, including dogs, cats and mice. Sampling also included farm workers and a small number of their household contacts. Initial testing showed positive results in mink, dogs, and feral cats on the farms.

APHIS also established surveillance and testing of free-roaming animals in the area surrounding the farms to assess any potential spillover into wildlife. Animals captured around the farms included wild and feral mink, skunks, raccoons, house mice and deer mice. The only positive specimen from animals considered to be wildlife was a single wild mink. Epidemiologic investigations and subsequent genomic sequencing of the virus strongly suggest that the virus initially entered the farms and was spread to the mink through infected human contact.

Caretakers and officials observed that once the virus was introduced to the farms, it moved quickly through the farmed mink herd. An increase in deaths occurred over an average span of about 1 week. Deaths were predominantly seen in the adult breeding population of the farms with losses approaching 50% of the breeding animals. No mortalities attributable to SARS-CoV-2 were seen in the other species (cats, dogs, wildlife).

On a few of the affected farms, a second and third round of testing was conducted in October and December to monitor the virus and help determine when and if the quarantines on these farms could be safely lifted. While the results and analysis are still underway for the third round of testing, there is encouraging evidence suggesting that the levels of virus are going down in the mink, cats and dogs living on the farm. Additional community sequencing is needed to fully understand the potential for transmission between people and different animal species in this area; however, at this time, based on extensive epidemiologic investigations, there has been no evidence to date of spread from mink to people in Utah.

All affected farms remain under quarantine. Investigations, including testing, are ongoing for all stages of production on these farms. APHIS has provided guidance for quarantine release that includes serial testing to ensure that infectious virus is cleared from the farms. UDOH and UDAF will continue to work together with Federal partners to provide support and education to affected farmers and promptly respond to any new outbreaks should they occur.

We’d like to thank our One Health partners as well as farm workers for their continued efforts in monitoring, controlling and working to eliminate the spread of this disease on Utah farms.

For additional information visit: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Frequently Asked Questions | CDC

To view the initial August 17, 2020 press release, regarding confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 in Utah mink, click here.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) is accepting Invasive Species Mitigation Weed Control Grant Applications for the 2021-22 seasons. The goal of this program is to allocate funds to projects which have management strategies with a high degree of potential success in the State of Utah.

Eligible Organizations:  Universities; Cooperative Weed Management Areas (CWMA’s); County Weed Boards; Federal or State Agencies; Federal, State, Tribal or Private Landowners; Conservation Districts, nonprofits, and/or other Political Subdivisions.

Limit of Requests:  For FY2022, projects will be funded for the current year only, with the possibility of renewing funding for a multi-year project, based on available funds. Funding for projects will begin July 1, 2021, and terminate June 30, 2022.

For FY2022, UDAF is looking for projects that target high priority species and will reduce the number outlier populations.  The award ceiling for this opportunity is set at $125,000.00.  It is highly recommended that multi-year proposals include a 3-5 year management plan, an extensive monitoring component, solid participating partners, and a strong restoration component.

Application Due Date: Friday, February 26th, 2021 5:00pm

Eligible Activities:

• Early detection & rapid response
• Treating critical acres that protect larger land use areas
• Monitoring and preventing the spread of small populations and new introductions
• Monitoring and rehabilitating established infestations
• Research related to invasive species

Ranking / Incomplete Applications:  Only complete applications will be moved to the ranking committee for project ranking.  As part of UDAF’s dedication to excellence, each grant application will be reviewed for completeness.  Any applications which are incomplete will not be considered for ranking and funding.  All applications will require a Utah Spatial Invasive Infestation Project Analysis (SIIPA) included.  If you are not familiar with the Utah SIIPA, you will need to download the SIIPA modeling ISM Training guide. If you need additional assistance using SIIPA please contact Aaron Eagar.

Specific Ranking Criteria:

• Early Detection Rapid Response / Project Management
• Rehabilitation / Treatment
• Wildfire Threat / Risk
• Economic Benefit
• Wildlife Impact

Required Grant Proposal Links: 

• Application will include a Utah SIIPA Geodatabase file of your project area. (Generated by SIIPA tool)
• Application will include a Utah SIIPA Project Report. (Generated by SIIPA tool)
• Applications including any ground disturbance will be required to submit a supplemental .pdf and shape file of the area to be disturbed for archeological clearance.  No ground disturbance will proceed without written approval from UDAF as defined in U.C.A. 9-8-404(1)(a).
• If a County is listed as the fiscal agent, the County must have an active Weed Board and be up to date on the required year-end reports to UDAF.
• If a Federal Agency is listed as the fiscal agent then they are required to match grant dollars at least 1:1 (match must be monetary and not in-kind)

Prohibited Activities:  The Noxious Weed Grants are intended to control or manage noxious weeds with “on-the-ground work.”  Invasive Species Mitigation (ISM) Grants will not be awarded for mapping without active on-the-ground treatment. A minimal amount of Noxious Weed Grant funding (less than $5,000) can be used for the purchase of incidental equipment needed to complete a project.  The purchase of large pieces of equipment, such as four-wheelers and large spray tanks are not allowed unless prior permission has been given.  Funds listed in the (Other) category within the budget and scope of work will require an explanation of the listed expense .

Funding Allocation Information:

• $2,300,000 of available funds reserved for Invasive Species projects
• $200,000 UDAF grant oversight costs
• All projects will be ranked competitively in each category and dollar amounts requested in the application will reflect the maximum amount of funding allowed

Administrative Overhead Costs

The Grantee may include up to a maximum of 10% of the project costs to provide for the planning and administration of the grant.

In this administrative cost, the following items should be listed and included:

• Project Reports (required)
• Mapping and Complete GIS Information for the project (required)
• Project Monitoring Costs (required)

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Grant Application:

Click here to view the FY2020 Grant Application Form

Learn more from the AmpliFund Applicant Training Video Series:

• • New User Registration
  • Portal Navigation
  • Opportunity Overview
  • How to complete an Application
  • How to complete a budget template
  • How to complete a performance plan template
  • Administration Section
  • Application Status – View, Withdraw, Delete
  • Returning to the Applicant Portal

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Aaron Eagar, ISM Program Manager
Division of Plant Industry and Conservation
Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
(801) 538-7186 office
(801) 602-1961 cell

aeagar@utah.gov  email