Utah State PDP Program 2020

Project Overview

WSP19-021
Project Type: PDP State Program
Funds awarded in 2019: $28,636.00
Projected End Date: 03/31/2022
Host Institution Award ID: G238-20-W7506
Grant Recipient: Utah State University
Region: Western
State: Utah
State Coordinator:
Marion Murray
Email
Utah State University

Information Products

Commodities

  • Agronomic: hay, hemp, wheat
  • Fruits: apples, apricots, berries (brambles), cherries, melons, peaches, pears, plums
  • Vegetables: broccoli, carrots, greens (leafy), onions, peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes
  • Additional Plants: herbs, native plants, trees
  • Animals: bees, bovine

Practices

  • Animal Production: animal protection and health, feed/forage, grazing management, preventive practices, range improvement, rangeland/pasture management, winter forage
  • Crop Production: cover crops, crop improvement and selection, crop rotation, fertilizers, greenhouses, high tunnels or hoop houses, pollinator habitat, row covers (for season extension), season extension
  • Education and Training: demonstration, extension, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, technical assistance, workshop
  • Farm Business Management: farm succession
  • Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, habitat enhancement
  • Pest Management: biological control, biorational pesticides, botanical pesticides, chemical control, cultural control, economic threshold, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management, mating disruption, mulches - general, physical control, prevention, row covers (for pests), sanitation, trap crops, traps, weather monitoring
  • Production Systems: dryland farming, organic agriculture, transitioning to organic
  • Soil Management: organic matter
  • Sustainable Communities: quality of life, urban agriculture, urban/rural integration

    Abstract:

    Because Utah is the 9th most densely urban, and the 2nd driest, state in the nation, the Utah WSARE PDP Advisory Committee recognizes that Utah’s Professional Development Program (PDP) must address these challenges in agriculture to help agricultural professionals protect natural resources and human safety while enhancing the quality of life for our producers, particularly within specialty crops and forage and rangelands. The Utah PDP achieves this through various trainings and mini-grant awards. A summer 2021 professional development training targeted approximately 36 producers and agricultural professionals and focused on pest ID and monitoring to reduce crop losses. Three mini-grant awards for hosting an event targeted farm succession, ag mental health, and soil health in Utah for 653 producers and 29 professionals. The Sustainable Grazing Institute provided to 31 livestock producers and professionals, and the Utah/Arizona Range and Livestock Workshop and Tour provided training in sustainable rangeland and livestock health and rancher profitability to an audience of 148.

    Project objectives:

    There are four objectives for this proposal:

    1. Organize a program for professional development.
    2. Provide professional development travel/event-hosting mini-grant awards.
    3. Support the Sustainable Grazing Institute and the Utah/Arizona Annual Range and Livestock Workshop and Tour.
    4. Promote WSARE grants, publications, and services; and provide general outreach in sustainable agriculture.
    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.