SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Spencer Cox said he has made changes on his own farm to save water as Utah grapples with drought and saving the Great Salt Lake.
The governor, who has a farm in his hometown of Fairview, addressed FOX 13 News' questions about his agriculture practices during his monthly news conference on PBS. The governor was reacting to a recent report calling for more cuts to alfalfa and hay production in the Great Salt Lake Basin to bring the lake back to a healthy level, including paying farmers not to grow those crops.
"I'm not a huge fan of fallowing," Gov. Cox said.
Instead, the governor said he fully supported efforts by the state to offer grants that help farmers and ranchers switch to better technologies to grow crops with less water. That program has been quite successful in the state, according to an analysis by the Great Salt Lake Collaborative (of which FOX 13 News is a member).
"We’re doing a much better job working with our farmers. We’ve set aside significant money increase the technology that exists so we can grow more food with less water. We’re going to continue to work with them to make that happen," he said.
Gov. Cox said he is growing concerned about the loss of farmland across the state.
"We need to grow food here. That's really really important to me. Sadly too many of those reports don’t recognize that," he said.
Asked by FOX 13 News if he's taken advantage of incentives to grow crops with less water on his own farm, the governor replied: "We used to be a farm that was flood irrigated. We don’t flood irrigate anymore. We use pressurized irrigation in our farms. We’ve moved away from some of our hand lines which use a little more water towards wheel lines. We have not applied for any of this new money, nor would I feel comfortable applying for this new money."
That appears to be a reference to a potential conflict of interest given his role as the governor and that state money is being handed out. But Gov. Cox also noted his farm is not located in the Great Salt Lake Basin.
"I’ve been accused of taking water from the Great Salt Lake," he said.
Utah lawmakers have passed dozens of bills and spent more than $1 billion on statewide water conservation measures, designed to help reverse the Great Salt Lake's declines and help the rest of the state as it grapples with drought.
This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake—and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late. Read all of our stories at greatsaltlakenews.org.
