LEWISTON, Utah — Farming is in Michael Gibbons' blood. A fourth-generation farmer in Cache Valley, Gibbons, the owner and operator of Gibbons Dairy Farm has seen better conditions on his farm.
“This year, in my lifetime, I don’t remember a January where we haven’t had any snow,” Gibbons said.
His dairy farm in Lewiston, Utah produces dairy for various businesses, including Gossner Foods down the road, one of the largest producers of Swiss cheese in the United States. The farm milks 700 dairy cows three times a day. The farm also grows corn, hay, and feeds one hundred percent of these crops to the cows.
Recently, the Utah Division of Water Resources shared their concerns about the lack of snowfall in Cache Valley, which the agency says could lead to problems with water supply in the spring and summer.
As part of the farm’s dairy operations, Gibbons says snow must be pushed out of the corrals.
“Our milk gets picked up every single day and we have that snow cleared out of the way for the milk truck to pick up that milk and bring it to the processing plant,” Gibbons explained.
But this year, Gibbons isn’t pushing any snow.
“All the dairy products everyone enjoys, you gotta have a lot of hay and water to produce those," Gibbons said. “You can’t just turn on the spigot and all the sudden have hay.”
According to the Utah Division of Water Resources, Cache Valley is experiencing moderate drought compared to Southern Utah. However, farmers like Gibbons and others in the area say they're just as concerned about the impacts of a lighter snowpack.
Cody Wise, a third-generation dairy farmer who owns Circle B Dairy down the road is feeling the same concerns for his farm.
“I think we are doing better here than in Southern Utah, but in agriculture, we are all in it together,” Wiser said. “It just sets us back for the whole summer, sets those crops back and they don’t get a good start.”
While Utah's reservoirs were at 83% capacity as of March 2024, 22% higher than normal, Gibbons and Wiser know that this current storage isn't a guarantee for the future.
“Farmers and ranchers involved in agriculture are worried about water 24/7 and 365 days a year because it is our single greatest resource and single greatest tool and we have to take care of it,” said Gibbons.
Sakia White, Northern and Eastern regional manager for the Utah Farm Bureau, said the effects of low snowpack levels are visible beyond agriculture.
“It's a supply and demand issue,” explained White. “If we can't produce hay because we don't have the water the supply goes down, the price goes up, and that affects the dairy farmer in Cache County and that affects the mom of five kids in Salt Lake Valley trying to get some milk and eggs for their breakfast.
“It's important that we're talking about it and we're thinking about it now because it affects our lives every single day, multiple times a day," White said.
For Gibbons and Wiser, one of the last few standing farmers in Cache Valley, water is more than a tool. It’s a way of life. Both farmers hope the weather changes in their favor.
“It's always in the back of your mind,” Wiser said. "You sit there and wonder if I am better off to sell the cows, sell the grounds and get a job in town.”
Gibbons feels the same way and didn’t hesitate to express his love for his job and its future.
“It's what I do best [being a farmer]. I can't imagine myself doing anything else."
