DON'T SHARE
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    • Farm, Ranch, 4-H, & FFA Grant
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  • Home
  • Take Action!
    • Protect Your Well
    • Septic Systems
    • Fertilizers
    • Manure Management
    • Pesticides
    • Fuel Storage
    • Hazardous Materials
  • Animal Actions
  • Green Thumb
  • Rules & Regs
  • Soil Map
  • Grants & Assistance
    • Farm, Ranch, 4-H, & FFA Grant
    • UDAF grants
    • USDA Coronavirus Assistance
    • Household Well Water Grants
    • Agricultural Voluntary Incentive Program
water quality BEST PRACTICES FOR small acreage farms 
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good neighbors don't share ​pollutants, weeds & disease.
WHAT IS A SMALL ACREAGE FARM IN UTAH? 
There’s no unique definition, so we just asked our Utah small acreage owners.  This is what we learned:
  • ​The majority are less than 40 acres in size and 25% are less than 1 acre.
  • Half of the small acreage owners consider themselves “hobby farmers.”  Only 12% were full time farms.
  • Many of these are in semi-rural areas along the Wasatch front, but small acreage farms can be found around the state.
  • Over 1/3 of these farms have been in operation for 1 to 5 years. Over 25% have farmed their property for over 20 years.
  • Small acreage owners are diverse.  Some raise food only for themselves, while others sell their vegetables, fruit, eggs, flowers, and more at local farmer’s markets.
  • Almost 2/3 raise chickens,  50% raise horses, about 1/3 raise sheep and beef cattle and less than 15% raise pigs or milk cows.
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This “word cloud” includes all the different goals and motivations of our Utah small acreage farmers.   Click here for more about the small farms survey.
example of good neighbor
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the good neighbor

  • ​Limits animal access to waterways.
  • Provides animals a watering facility.
  • Encourages natural vegetation along streambanks.
  • Stores manure away from water.
  • Gets soil tested before fertilizing.
  • Protects bees, birds, and pets from dangerous pesticides and hazardous materials.
  • Uses water efficiently​.
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the problem neighbor

  • Does not restrict animal access to streams, canals, and other waterways.
  • Removes natural vegetation from stream banks.
  • Stores manure too close to water.
  • Over-fertilizes lawns, gardens and crops.
  • Lets pesticides and hazardous materials  endanger bees, birds and pets.
  • Wastes water.
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Neighbors are at risk of

  • A contaminated well.
  • Sick animals.
  • Excessive weeds.
  • Poor pollination of plants​.
  • Less usable water available.

BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR...
​DON'T SHARE!

are you a good neighbor?

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Find out Here
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PROTECT YOUR WELL

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SEPTIC SYSTEMS

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FERTILIZERS

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MANURE MANAGEMENT

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PESTICIDES 

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FUEL STORAGE

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HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Utah State University Extension Water Quality
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Utah Water Quality Task Force
Utah Division of Water Quality
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We’ve designed this website for Utah’s small acreage farmers. We hope you like it. We value your feedback, questions and concerns.  Email us at waterquality@usu.edu.