Research has identified 80 farms in Cache Valley that have been in the same family and producing for at least 100 years. Clark Israelsen, Cache County’s agriculture agent for Utah State University Extension, told the Cache County Council Tuesday night that is a very big deal.
“And not the least of that is the fact that these farms, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis in Cache Valley alone last year, these farms produced $158 million of new wealth,” Israelsen explained. “They weren’t just shuffling papers and passing it around. It was $158 million of new wealth right out of the ground.”
Three local families representing all those who have been involved with farming through the years attended the meeting and received what Israelsen called “Century Farm” certificates.