“I’m all for doing something for the Great Salt Lake,” Harris said. Like a lot of farmers, Harris doesn’t want to see the Great Salt Lake’s demise. Neither the Department of Natural Resources nor the National Audubon Society, who manage the state trust to help pay for leases, could confirm any deals have been finalized. To date, it appears no irrigators have officially signed up. They also created the multimillion-dollar Great Salt Lake Trust to help buy up some of those leases for the lake. In the last few years, the Legislature worked to revise Utah’s pioneer-era water law so the state can pay farmers to voluntarily lease some or all of their water to benefit the environment. Agriculture has depleted about 63% of the water that would otherwise flow to the shrinking lake, studies have found, and Utah lawmakers are looking to farmers as one of the biggest solutions to keep it from becoming a toxic dust bowl. But with Great Salt Lake on the brink of collapse, every drop counts. The company is small - about 11 property owners have shares in Middle Fork’s water. Harris is also the president and water master of Middle Fork Irrigation Company, which has old water rights dating back to 1863. “I’m just a hobby farmer, but I take pride in it.” But generally, I try and custom grow it to where horse people like it,” he said. “I’ve sold hay to cattle people, I’ve sold hay to sheep people, llama people. His grassy bales are so clean and nutritious, customers are already making requests, even though the growing season is still months away. This article is published through The Great Salt Lake Collaborative: A Solutions Journalism Initiative, a partnership of news, education and media organizations that aims to inform readers about the Great Salt Lake.Īgriculture is often criticized as the state’s biggest water user, but irrigators face mounting pressure from rapid urban growth.ĭan Harris raises hay and Christmas trees on a small farm near the shores of Pineview Reservoir.
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