Jaemye and Bryan Brandon are getting ready for the holidays. String lights are transforming their picturesque farm into something straight out of a Hallmark holiday movie.
But the transformation goes beyond decor. The couple is slowly removing their alfalfa crop to make way for Christmas trees and flowers on the land they’ve dubbed “Once Upon a Christmas Tree Farm.”
The goal is to help farmers and ranchers like the Brandons pay for major equipment overhauls that can reduce their water use, helping them become more drought-resistant and protecting surface and groundwater quality by not overwatering crops. “Water conservation is important in the state of Utah because it’s been such a big issue. We’ve had the drought and problems with the Great Salt Lake. The ag water optimization program allows us in the agricultural industry to come to the table,” she said. “We know that we’re a huge water user.”
However, it’s not clear how much water is actually being saved or if the program is helping the lake so far. All projects in the database list a percentage of water saved while others also list concrete estimates of water saved. Not all projects have gone online, and some that received funding were ultimately scrapped, according to state officials.
Trevor Nielson, general manager of the Bear River Canal Co., which has received $2 million to improve its irrigation system, is among that group.The agriculture community turns to optimization Laurie Eccleston and her family had the Great Salt Lake in mind when they were approved for a $60,000 grant to help them turn a 10-acre parcel of land on the west side of Layton into a drip-irrigation produce farm, called the Motta Family Farm.
Funds have been used to line canals or enclose them, reducing evaporation and percolation, and to automate gates along the system, resulting in more efficient, accurate and pinpointed water flow, said general manager Nielson. That means farmers and other canal company customers are better positioned to get the water they need — no more, no less — and less water is wasted.
Once Upon a Christmas Tree Farm started selling fresh-cut flowers this past summer and it proved a hit with people wanting photo shoots among the fields of bright colors. The Christmas trees will take a little longer to get going. The company will sell pre-cut holiday trees on their property starting Nov. 24, offering a place for people to also enjoy cups of cocoa and some good old-fashioned Southern cooking.
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