Snow storm brings ‘blessings’ to Utah’s agriculture

SALT LAKE CITY –The snow isn’t only great for those on the slopes, but equally for Utah’s agriculture and farmers. 

The snow storm Utah saw over the last few days added around 3.6 inches of water to the state wide average which bringing Utah’s current total to about 170% of the normal for early January.

President of the Utah Farm Bureau, Ron Gibson, said the recent snow is great for agriculture.

“At the end of 2022’s water season, we didn’t know if we were even going to able to farm in 2023. It is absolutely changing the direction of where we are going.”

 Water levels for 2023 are already the highest they have been in 10 years. However, water watchers warn that Utah is not out of the woods just yet when it comes to the multi-year drought.

Although, a strong January which is expected, will go a long way in repairing the drought damage. 

Contextually, a water year begins in October and ends in September. 

“It is such a blessing,” said Gibson. “We ended 2022’s water year in a bad spot. Our reservoirs were empty, we’ve had three years of severe drought and this is the winter that we really needed.”

Related reading:

• Dear Legislature: Here’s what you can do in 2023 to save the Great Salt Lake
• Emergency order extended for drought, Utah Farm Bureau praying for rain