“The land banks water, but droughts are cumulative. One good year won’t save us.” In drought-stricken Utah, farmers like Stan Jensen are turning to alternative methods — and away from industry giants like Monsanto — to keep their farms alive.
This story is part of The Salt Lake Tribune’s ongoing commitment to identify solutions to Utah’s biggest challenges through the work of the Innovation Lab.Stan Jensen’s land in Centerfield was baked to a brittle alkali crust back in October. Walking across acres of what in a normal year would be green alfalfa, two little shadows chased us.
“This year was a bad year,” said Jensen standing in his near-empty hay shed, “but we’ve had seven consecutive years of drought. The land banks water, but droughts are cumulative and we’ve been overdrawn for seven years. One good year won’t save us.” “There’s not a manual for this,” Jensen said, “I’m sure there are other people further along the path, but unfortunately I don’t know them.”For Stan Jensen, the big question is how to get more organic material in the ground.
The organic material comes in the form of Jensen’s 60 head of cattle who graze over the property, turning weeds and dry alfalfa into cow pies. His daughter also contributes with her flock of chickens that are likewise moved systematically over the land, following the cows. When asked why more agricultural producers don’t move toward holistic farming practices, Jensen pointed out again that there is no manual.
The result is less and less carbon in the soil from year to year, more and more dependence on tilling, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and less capacity to retain water from one year to the next, Jensen said.While the state of Utah provides little education to help agriculture producers adopt more sustainable practices, there are other places they can turn.
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