ERDA, Utah — A warm and dry winter is leaving farmers in Utah bracing for a tough season — and for one Tooele County farm, the impact is already clear.
At Hide-Out Farm and Ranch in Erda, manager Miranda Smith shared that their goal is to produce fruit, vegetables, and meat “in the healthiest way possible.”
But this year’s lack of snow and rain is making that more difficult than in previous seasons.
“It means everything to me because I’ve watched it grow. When you’ve helped build something and then watch it struggle, it hurts,” said Smith.
Smith grew up working on the farm, which is owned by her mother, Shawnya Wayman.
Wayman explained that, in her 20 years of running the operation, she hasn’t remembered a winter this dry.
“This year has been no rain or anything, so that’s really hurt,” Wayman said.
The farm produces acres of crops — peaches, apples, apricots, corn, beets, squash, tomatoes, peppers — but with Utah’s snowpack at record lows, Smith explained how the plants aren’t getting the water they need to thrive.
“It’s super early to be getting blooms right now,” she said, noting that early budding could mean fewer fruits come spring.
To adapt, the farm is conserving water by laying down wood chips, using shade cloths in high tunnels, and layering soil to retain moisture. But the challenges don’t stop there — pests and rodents that usually don’t survive winter are making a stronger-than-usual return.
“You see more rodents, more box elder bugs, more squash bugs,” Wayman said. They showed us how rodents had already gotten to their beet crops.
Smith warns that the lack of precipitation won’t just hit farmers. “Food prices will go up because you’ll have a high demand but you won’t have the supply,” she said.
For now, Smith and her family are preserving as much water as they can and hoping for more rain or snow before they have to make further changes to their plans.
