SALT LAKE CITY — Heather Limon knows the frustration of delays to get her beef onto someone's table.
"I have to book out a butcher date three years. I have to book a butcher date for my cow before it’s even born," the owner of Cross E Ranch told FOX 13 News on Tuesday. "Yeah, it’s a little crazy. So when they say there’s a need? There’s definitely a need."
On Tuesday, state leaders announced a major investment in Utah's food supply — $50 million in grants available overall — to help rural producers get their meats, fruits and vegetables to more places.
"This is an investment in rural Utah’s future," Governor Spencer Cox said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Right away, $11 million is available. The money can help a rural agriculture producer expand processing, broaden distribution and get to market faster.
"Anytime we can process our food closer to home we don’t add more costs onto it. We can keep it here in our state," said Valjay Rigby, the president of the Utah Farm Bureau. "We only produce about 2-3% of our fruits and vegetables here and so much of it gets out of the state to get processed."
The money for the grants came out of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act and was pushed by the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, said House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper.
"As these big corporations take over more of our food supply? It makes a lot of us nervous, right?" he told FOX 13 News. "One, you don’t know where that food is coming from. Two, being reliant on great big industries? We saw that’s not always helpful."
State leaders envision benefits for everyday Utahns as well. Expanding production and processing in Utah, they believe, will lead to more local produce on people's tables and lower costs.
"Especially with food costs where they’re at right now, people are trying to find the best deal right now. We hope this grant will help lower the margins and help lower the costs of local food so they can get it to their table," said Utah Dept. of Agriculture & Food Commissioner Kelly Pehrson.
There will also be another benefit to the grants, said Commissioner Tracy Gruber of the Utah Dept. of Health & Human Services.
"We know that there’s a connection between access to nutritious foods and health outcomes and reductions in chronic disease," she said.
Limon said she believed agriculture producers could benefit from the grants.
"If they can fix some of those systems and make it work better, I think it will be so helpful for farmers," she said.
