When Dennis Stowell bought his father-in-law's Parowan ranch in 1980, he became steward over 250 acres of hay, which were watered via irrigation lines that had to be moved manually.

Hay wasn't fetching money-wagon prices, and thoughts of expansion, upgrades and improvements were distant on a long horizon. Until a couple of years later, when Stowell heard about a program offered by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food — the Agriculture Resource Development Loan program — that offers low-interest loans for ranchers and farmers looking to improve their operations via conservation, technology improvements, flood mitigation projects and the like.

In the following years, Stowell took out four more ARDL loans. He expanded his operation to about 1,100 acres, most of which is irrigated with a water-efficient circular pivot system that he says contributes to healthier, more uniform crops, less soil erosion and less water and electricity consumption.

"It was tough in those days," Stowell said. "We didn't get a lot of money out of our hay. And I'd never have done it, would never have grown or made that switch (to pivot sprinklers) if I hadn't been able to get a low-interest loan."

That ARDL program, which now totals $56 million, celebrates its 30th anniversary at a gala Tuesday at the Salt Lake Little America Hotel. At that event, nine Utah farmers and ranchers will receive the state's "Lifetime ARDL Conservationist Award."

The honorees are Charles Taylor, Tremonton; Darrell Johnson, Rush Valley; Jerrold Richins, Coalville; Kent Bateman, Levan; Norm Carroll, Glendale; Allan Smith, Roosevelt; Merrill Duncan, Ferron; Brad Johnson, Aurora; and David Pace, Richfield.

The event also will kick off the state's Grazing Improvement Program, which was developed to support ecologically sound grazing practices.

The programs work together to encourage efficiency and conservation, but they also have side effects, according to the department.

"These improvements increase their production while helping care for the state's natural resources," the UDAF said in a statement. "Most ARDL recipients are more profitable, which means they contribute to their local economy. A secondary benefit is the protection of open space. Financially stable farms and ranches are able to be passed down to the next generation of farmers and ranchers."

Though data on the programs' efficacy shows variation among recipients, USU agriculture economics professor Bruce Godfrey said this year's award winners seem to share key experiences.

"One of the ranchers I visited said that what (the ARDL loan) did was provide a low-cost loan to help him get started so he could finance the rest of the operation on his own," Godfrey said. "That's one of the pieces I see with this thing: It's a bit like seed money. It provides an opportunity for producers to get started, to improve their operation and do bigger things."