Utah Legislature: Bill would protect Utah's vanishing farmlands

LAYTON — Tyson Roberts is wistful as he imagines the farming landscapes of his father, his father's father and the many Robertses in his family who came before him when the land was first homesteaded in 1850.

Six generations of raising crops have left a legacy of tilling the ground, ground that decade by decade, year by year, is instead being planted with new homes.

"Ten years ago, there weren't that many subdivisions, and now we're pretty much surrounded. All of our fields are connected to a subdivision on one side or both," Roberts said.

Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan, is running a legislative measure that he hopes, if passed, will help Utah's farmers and ranchers stay in business and provide incentives for keeping agricultural land just that.

The latest version of HB102 proposes to take "rollback taxes" that now go into a county's general fund for discretionary use and instead designate them for a newly created fund. That fund would allow "conservation" easements to ensure land stays in agricultural production, even if it changes hands.

Farming and ranch land would be taxed on its "productive capability" and at a lower rate rather than the prevailing market value. If its use changes — such as when it's developed — owners must pay the difference in those amounts going back five years in what is known as a rollback tax.

The measure was up for discussion in a recent committee meeting, where lawmakers ran out of time to vote it up or down.

Draxler knows he needs to garner additional support from his colleagues on the natural resources committee, where concern remains over its potential fiscal impact to counties because of restrictive use of those property tax dollars. Some legislative critics were calling it a tax increase because it would give snatch vital dollars from county government when times are fiscally tough.

But Draxler said the future of Utah's agricultural industry, which generates $350 million in state and local taxes, is under siege by development and something needs to be done to preserve farmland.

"This land is rapidly disappearing," he said, pointing to a chart estimating the anticipated development of existing farmland county-by-county throughout the state.

As an example, Davis County — home to the Roberts Family Farm — is expected to lose 70 percent of its existing farmland by 2030.

Tyson Roberts said they have experienced the loss of land over the years, losing leased acreage given up by property owners seeking lucrative profits.