About Us

Utah Agricultural Statistics is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is a field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) . NASS, headquartered in Washington D.C. with 45 field offices, is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) . NASS has a field office in each state with the exception that all New England States are serviced by New Hampshire .

Utah Agricultural Statistics is responsible for making timely and accurate crop, livestock, and price estimates for Utah under the direction of NASS as mandated by the USDA. Utah Agricultural Statistics conducts numerous surveys during the year with Utah farmers, ranchers and agri-businesses. Data collected on these surveys are kept strictly confidential, and no individual responses are ever divulged or released. Field office statisticians summarize and analyze the data and then recommend crop production, livestock inventory, price, and other agriculture estimates to NASS headquarters. Headquarters statisticians review the state recommendations and issue state and national estimates to the public on scheduled dates throughout the year. State recommendations and national reports are produced under strict security to insure that no one has advance information prior to the release. National reports are summarized locally in state-level reports.

Wheat acreage, yield and production, January 1 cattle inventory, and the price farmers receive for their hay are examples of the estimates available. In addition to state-level estimates, county estimates are available for some commodities. Historic data as far back as 1867 are available for some commodities.

Utah's Agriculture:

Utah 's agriculture is primarily nestled in mountain valleys. Cultivated crops are grown at elevations from 7,000 feet to just under 3,000 feet. Nearly 1.2 million acres of crops, excluding range and pasture, are harvested each year from the 11 million acres in farms and ranches. Annual precipitation varies from about 6 to 18 inches in the major farming areas. Some non-irrigated grains and hay are raised but irrigation is a must for most of the crops grown in the state. Farmers and ranchers are very dependent on high mountain snowpack and reservoirs to provide ample irrigation water each year. Utah farmers and ranchers derive about two-thirds of their total cash receipts from cattle, milk, and hay sales.

Federal and State owned lands account for about 75 percent of the states total land mass of 54.4 million acres. In addition to recreation, this land provides grazing needed for the states cattle and sheep industries. Although not major crops, many vegetables such as sweet corn, tomatoes, squash, and so on are grown in the state. You will also be able to find apricots, apples, tart and sweet cherries, peaches and pears. Some of the tastiest watermelon and cantaloupes are grown in the state. Agriculture is a major industry of Utah and is the backbone for many rural communities and towns.

Last Modified: 08/24/2022