Salt Lake County Seeking Local Farmers to Develop Agricultural Land

Do you know a local farmer or organization that is seeking agricultural land to develop?

As part of Salt Lake County’s vision to create more opportunities for locally produced food, the Open Space and Urban Farming programs are seeking local farmers to manage land at Wheadon Park and Big Cottonwood Regional Park. The three separate sites have a total of 20.3 farmable acres.

The County is soliciting proposals from qualified firms “Proposer / Contractor” to provide management and operation of commercial farming enterprise at Big Cottonwood Regional Park (7 acres) and at two parcels at Wheadon Park (3.4 and 9.9 acres).

Big Cottonwood Regional Park (7 acres)

Wheadon Park (3.4 acres)

Wheadon Park (9.9 acres)

This initiative is in response to the rapid disappearance of farmland along the Wasatch Front. Only 76,239 acres of land was in production in 2014 while 107,477 acres of land was in production in 2007. This decline in agricultural land is in direct opposition to recent surveys by Envision Utah results of which show that over 67% of residents prioritize buying local food.

Citizens in Salt Lake County, like citizens elsewhere, are becoming keenly aware of the negative impacts to our local economy and environment as food production moves farther away from the place of consumption.

The County is hoping to take advantage of this interest in locally produced food by using these open spaces for commercial farming.

The purpose of the Urban Farming program is to maximize the use of county-owned land in the short term, demonstrate the viability and sustainability of commercial farming and community gardens in the county, and support efforts to bring local produce to the residents of the county.

To view the entire Big Cottonwood Regional Park RFP click here.

To view the entire Wheadon Park RFP click here.

Deadline for Proposal Submission:

Proposals must be logged and stamped received before 2:00 PM on Tuesday,

January 30, 2018. Electronic proposals will be accepted but hard copy is preferred. No proposals will be accepted after the closing date and time.

Submit proposals to Option 1 or Option 2 as follows:

• Option 1 – Salt Lake County Contracts & Procurement,

2001 South State Street, Room N4-600,

Salt Lake City, Utah 84190-3100

OR

• Option 2 – Email Proposal to Slco-Purchasing@slco.org

Proposers are encouraged to submit their questions about the process to tyoung@slco.org