Utah producers and soil health: digging deeper

While the importance of soil health has been widely documented in certain areas of the U.S., such as the Midwest and Great Plains, other agricultural lands and producers remain largely understudied regarding soil health, including those in the Intermountain West (IMW). In this field report, we dig deeper into differing viewpoints on soil health held by Utah producers, examining how those more and less open to soil health efforts compare in various ways. Using data from a 2024 mail and online survey of Utah producers, we focus on two questions in this exploratory work: (1) How do producers who are more open to soil health practices compare by characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors with those producers who are less open to such practices and (2) What support do those more open to improving soil health need to increase soil health efforts on their land? We find the producers are both similar in several ways but also differ in important ways. Digging deeper and parsing out producers based on their opinions, influences, and information sources as they relate to soil health provides some valuable insights for those doing research and outreach on soil health in the IMW.