96 South Main Street, PO Box 77, Nephi, Utah 84648 - Voice: 435 623-0525 - FAX: 435 623-4735 On our front page this week
Current unemployment rate estimates for counties in central Utah show increased joblessness across the board   Class of 2009 will graduate with the largest number of students, 132 Nephi City administrator gives updates on current and recently-completed projects Driver killed in rollover north of Mona on I-15 Classifieds Obits Back Home	Overall job losses almost evaporated in Juab County by the end of 2008. By December, the county had worked through construction employment losses associated with completion of work for the first phase of the Currant Creek Power Plant. Just one month earlier, year-over job losses measured 11 percent. In December, the decline had shrunk to a mere 0.5 percent. In fact, Juab County bucked the general trend and experienced an increase in both manufacturing and construction employment, while it did follow the general trend of growing government and private healthcare employment. However, Juab County isn’t immune to recessionary pressures. Mining, wholesale trade, and leisure/hospitality services all exhibited notable employment declines. Current unemployment rate estimates for counties in central Utah show increased joblessness across the board. After all, the U.S. is in recession. (Please note that most counties experienced record low unemployment rates during 2006 and 2007.) Juab and Wayne counties are currently showing the highest unemployment rates in the area. However, unemployment in these two counties still registers below the national average. Millard County has experienced the smallest increase in joblessness and its rate remains very low-just over 4 percent. According to Workforce News issued June 2009: Usually in this newsletter, you’re reading about nonfarm jobs “this” and nonagricultural employment “that.” If you belong to that cadre of individuals who raise our food supply, you may think that we arbitrarily ignore you, the service you provide, or think you are not an important part of the Utah economy. Au contraire! We data geeks adore data of any kind and would love to regularly track agricultural employment. Unfortunately, our employment data is derived from administrative sources (the unemployment insurance program) that are limited by laws which typically exclude individual farmers. However, every five years, the U.S. government conducts an agricultural census that provides all sorts of farming information. More Diverse and Older The recently released 2007 Agricultural Census shows that nationally, farm operators have become more diverse, with more women and ethnic minorities working U.S. farms. And, farm operators have gotten older. Even back in 1978, farming wasn’t a young man’s occupation—the average age of farm operators was just over 50. However, by 2007, the average farmer’s age topped 57 years old. National data also show that the number of operators 70 and older grew by 20 percent between 2002 and 2007, while the number under 25 decreased by 30 percent. The counties of central Utah fall right in line with national trends. Only Piute County showed a younger-than-average farmer age. Average ages for Juab, Millard, and Sanpete County all topped the U.S. and Utah figures. What Now for the Family Farm? Economic barriers such as climbing operating costs, competition, tax hurdles, and market forces have made it difficult for young families to take over from graying farmers. More and more, family farms only provide supplemental income to wages earned elsewhere. Plus, many young people aren’t interested in the hard work and uncertainty running a family farm entails. Finally, the cost of buying new land has sky-rocketed—many economists believe driven by the federal government’s “unlimited” farm payment plan. What might the aging of farm operators mean for agriculture? Most likely, farm assets will continue to be consolidated into larger operations. From an economic point of view, that may be positive. Larger firms can often operate at a lower average cost. However, from a sentimental point of view, many may mourn the slow decline of the family farm. Other interesting facts from the 2007 Census of Agriculture: •In Juab County, 35 percent of farms sold less than $1,000 worth of agricultural products. •Millard County ranked first in the state for the number of bee colonies. •The average farm production expenses in Piute County measured $95,000. •Sanpete County ranked first in the state for both inventories of turkeys and sheep/lambs. •In Sevier County, the average farm netted under $14,000 in income. •Cattle out-number people by more than 10 to one in Wayne County. For more information see: www.agcensus.usda.gov.