Red Acre Center: A Voice for Small Farmers
Last month we had the opportunity to participate in Red Acre Center’s “Day on the Hill” at the Utah State Capitol. In order to bring awareness to the small and urban farmers in our state, they provide a lunch for the politicians that day. It was amazing food that was sourced from so many amazing small farms, homesteads, and artisans right here in Utah.
We enjoyed catching up with farm friends and meeting new ones as we spoke with our representatives and others about our farm, as well as issue and policies around small ag, raw dairy, and urban farms. We also had the opportunity to hear from some of the reps who are working on bills to further promote and protect agriculture in our state.
As Shayn and I left that day, we both commented on how grateful we are for Red Acre Center, a non-profit that works to promote and protect farmers, small rural and urban farms, and the right to choose what you eat. Sarah and Symbria run a thriving farm in Cedar City - also called Red Acre Farm - and every January/February they leave it behind to be at the legislative session. They work directly with us and many other small farmers and producers to create bills that protect and promote good, clean, healthy food. They find sponsors for the bills, lobby for them, advocate for them, organize meetings and events, and work their tails off to help these bills pass. With legislation, if you don’t have a voice there, you have nothing - and they are doing their part to speak loudly for all of us.
Throughout the rest of the year, they also plan events and conferences, bringing small producers together to talk about issues and work through problems. These two women are doing an amazing job. If you’ve enjoyed our raw milk, our raw cream, our raw butter - it is in huge part because of them.
Over the past two years we’ve fielded a number of questions asking how you can support our farm? Or how to make sure we can still have this kind of food available to in our community? We would invite you to become a member of Red Acre Center. Or consider a donation. It’s a great way to support local agriculture in our communities as we all work together to create thriving local food economies.