Editors Note: This article was originally published in the Oct. 4, 2023 issue of the Chronicle Progress. Some information may be outdated.
33,000-acre location south of Nephi to combine rail, road, infrastructure to produce agriculture logistics hub
The Utah Inland Port Authority Board approved its sixth inland port project area last month. It’s latest designation includes a 33,000-acre swath of land south of Nephi in Juab County, site of the future Central Utah Agri-Park.
The industrial-sized project envisions supporting area agriculture producers by giving them a centralized location to access global markets far easier than ever before. It also looks t attract a wide variety of large-scale ag processors, from value-added beef operations to hay cubing and wool processing.
The agri-park is a vision first outlined by the Six County Association of Governments and initially funded through financial support from Millard, Juab, Sanpete, Wayne, Piute and Sevier counties.
Millard County commissioners previously approved $200,000 in monetary support for the project.
The Governor’s Office of Economic Development is also making $8 million available for development purposes. The Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) also provides mechanisms for financing infrastructure costs, including setting up public improvement districts and providing tax differential incentives to businesses that want to open facilities in the agri-park.
A public plan outlining the agri-park’s development shows infrastructure such as new roads, rail facilities, utilities and other features are set to be constructed and operational by 2030.
One Millard County official recently said the project area is likely to turn into the state’s newest little city if all goes as planned.
Juab County commissioners approved a resolution supporting the creation of the Central Utah Agri-Park in May. The inland port board first read through the proposal in August.
The largest component of the plan, the actual agri-park, will start five miles south of Nephi and extend southward to near Mills. The property is bounded by the West Hills Mountain Range to the west and State Route 28 to the east.
Clinton Painter, a Juab County commissioner, told inland port board members at their Sept. 12 meeting in Nephi, that food security was one reason he supported the idea, that and the notion the project protects area family farmers generations into the future.
He said some of the businesses envisioned for the park include fruit and vegetable processing, animal processing, hay cubing and compacting, wool processing as well as agri tech or similar agriculture-adjacent industries.
“The idea behind the agri-park is to have a shovel ready location for these businesses. So if a new business was wanting to come into Juab County or in the area, they could potentially meet with planning and zoning on Monday and if all the boxes are checked, they could legitimately have a building permit by the end of the week. We want to have all the infrastructure in place… In short, we want to save the family farm, which is so important to rural Utah,” he said.
Jenna Draper, director of economic development for the Six County Association of Governments, echoed Painter’s sentiments. She said her organization embarked on the ambitious plan after studying ideas that could positively impact every county in the region.
“Our biggest goal was the collaboration of these six counties, which we have achieved with this project. It came down to agriculture and it came down to wanting our children to stay here and continuing the family farm,” she told port authority board members.
Draper said SAOG studied a number of subject areas with local producers, including financing, marketing and distribution. She said Six County officials kept hearing about struggles Central Utah family farms have in getting product to market without enduring heavy costs that eat into their profits.
“The thing the producers kept coming back to is if we could reduce our overhead, if we could reduce our freight costs, if we could reduce our carbon footprint, it would be better for the environment and it would be better for our bottom line,” she said, adding that as producers put pencil to paper it became evident their enterprises could continue into future generations if a centralized distribution hub was located in the region.
Draper said the agri park is modeled after the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, where entrepreneurs are welcomed with a streamlined approval process to set up relevant businesses almost overnight.
“That’s the idea. Right now, every agriculture processor requires a conditional use permit. So we are trying to take down all those barriers. We are trying to reduce all the red tape for these processors that would like to come into the area,” she said.
By way of example, Draper used potato farmers in Piute County, ag processors who would see much more success in their operations if they were able to access an agri-business park. She said they struggle to get product to market and so are unable to fully grow out their operation. She said with the new park, all producers in the six-county area will be able to take their products to a global market with ease.
“They have never even dreamed that could be a possibility for our family farms here,” she said.
Wade Eliason, the state’s acting Farm Bureau president, encouraged port authority board members to approve the project area designation, citing much what Draper and Painter already told the board.
“It’s a real opportunity for the future, not only of the six counties. As I looked up what percentage of agriculture the six counties represent, it’s about 30 percent of Utah agriculture that the six counties represent,” he said. “This will affect all of Utah’s economy. It is so important to the local ag community.”
Besides the central 33,000 acres noted as the agri-park, the project area proposal also included two other areas, the 1,600-acre Currant Creek Industrial Park, which sits 3 miles west of I-15 along SR-54, and the 27-acre Nortonville Rail Site, which sits less than 2 miles from I-15 exit 228.
Companies wishing to locate operations within the project area will receive incentives if they utilize nearby rail facilities and if they include high skilled employment.
According to the public plan, new companies investing at least $25 million in the project area will receive a 10 percent tax differential, or a break on their local property tax bill. That tax break doubles to 20 percent for companies investing $50 million. Companies adding $100 million in new growth will receive a 30 percent property tax break. Companies can take advantage of the incentives for 25 years.
“Incentives (if awarded) will be offered as post-performance rebates on generated property tax differential, based on capital investment dollars spent. UIPA will not be tracking wages of jobs created, but rather will target industries that create high-wage jobs,” according to a recruitment strategy outlined in the public plan for the project.
Port authority board members were set to approve a seventh project area near Millard County on Monday, this one called the Mineral Mountain project area near Milford in Beaver County.
Beaver County Commissioner Tammy Pearson told port authority board members last month that she was hopeful they will approve the project area, which could further enhance the logistical capabilities for area businesses.
“Beaver County has been on board since day one with the announcement of the inland port. We’ve had the same, similar vision in our area. We’ve been working toward this a long time,” she said, adding that area families view the project as a means of keeping their children living and thriving in the area as adults.
