Utah Centennial County History Series - Sanpete County 1999

AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK A f t e r four decades in the Sanpete Valley, settlers had established a diversified and extensive agricultural economy. Statistics for 1889 indicate that within Sanpete County were 414,33 1 sheep; 11,260 range cattle; 4,638 dairy cattle; 5,863 horses; and 4,238 swine. Sanpete fields produced 353,257 bushels of wheat; 135,077 bushels of oats; 16,091 bushels of barley; 4,170 bushels of rye; 1,726 bushels of corn; 27,985 tons of alfalfa hay; and 11,626 tons of wild hay. Dairy products included 212,522 pounds of butter and 8,180 pounds of cheese.

Beekeepers gathered 6 1,220 pounds of honey.

The prosperity of the nineteenth century continued into the twentieth century until the end of World War I in 1918. Sanpete County experienced a modest gain in population, and the most important economic development was the rapid rise of the sheep and wool enterprises over the entire county. During World War I ( 1914-1 8), agricultural prosperity was stimulated by military needs.

A somewhat ominous development was the cultivation of a considerable amount of marginal farmland encouraged by high prices and an unlimited market for agricultural products.