Tucked between a highway and a busy intersection, the Petersen family farm is located in the heart of a Salt Lake City, Utah suburb. The buzz of city life surrounds the farm yet the Petersen’s maintain traditional farming practices. Luke and Hilarie Petersen are committed to preserve the agriculture tradition that has been in their family for five generations.

A little history

In 1871 the Petersen farming history began in the Southwest part of Salt Lake Valley. Luke’s great, great grandfather came to the area to help construct the canal irrigation system. With the development of agriculture in that area the family’s roots were planted.

FRUIT OF THE HARVEST: Farmer Luke and his son Finn look for the first red tomatoes of summer. Farms are more than food is the Petersen family farm motto, they hope they are giving a taste of farming to their neighbors and friends.

Since then, the Petersen family entrepreneurial and agriculture spirit continued until the farm was built and thriving. In 1994 the construction of a major highway cut directly through the original 120 acres of the farm and it has never quite been the same. The rural lifestyle the Petersen’s loved was being assaulted by urban sprawl but Luke and Hilarie weren’t ready give up on their agriculture roots.

They determined to continue their rich heritage of growing things and they wanted to stay where they were to do it. The Petersen’s decided to look for the advantages these changes brought and what they found were customers, plenty of local customers.

CONNECTING TO SOMETHING BIGGER: Luke and Hilarie with their youngest son Finn hope the people that come to their farm will feel connected to farming and recognizes the importance of preserving it’s role in society.

In 2009, they changed their farm operation from hay production to row crops so they could capitalize on the newly developed market which consisted of thousands of new neighbors. “We wanted to create a place where people could enjoy with us the thrill of watching our crops pop up in straight, neat rows,” says Hilarie. They discovered their neighbors appreciated open, productive green space, local food and the education of the farming history in the area.

Connecting to the community

The Petersen family farm has welcomed its community, and embraced teaching city folks about farming. Their farm is open to the public year round, and they host special events giving people many opportunities to be on the farm.

“We want to create the farming experience,” says Luke, “more than just entertainment, we really want people to get a feel and be a part of the farm.”

The couple spends a significant amount of time on educating everyone that steps on to their farm. Hilarie runs a farm camp in the summer and a preschool during the school year. Kids come out to the farm and learn about how and where their food is grown and produced before it makes its way to their dinner table.

FARM FOOD NIGHT: From April till October, every Friday night is farm food night at the Petersen family farm. The farmyard fills with food trucks serving a verity of foods and people from all over the area come to the farm to eat.

Luke is active in his local Farm Bureau and in his community he is an advocate for agriculture. He is passionate about his role as a farmer. “Farming is in our blood and we believe that it must continue to hold a special place in the future of our family and our community,” says Luke.

A focus on farming

The Petersen family farm philosophy is to create a profitable and sustainable agriculture landscape. They do not push any particular genre of farming, such as conventional, organic, natural, eco or any other.

Continually learning how to work and care for the land to make it profitable is their lifetime pursuit. They incorporate many ideas from all aspects of farming and have found, for their farm, the answer is somewhere in the middle. They are always in the pursuit of trying new things and staying current with developments in agriculture.

Embracing good agriculture practices is much more important to the Petersen’s than what type of farming practice. “Every crop, animal and soil is different,” says Luke, “complicate that with the unpredictability of weather and nature and you come to understand that farming is just as much art as it is science.”

Petersen family farms shares their farming practices on their website. They cover in detail, drip irrigation, pesticide use, machinery management, and plant varieties so their consumers can understand the reasons behind what they do.

The Petersen family farm goal is to share their family harvest with others in the fruits and vegetables they grow, and also the things they have learned from their farming ancestors. For more information on the Petersen family farm visit petersenfarm.com

-Bailey writes from Liberty, Utah