During a tour of Steep Mountain Farm in late July, a group of Nigerian Dwarf goats scooted around farm owner Nate Stireman as he walked toward a small green pasture where several rows of young fruit trees and shrubs stood above the grass. Planted as part of an initial Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contract with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), this is the first season Nate has seen many of them bloom. “We’ve got blackberries, currents, elderberries, service berries, raspberries, crabapples,” Nate said. “In five more years, this is all going to be amazing.”

The 16-acre operation in Wellsville, Utah is a first for Nate and his wife Tara. Their agricultural journey began years earlier at their Salt Lake City home with garden beds in their front yard, a chicken coup and some bee hives. The couple have always felt a deep connection with nature, and first met while working for a wilderness therapy program. Both had grown up with gardens and were drawn to permaculture principles and designs, and the idea of how to be good stewards of the land. 

“The main thing for us was the connection piece between people and food, understanding where it comes from and what it takes to get food to the table,” Nate said, “It just kind of evolved from there.”

They bought the initial 11 acres of land in Wellsville in 2015 (later adding a neighboring 5-acre alfalfa field in 2021). Assistance from NRCS programs, including CSP and a high tunnel in 2017 through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) has helped the Stiremans build on their conservation efforts and work toward long-term goals for the land. 

“When I think about the intent and benefits of the CSP program, I can’t think of a better fit and example than Nate and Tara,” said NRCS Utah District Conservationist Justin Elsner. Their first CSP contract helped plant rows of trees on 4.5 acres of land as part of a Silvopasture system to promote pollination, improve soil health, create shelter for livestock, increase wildlife habitat and improve pasture production. Other CSP practices implemented include a pollinator habitat, and a windbreak on the westside of the property to protect against soil erosion. 

Participation in CSP is voluntary and represents a long-term commitment to conservation, with contracts lasting five years. NRCS works with farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners to develop a conservation plan that addresses natural resource concerns and helps producers improve business operations. Participants who successfully stick to their contract are eligible to renew for another five-year term. 

“Each year for the first five years we did about an acre, so it wasn’t overwhelming for his schedule,” Justin recalled, “Nate took a lot of time and looked over the [CSP] practices and was sending me lists and maps drawn in with quantities of plants, where they were, and where he wanted to do everything. I just kept thinking they are going to be good stewards, and this is what the CSP program is all about.”

Steep Mountain Farm renewed their CSP in 2023, adding the five-acre alfalfa field south of their property to the contract. Since then, a second high tunnel has gone up. Weeds have been an ongoing battle. With the first high tunnel Nate layered sheet mulch, cardboard and several inches of compost to combat the bind weed and thistle. For the new high tunnel Nate plans to try a different approach to save on time and resources. “We had the chickens enjoying [the high tunnel] through the winter, and now I just need to spread the compost that’s in there,” he said. This time he plans to do an initial plow to shape the beds and then go no-till from there. 

Walking down a small alley the sheep are currently grazing toward the back pond and pastures, Nate admits he tends to “geek out” watching how the grass looks at different times of year post-grazing. The chickens that normally roam free were kept to one paddock after a recent tree planting to prevent them from digging at the loose soil. “They like the young grass. The first pasture we put them out on in early spring did really well this season, probably due to the extra chicken manure.” he said. 

Nate and Tara like to keep things small. Larger animals haven’t worked with the farm’s infrastructure. An earlier attempt to grass-finish a few cows through the season ended with them jumping the fences. “I was chasing cows for five days around the neighborhood,” Nate recalled. Smaller animals, small numbers. The goats, all Nigerian Dwarf except for two LaMancha goats are milked once a day. Sheep and a few rams also call the farm home. Easter turkeys and chickens pick at grass, bugs and crab apples, and a brooder house full of young broad-breasted turkeys pick mealworms out of Nates hand. A High tunnel fills with summer varieties of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and peas as a nearby field is harvested for garlic.

Initially starting with a classic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program where customers would get a bag of whatever was fresh, Nate has adapted to a system focused on customer ordering for produce during the spring and summer. The more popular fall crops stick to the CSA model with a six-week standard bag opportunity. With the small quantity of available lamb, chicken or turkeys, customers can buy up front, investing into the farm. “It’s similar with the eggs. They buy an egg share, or what we call a flock share, so technically they own part of the flock,” Nate said.

A high point for Nate and Tara has been the opportunities they’ve found to open their agricultural ecosystem to the community.  They regularly host volunteers through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), which connects farmers with individuals who want to experience and learn from farm life. A profile on hipcamp advertises Steep Mountain Farm as a “community centered, ecological, regenerative agriculture project” with two available RV/tent sites to rent. Since purchasing the alfalfa field, they’ve routinely turned it into a parking area, hosting concerts with local bands, and community events to encourage conservations around soil health, water conservation and the Great Salt Lake. 

Not far from the farm flows the Little Bear River, part of the Bear River Tributary feeding fresh water into the Great Salt Lake. Nate and Tara believe strongly in responsible land stewardship and building dialogue between the farmers working the land and the communities they feed.

They hope to add workshop opportunities in the future and provide a platform to promote ecosystem health and habitat, and diversity in the landscape. 

By Sarah Welliver, State Public Affairs Specialist, NRCS Utah