Locals say there is something special about Zollinger Apple Cider, a perfect blend of filtered and natural juices grown in the fertile soil of a Cache County family farm.
But now the property on which Zollinger Apple Cider has been pressed and blended for 100 years is at risk of being consumed by the fast-growing community in Utah's northeast corner.
Ron Zollinger, the third-generation owner and manager of the farm, is trying to honor one of his father's last requests — to have the family's 48 acres of land remain in agricultural use.
"He didn't want to see it covered over with houses and buildings," Zollinger said.
The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national conservation nonprofit organization, and the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food are working with the Zollinger family and the community to preserve Zollinger Farm.
A conservation easement on the farm will protect about 46 acres of Zollinger farmland, which will encourage long-term sustainability of agriculture, provide open space and protect wildlife habitat.
Several partners have come on board to pay for the easement, but Shauna Kerr, who is in charge of Utah projects for TPL, says they need an additional $50,000 by Dec. 31 to protect the property.
Kerr, who says she will go "hat in hand" in an effort to finalize the project, grew up in Cache Valley. "In Utah, we really have a connection to our land," she said. "The dirt doesn't just get under our fingernails, it runs in our blood."
Ron Zollinger agrees. He grew up here on the Cache Valley bench. As a boy, the closest house was a mile away. "I felt like we were in the middle of nowhere," he said.
But today the family property exists as an island in the middle of the city — it is now surrounded by subdivision housing.
"There is increased pressure and development going on in Cache County," said Jon Hardman, district conservationist for the Cache County Natural Resource Conservation Service. "Lots of time that pressure is directed to these prime farmland acres."
Indeed, the Trust for Public Land estimates development eats up more than 600 acres of Cache County farmland a year. And with lots on the boundary of the Zollinger property selling for as much as $60,000, many nearby farmers have been willing to sell their land for profit.
Herein lies the problem faced by small-farm owners who live in areas where property values have soared, Zollinger said.
"There aren't really very many solutions small farms can take now to make sure the land gets passed from one generation to the next and still satisfy inheritance needs."
A conservation easement is one solution, Zollinger said. Under this kind of agreement, the property owner gets two appraisals on the land: one at market or development value and another to determine the property's worth for agricultural purposes. The value of the easement is the difference between the two.
Utah's population increased by nearly 30 percent between 1990 and 2000, and many believe land development is pressing on the state's natural environment and character.
For these reasons, the George and Delores Dore Eccles Foundation, based in Salt Lake City, gave $40,000 to the Zollinger Farm conservation easement.
"It's a critical time in Utah, because we are experiencing so much growth," said Lisa Eccles, the foundation's executive director.
And it's especially important to protect farms in fertile Cache County, she said. "Cache County is special because the history and the heritage of agriculture is so engrained in their pioneer beginnings."
Eccles' foundation is one of several partners in northern Utah conservation easement projects.
Through its Agricultural Lands Protection Program, TPL is working with communities in Cache County, the Cache County Agricultural Advisory Board, public agencies and nonprofit organizations to support and promote the area's natural resource values, heritage and economy.
Located near the cities of Logan and River Heights, Zollinger Farm contains prime farmland, but a conservation easement will also protect wildlife habitat that includes deer, elk, pheasants, rabbits, porcupines, skunks, raccoons and foxes.
The Zollingers come honestly by their horticulturing roots.
A study of the family's genealogy shows relatives of Swiss German stock who worked as gardeners and nurserymen. Horticulture is in the family's blood, says Ron Zollinger, 54.
His grandfather, William, purchased the property about 100 years ago, and the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has designated the property a Century Farm recognizing its 100-year history as a family operation.
In the early 1900s, the family grew a variety of fruits — mostly apples and cherries in the beginning — then berries, grapes and other small fruits as the market for fruit changed.
In the past 30 to 40 years the family diversified further to ornamental trees, perennials, shrubs and large-caliper trees. Most are sold to landscape contractors and end up in the yards and gardens of homes and businesses in Cache County and all along the Wasatch Front.
In addition the farm continues to grow apples and produce their famous cider in the fall.
Homemade apple cider is more complicated than it looks. Some smaller producers don't filter the liquid at all, which leaves the cider cloudy. Let it sit for a while, and a layer of sediment will form on the bottom. On the other hand, commercial product can be overfiltered.
Over the decades, the Zollingers have honed their cider-making skills and have developed some techniques unique to their product.
"We've come up with a process to filter to any degree we want, so there's no settling but a good body to the juice," Zollinger said.
There are 1,000 apple tree on the Cache County farm, and Zollinger experiments with 13 apple varieties to find the best blends.
The community icon is available in four grocery stores in Cache Valley, and Zollinger is beginning to place the product in Salt Lake-area stores, too.
The federal government makes special efforts to keep farming alive through its Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program. To qualify for money through the program, property has to be at least 50 percent "prime" farmland with rich, productive soil that should be used and maintained for agricultural purposes, Hardman said.
The property also must be a well-established and a "viable operation."
The Zollinger Farm is the sixth project funded under the program.
E-mail: lucy@desnews.com