SOUTH JORDAN — The rows of green, leafy plants on Redwood Road and 9800 South stand out.
Surrounded by asphalt, homes and office spaces, the rotating crops of corn, cantaloupe, peppers and tomatoes are not typically associated with a plot of land owned by Merit Medical Systems.
About a decade ago, the company that develops, manufactures, and distributes medical devices approached Ryan Schmidt and asked whether he would be interested in leasing the land for farming purposes.
Fred Lampropoulos, CEO and founder of the company, said Merit wanted to "beautify" the land until it came time to expand the company's campus and build on the lot. The company would not profit financially from the farm and Schmidt would be free to sell the produce, Lampropoulos said.
"We just didn't want another 7-Eleven or other gas station going up across the street," Lampropoulos said. "Not when we could expand and create more jobs for Utahns."
Schmidt sells the produce at the Murray and South Jordan farmer's markets as well the Schmidt produce stand near 9000 South and 2200 West in West Jordan.
But having a farm in an urban setting isn't easy.
"Equipment logistics is harder," Schmidt said. "We have to move equipment off the peak travel hours to avoid traffic."
Just like other farms, weather can complicate harvest times and crops can fail, but "it's all worth it when it's over" on Oct. 31, said Richard Schmidt, Ryan's father and the owner of the produce stand near 9000 South and 2200 West.
"I'm excited to get home, wash these and eat them," said Katrina Rivera, referring to a box of blueberries and peaches she purchased at the stand. She said she enjoys buying local, fresh produce as often as she can.
Browsing the corn section under the green and white striped produce tent, Lindsey McMullin said his wife loves the stand for the peaches, but he enjoys everything.
"The produce is excellent," McMullin said. "We've just always gotten very good product of everything, whatever we want."
Though the Schmidt family knows that Merit Medical Systems will eventually build on the land they lease for farming, Richard said they have other plots of land they will continue to farm.
"We really enjoy working with Merit Medical," Ryan said. "They are great partners and we hope they ultimately go on to build something great there."
Email: klarsen@deseretnews.com