Proposal
Primary Goals and Focus of the USU Bastian Agricultural Center
The primary goals and focus of the USU Bastian Agricultural Center will be to:
- Provide agricultural education and experiences to an increasingly urban population
- Promote youth education through the only youth 4-H center in Utah
- Deliver community-based adult education
- Provide research-based information to local government, community organizers, constituents and corporate leaders
- Share the most recent agricultural knowledge, technologies, and manufacturing methods
- Further research and development to discover better products and processes
Pre-concept Planned Components of the Bastian Agricultural Center
The Bastian Agricultural Center will include four (4) major areas comprised of the following
facilities and spaces:
1. Natural Resource Area
- Create trails as a community resource
- Develop a lake for recreation and programming
- Activity Island
- Eco Island
- Beach
- Docks
- Develop an amphitheater area for community and educational programming
- Create spaces for water education
- Develop landscaping including native plants for educational efforts
2. Educational Area
- Develop a state-of-the-art STEM center
- Develop facilities for plant and animal science education
- Provide space for research crops
- Develop educational garden plots
- Provide facilities for 4-H horse programs
- Provide facilities for 4-H livestock programs
- Develop agritourism events and exhibits
3. Equestrian Activities (Existing Facilities)
- Continue current equine events
- Draw additional events, both equine and nonequine, to the facility
- Continued and broadened opportunities for non-equine events
- Updates to equine arenas and facilities to draw more professional equine focused events
- Prioritized 4-H/community equine ride times
4. Pasture Area
- Providing a safe space and best practices demonstration for equine and livestock
Benefits to Salt Lake County:
- Increase usership by the local community in facilities and opportunities at the site
- Increase in educational programming and opportunities designed to improve the lives of Salt Lake County residents
- Increase recreational opportunities for residents in an urban area
- A continuation of the majority of programming and events currently happening at the Salt Lake County Equestrian Park and Event Center
- A commitment to continue to work with and serve the equestrian community in Salt Lake County while broadening the reach of the facilities to serve additional
residents - A commitment from Utah State University and the Bastian Family Foundation to support the facility long term
- Partnership in and a reduced timeline for the development of a multimillion-dollar facility and resource in Salt Lake County
- A commitment to protect portions of the Equestrian Park
and Event Center as open space