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Show Wednesday February 12, 1997 The Park Record A-17 Park Record Profile Glen Brown looks back on two decades of public service in Summit County and Utah The former Speaker of the State Representatives discusses county by Kirsta H. Bleyle OF THE RECORD STAFF Glen Brown is no gentleman farmer. Sitting in his office at Brown's Dairy in Hoytsville, Brown relays the realities facing today's farming farm-ing and ranching communities. For a man who spent 15 years representing Summit County to the Utah State Legislature, Brown has remained remarkably connected with the business he was raised and educated to operate. oper-ate. "If you've got livestock, you've got deadstock." says the former Speaker of the State House of Representatives, refer- the diversity. PHOTO COURTESY OF GLEN BROWN Descending the steps of Utah's State Capitol Building, Glen Brown was first appointed to the Legislature in 1977 by then-Governor then-Governor Scott Matheson. House of politics and cows ring to a still-born calf delivered earlier that day. The loss of one calf, however, is not the primary concern of ranchers in a business clime where "you can't give male calves away." According to Brown, half of all dairy cows are female, the other half male. Only a few males are neces sary to inseminate insemi-nate the adult females and are. therefore, seemingly seem-ingly expendable. In addition to that fact, one must consider the going rate for livestock these days. There is a framed cashier's check thai hangs on the wall behind Brown's desk for $93, representing the recent sale of 12 male calves. Brown keeps it on his wall as a reminder of the unfortunate state of ranching in our country today. "The beef guys are hurting big time," Brown points out, stressing that "America's agriculture sweeps the scraps off the floor. The American public demands cheap food, and that hurts the agriculture agricul-ture business." Additionally, while livestock prices have dropped about 50-percent 50-percent over the past few years. Brown says overhead costs for running an operation similar to Brown's Dairy have either remained the same or. in most instances, increased. The drop in cattle prices and apparent apathy from the majority majori-ty of Americans regarding this fact is endemic of a larger disregard disre-gard for agricultural lifestyles and livelihoods. Brown says. If Americans held farming in higher esteem and preserved the current agricultural areas of the country's heartland, he adds, other concerns con-cerns regarding open space preservation would fall into place. Brown, when he wore the hat of state representative, has certainly cer-tainly experienced his share of open space requests from members mem-bers of the community he served. "We will tinker in the county with preserving open space," Brown says, "but we'll never solve the problem until the highest priority use is farming." Considered across the state to still be a rural community, a great deal of Summit County encompasses encom-passes the ranches and farms which , , create open space OUiuc ui lilts areas naturally. moral issues However- Bfrown says, most of his YOU Can't Win in this time spent on the county because ofTn nc?7l Commission was consumed hv the Glen Brown increased aware- ness and desire to curtail sprawl on the west side of Summit County. In particular, he said, was the fear that the Snyderville Basin was quickly becoming a 'bedroom 'bed-room community' to Salt Lake City commuters and. therefore, taking on the characteristics typical typi-cal of so many Wasatch Front subdivisions. Brown was required to address these and other Snyderville Basin issues when Summit County had only one planning commission. Cognizant of the growing diversity between the two halves of the county, local officials appealed to the county to allow the creation of two, distinct planning commissions commis-sions one for the Snyderville Basin and one for Eastern Summit County. Brown currently current-ly presides as chairman over the East Side Planning Commission. It is a role that should come easily easi-ly to Brown, as he has lived in the area all of his life, and understands under-stands the plight of agricultural communities firsthand. Just a little background: Frankie Brown is looking through a meticulously assem- ' "" lll,l"lllllmlL j irwswipwspwws I ft rVl I ? i.Vl hr- l KIRSTA H. BLEYLEPARK RECORD Glen Brown stands beside a few of the some 300 cows providing pro-viding product daily for Brown's Dairy in Hoytsville. bled scrapbook that traces her husband's ascent to the legislature, legisla-ture, trying to find a picture of a young Glen Brown to use for publication. A petite woman, Mrs. Brown is standing in the parlor of the Brown home, located a scant 100 yards from the dairy. She flips through the scrapbook, passing pictures of Brown playing high school sports and senior portraits. por-traits. Most interesting, however, is the shot of Brown and his future wife all dolled up for the South Summit High School Junior Prom. Brown grew up with two brothers and two sisters in the farming community of southern Summit County. He estimates the age of Brown's Dairy to be about 60-years-old, and says it was started by his grandfather on a much smaller scale than today's business. After receiving his B.S. in Dairy Science from Utah State University in 1967. Brown remained in Summit County to continue working on the dairy. Today . Brown and his brother current Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives Mel Brown run the business which Please see Brown, A-18 jSooe. . . ? r uoaie n u . . .J W Ek ai rip;" I 1 MOUHTAM W 1 A Nr unao atutk out 1 MOVfCTM 0U ' MAWftlVP ToMWYW T HTSTAT(m C-1 Oliver m Mountain Spa At PROSPECTOR ATHLETIC CLUB Sweet Jfear Special Pamper yourself ancf your sweeteart A full day at the Prospector Athletic Club, 1 hour massage, and a private soak for $89 Offer expires 22897 2080 9of(Dus Bane CPart Giy, 01 J The Melrose Company IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE WE ARE ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS FOR CHARTER MEMBERSHIPS IN THE NEW PARK MEADOWS COUNTRY CLUB The Melrose Company's acquisition of the Park Meadows Golf Club is underway. We are most excited about our plans to establish Park Meadows as a fine private club. Enhanced golf and club facilities, along with excellent services, will offer our Members a year round experience that is unparalleled in the Park City area. Reservations for a limited number of Charter Memberships are now available. For information and a Reservation Application, call Park Meadows Golf Club, weekdays at (801) 649-2460, or Karen Cerrati at The Melrose Company on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, at (803) 785-6688. 655-S484 |