While it’s common knowledge that agriculture plays a big role in the Park County and Big Horn Basin economies, quantifying that role is difficult.

As Park County commissioners embark on a rewrite of their land use plan — which will guide development in the area for the coming decades — they’re hoping to create better data on the economic value of ag.

“There’s nothing out there that we can find that can give us good answers to that,” said County Commissioner Lloyd Thiel, who’s raised concerns about the continuing loss of farm lands to residential developments.

Commissioners have an opportunity to work with a consultant to study ag’s economic effects in the area, Thiel said, potentially by teaming up with other counties in the Big Horn Basin to share costs or by securing state funding to lower the costs.

“I mean, it’s going to be good information statewide, not just for the Big Horn Basin,” Thiel said. 

Wyoming Business Council Northwest Regional Director Kristin Bonk Fong told commissioners on March 15 that she thinks the idea “has great potential” and “makes a ton of sense.”

“I think the [business] council recognizes that it is so important to understand exactly what impact agriculture has,” Fong said, “because it’s beyond just the farmers and the landowners — it’s way beyond that. It’s business owners in insurance or in equipment sales and everything in between.”

However, she said it’s unclear whether the study would fit within any of the council’s funding programs. Whether a planning grant would win approval could also depend on how the study will be used, Fong said. “Will it just be a set of data? Or will it actually be put into play in some way? And how would you plan to implement the plan once you understand the data?”

The timeline could also be an issue: Given that the state likely couldn’t authorize funding until the fall, that presents “a little bit of an issue for us as we work through this land use plan,” said Commission Chairman Dossie Overfield.

The Powell Economic Partnership has been a part of the discussions, and Fong suggested the possibility of involving University of Wyoming Extension.