On a beautiful autumn evening, guests attending a greenhouse fundraiser wandered through the grounds at Rhiba Farms in San Tan Valley sipping on Arizona wine and beer. A fire pit anchored a cozy seating area nudged up against a hop field, while flickering candles illuminated tables canopied by the arching leaves of banana trees. Before dinner, owner Mark Rhine had led a tour, educating visitors on his regenerative agriculture practices as they strolled among fruit trees and bamboo, past fields of greens and squash, and through a misty mushroom grow room. The night culminated in a multi-course farm fresh dinner. “You’ve walked around and seen the ingredients you are about to eat,” said featured chef Subash Yadva as he introduced the menu, “isn’t that amazing?”
These are scenes that define Arizona; scenes that need to be preserved. Throughout the state, small and large-scale farms shape the landscape, but prime farmland is being lost to urban sprawl. Largely since the 1990s, developers have been buying up acreage to meet the incessant demand for new homes. According to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) via the Census of Agriculture, in 2012, there were 20,005 farms. This fell to 19,086 in 2017, with the majority of the decrease ocurring in Maricopa and Pima counties. Over the years, investors have purchased farmland to rent to farmers and collect agricultural tax benefits before selling off to developers. Especially hard hit are the few farmers remaining in urban centers such as metro Phoenix and surrounding areas who lease land they have tended diligently for years.
One of those farmers is David Vose, owner of 35-acre Blue Sky Organic Farms in Litchfield Park and renowned for the organic produce he has been growing for 25 years. Earlier this year, he received news that the land he rents was sold to Fulton Homes to make way for a housing development. In Phoenix, Frank Martin has leased his Crooked Sky Farms property since 2003. Notified that the city is negotiating with the landowner to acquire the property means that his organic farm, beloved for its community outreach, will have to relocate. For Janna Anderson of Pinnacle Farms, who owns a leased parcel in Laveen, she will lose valuable trees and harvests when the City takes a portion of her property to install a sewage drainpipe.
It’s not a simple matter of relocation for displaced cultivators. Farmers spend years tending their land, maintaining soil fertility and employing sustainable practices. Viable farmland requires specific attributes, including soil quality, water availability and transportation access. Prime acreage has become scarce and expensive. Other difficulties facing Arizona’s farmers include weather, water supplies, commodity prices, trade challenges, and legislation.
These are problems the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation helps advocate for farmers. As outreach director for the AFBF, Julie Murphree deals with these challenges on a daily basis. Having grown up on an Arizona cotton and alfalfa farm, she admits to “feeling melancholy” watching farmland disappear forever. “However, on the flip side,” she notes, “we continue to increase our yield per acre. We now produce two, three and sometimes four times as much as we did even just 50 years ago. Another encouraging point is that we will always have agriculture in Arizona because of the tribal land.” According to the USDA’s NASS report, the Navajo Nation counties account for 62 percent of Arizona’s total farms. “It’s farmed by tribal members or leased to Anglo farmers,” Murphree continues. “For example, along the corridor from Tempe to Scottsdale, it’s likely the fields you see are grown on tribal land; two Anglo farmers I can think of have been leasing for 15-20 years.” In addition, the State’s harvested cropland showed an increase in 2017 of 2.9 percent to 915,647 acres from 2012. Arizona also remains a top state for vegetables and melons, ranking fifth out of all states, according to NASS COA statistics. “We’re constantly facing challenges with issues like land, labor, regulations and water,” says Murphree, “but at the same time, there is positivity and we’re always working to pivot and survive.”
Championing the importance of preserving Arizona’s agricultural resources and supporting the hardworking men and women who supply us with earth’s bounty benefits both parties. locally harvested food is nutrient dense, more flavorful and keeps longer. “I’ve been doing this for 15 years and the comment I routinely receive, is gee, your vegetables stay so fresh,” says Carl Seacat of Seacat Gardens, who supplies local restaurants such as Tarbell’s, FnB and Gertrude’s. “The flavor of my green iceberg lettuce is just addictive. The leaves curl and get really crisp; it’s nothing like the soft iceberg you find in stores.” As opposed to the long distance travel time of fruit and vegetables found at grocery stores, harvests from local farmers are measured in hours. “As soon as you cut a plant, the vitamins and minerals start to break down,” notes Mark Rhine, who employs regenerative practices such as sustainable composting, bee fostering and seed preservation on his organic farm. “We harvest the day before, so you’re eating food within 24 hours.” Rhine has also noticed an unexpected result of the Covid pandemic. “It created an awakening about healthy eating – that your immune system is really your biggest defense against this crazy virus.”
How can you play a part in ensuring the future of Arizona farms? Sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) to buy a share of your favorite farm’s harvest for the year. It’s the perfect
way to deliciously explore what’s in season. Seek out establishments that source from local purveyors. “Support the Tarbell’s of this world,” says Seacat. “Whether dining in or getting take-out, support the restaurants that support us.” Visit the farmer’s market and spend some time connecting with the growers. “Most small farmers like me don’t have distribution systems to deliver all over town,” says Rhine. “The farmer’s market and CSAs are the best way to support us.” “It’s a profession I dearly love,” continues Rhine. “We’re blessed with sunshine and climate as long as we take care of our soil. I would love to see little farms polka-dotted all over the Valley of Phoenix so that food security would no longer be an issue. We just need to clean up what we have.”