Sustainable farming in Arizona: Small, Medium and Large: A Size for Every Market Niche
By Kevin Rogers, Arizona Farm Bureau President
You may have read the lead feature “Arizona Agriculture by the Numbers” in the March 2009 issue of Arizona Agriculture. The article by Steven Manheimer of the USDA-National Agriculture Statistics Service gave an overview of the latest U.S. Census of Agriculture and specifically the Arizona numbers.
One point came through loud and clear: Arizona agriculture is diverse, robust and comes in all shapes and sizes. We even advocate that the factory farm is critical in feeding our world. In reviewing the article, I took note of our new farm numbers, 15,600 Arizona farms, and the increase in direct market farms, typically smaller in size.
Remember, USDA defines a farm as at least $1,000 in real or potential livestock or crop sales annually.
As an agriculturalist that leases some acreage from Indian lands, I noted that the 114% increase in the number of Arizona farms came mainly from a different method of counting farms operated by American Indians here in Arizona. It’s a significant step that USDA made a more concerted effort to count all farms on Indian lands. This procedural change, however, means that these farms have most likely been there for some time but now they’re finally being counted.
The large farms on the reservation have always been counted. Native Americans within the boundaries of the reservations that met the $1,000 threshold were aggressively sought out during this latest agriculture census count. The majority fell into the $1,000 to $5,000 in real or potential sales and shows up mainly on the Navajo reservation.
You may have also noted in reviewing the article that direct market farmers in Arizona generated a 34% increase in agriculture production, bringing their total revenue contribution to Arizona agriculture to $5.3 million. This is a good thing „Ÿ especially for the consumer wanting to buy local. This niche appears to continue to be well served and could still provide more supply for the ongoing demand.
Still, total sales of all Arizona agricultural commodities was more than $3.2 billion in 2007 making Arizona’s direct market agriculture approximately 1.7% of that share.
This points to the reality that the lion’s share of agriculture production is still coming from traditional agriculture produced on larger farms.
To feed our country, large production agriculture must remain a significant contributor to not only our economic numbers in Arizona but to national and global food production. Citing agriculture census numbers again, Arizona’s best example is the fact that we’re ranked second in the United States in lettuce production and as we’re so often known to mention that during the winter months, Yuma is the lettuce capitol of the nation.
With 98% run by families, it’s important to remind our non-agriculture constituencies that large production farms, ranches and dairies are the only production structure that will keep pace with a growing population and a global economy that thrives on growth (our current downturn being the exception).
We also need to remember to tell our non-agriculture constituencies that today’s progressive family farms are not typically small and that they naturally scale and become large if they want to be profitable to support their own growing family-owned corporation with multiple generations. This occurs whether their production methods utilize organic or traditional agriculture methods.
Let us celebrate the diversity of American agriculture production and realize that all types and sizes of farms have their role to play in providing the safest most abundant food supply in the world.
Key Words: Arizona agriculture, Arizona Farmers and ranchers, local Arizona agriculture, Organic Arizona agriculture, Sustainable farming in Arizona, food savings.
