When Marcos Moore joins a conversation about Arizona agriculture, he brings a rare combination of on-the-ground logistics and agronomics experience and deep technical knowledge of Arizona’s desert farming. As president of Moore Ag Logistics and a practicing agronomist focused on irrigation and salinity management, Moore has worked across the state’s most productive specialty-crop regions—from the Coachella Valley’s edge near Indio to the fertile fields around Eloy. He also serves as president of the Yuma County Farm Bureau.

That blend of operational, technical, and community leadership shaped his recent appearance on the Rosie on the House radio show, where he helped unpack why specialty crops matter so much to Arizona’s agricultural economy and national food supply.

About Specialty Crops

Specialty crops, Moore noted, are not a catch-all marketing term. They are defined by federal law under the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004, as amended: “fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).” Eligible plants must be cultivated or managed and used for food, medicinal purposes, or aesthetic gratification. Processed products qualify only if they contain more than 50 percent specialty crop by weight, excluding added water. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service maintains non-exhaustive list that group these crops into fruits and tree nuts, vegetables, culinary herbs and spices, medicinal plants, and nursery, floriculture, and horticulture items.

In Arizona, those legal categories translate into real economic muscle. The state’s specialty-crop sector is anchored by Yuma County, the nation’s powerhouse for winter vegetables and leafy greens. Other regions support citrus, dates, pecans, melons, and a growing array of specialty and niche crops. Virtually all this production depends on managed, precision irrigation. Values and rankings shift with markets, weather, and acreage, but the pattern is consistent: Arizona supplies a large share of the country’s winter produce while adapting crops to Arizona’s climate.

Arizona’s Specialty Crops and What Dominates 

Lettuce dominates Arizona’s specialty-crop value. Recent utilized-production figures have reached roughly $934 million in baseline cash receipts for all types—head or iceberg, romaine, and overall leafy greens—placing the state typically second nationally for cauliflower and Romaine and making it the dominant winter supplier. Harvested acreage often totals tens of thousands of acres; one recent year saw about 64,000 acres of all lettuce types, not including what additional vegetables are grown. Yuma’s mild winters and precise irrigation systems allow multiple harvests when most of the country is frozen, filling grocery shelves and restaurant kitchens from November through April across the United States.

Cauliflower ranks next, with cash receipts in the $150-million cash receipt range in recent years (Does not include other values such as labor and benefits to the agriculture supply industry); Arizona is frequently the nation’s number-two producer. Cantaloupe and other melons follow in the $100 to $115 million range, representing a significant share of U.S. receipts. Broccoli also lands near or above $100 million, with Arizona again typically second nationally. Pecans, a higher-value tree crop, have generated $85to $90 million in recent years on substantial bearing acreage measured in the tens of thousands of acres. Dates, an iconic desert crop with deep roots in Arizona agriculture, have historically approached the $90-million range in some years. The state is a leading producer alongside California, and dates command high value per acre in suitable locations.

Other notable vegetables include spinach, cabbage, celery, watermelon, and various leafy and mixed greens. Western Arizona, especially Yuma, dominates winter shipments of many of these items. Citrus—especially lemons, plus some oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit—adds tens of millions in value; Arizona is a secondary but meaningful national producer. Smaller volumes of onions, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, and various herbs round out the vegetable picture and are often found at local farmers’ markets as well.

 

Arizona’s Distinctive Specialty Crops

Beyond the big-volume specialty crops, Arizona supports a range of distinctive specialty crops that illustrate both climate adaptation and entrepreneurial opportunity. Lavender is grown commercially on farms such as Pine Creek Canyon Lavender Farm near Pine in north-central Arizona (varieties include Royal Velvet, Provence, and Grosso) and Red Rock Lavender in the White Mountains area, which maintains tens of thousands of plants. Heat-tolerant varieties—Spanish, French, lavandin hybrids, and Goodwin Creek Grey—suit Arizona’s climate better than English lavender. Growers market culinary products, essential oils, soaps, and agritourism experiences.

Prickly pear (Opuntia), listed by USDA as a specialty crop, is a native desert-adapted plant whose pads (nopales) and fruit are harvested for food—vegetables, syrups, jams, and drinks—on small farms and increasingly explored for drought resilience. It is widely used in local cuisine, from sauces to prickly-pear margaritas. Pomegranates are well-suited to the climate and grown on a smaller commercial scale. Guayule, a desert shrub cultivated experimentally and commercially in central Arizona, yields natural rubber and latex as a drought-tolerant alternative to traditional sources; while not a classic food crop, it is a distinctive arid-land horticultural plant. Traditional or emerging low-water specialty and heritage crops such as tepary beans, certain chiles (including chiltepin), agave, and various desert herbs connect to Indigenous and local agricultural practices. Nursery and floriculture items, including roses and other ornamentals, also contribute to the sector.

These crops succeed because growers and advisors like Moore manage the realities of desert agriculture. Irrigation efficiency and salinity control are not optional; they are daily operational necessities. Moore’s work spans the continuum from field-level agronomy to logistics that move produce from desert fields to national markets. That systems view helps explain why Arizona remains competitive even as water availability, labor, and input costs evolve.

 

Let’s Not Forget Wine Grapes, a Favorite Specialty Crop

Wine grapes qualify as a specialty crop and have carved out a distinctive niche in Arizona. According to the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension’s 2025 Arizona Wine Grape Growers Harvest Report (based on self-reported data covering roughly 90 percent of vineyards), growers harvested about 532 acres and produced roughly 1,187 tons, averaging around 2.2 tons per acre in some summaries. Nearly 80 different varieties were grown, with slightly more red than white; reds accounted for roughly twice the acreage of whites.

Syrah led in acreage, followed by Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. The top six varieties—Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, Malvasia Bianca, and Chardonnay—made up about half of harvested acres. Niche and Italian varieties are notable in some areas. The Willcox American Viticultural Area in southeastern Arizona is the largest grape-producing region. The second-highest acreage fell outside the formal AVAs. The other AVAs are Sonoita, the oldest (established around 1985), and Verde Valley (established 2021 near Sedona).

Arizona’s wine-grape story is fairly young compared with its vegetable powerhouse status, yet it demonstrates the same capacity for climate-specific adaptation that defines the broader specialty-crop sector. From Yuma’s leafy greens to high-desert vineyards and date orchards, the common thread is growers who match crop to environment and manage water with precision. Marcos Moore’s career—spanning agronomy, logistics, school-board service, and Farm Bureau leadership—illustrates how that expertise is both technical and community-rooted.

As markets, weather, and water policy continue to shift, Arizona’s specialty-crop strength will depend on the same combination of federal definition, local innovation, and practical management that Moore highlighted on the air on the Rosie On The House show. The state’s winter vegetables keep the national produce supply moving; its nuts, dates, melons, and emerging crops add diversity and value; and its wine grapes offer a reminder that even in the desert, specialty agriculture keeps finding new expressions. For the most current official figures, growers and policymakers can consult USDA NASS Quick Stats or Arizona Department of Agriculture reports. The foundation, however, remains the same: cultivated plants that feed, heal, or beautify, grown by people who understand desert agriculture from the ground up.

Full readio show episode below.