GOVERMENT
By comparison, midwestern farmers may get three cuttings each year, each taking up to two weeks to cure. That explains why Pinal County is the third highest yielder of alfalfa crops in the country, producing 8.5 tons per acre annually, according to the Arizona Farm Bureau. Yet, despite that, it’s also received a bad reputation in the media in recent years. Last year, an uproar emerged around Saudi Arabian- owned Fondomonte growing and exporting alfalfa in Arizona, while also taking advantage of unfettered access to groundwater amid a historic megadrought. That’s because wealthy corporations can get permits to drill for groundwater, something working-class Maricopa farmers can’t afford. Yet they suffer the consequences. And while the issue brought a renewed interest to how groundwater is used and abused around the state, alfalfa farmers believe their livelihoods have come under fire. “Alfalfa is the ‘devil’ of the desert,” Jones laughed. It’s a thirsty crop, consuming 4 to 6 acre-feet of water each year, enough to cover a football field with nearly 4 feet of standing water. But this information is nothing new. Several generations of Maricopa farmers have grown alfalfa on their slowly shrinking farms over the years. With that came a better understanding of working with and respecting the land and its resources. “People like my grandfather and others pioneering in this area, they dug down hills and started irrigating without the technology we have today,” Hartman said. “So, they used a lot more water.” In the old days, he said, farmers irrigated fields by flooding them and leftover water would often overflow into washes. But farmers these days are more judicious in their water usage. Someone ought to tell the governor. ‘I just don’t have enough water’ Anderson, Hartman and Jones each acknowledged alfalfa, though a heavy water user, is rich in nutrients and calories, offering more sustenance per pound than just about any other leafy green. Changes in farming practices over the last two decades have also helped farmers conserve water in the desert climate. This has included laser leveling fields — a process that assists farmers in creating clean, level fields for irrigation and evenly spaced crops — as well as instituting more precise sprinkler heads, center-pivot irrigation and drip irrigation methods.
Why alfalfa?
Tricticale, a hybrid grain that blends the benefits of wheat and rye, is one alternative that consumes less water but often needs to be combined with other grains to reach the nutritional value of alfalfa. “It’s got a decent feed value, but it’s not the same,” Jones said. “That’s the thing with alfalfa — it takes a lot of water and it gets a bad rap, but it’s extremely nutritious. I don’t know what you would even substitute alfalfa with.”
Alfalfa, a leafy legume, is perhaps the best nutrient-rich feed for cattle, according to Clint Jones, farm manager for University of Arizona’s Maricopa Agricultural Center. It is high in protein, fiber and minerals livestock need for a healthy diet, which helps keep grocery store shelves well-stocked in dairy, beef and other meats. It’s also a combination few other grains can keep up with.
increased by about 132% during that period. That’s a hefty difference, especially considering the Arizona Department of Water Resources reported the agricultural industry used 72% of the state’s water supply in 2019. While some of that water came from groundwater sources, it also included surface water — obtained from sources such as lakes and rivers — and some reclaimed water. But farmers have become more judicious in their water usage, especially considering the restrictions already imposed by water districts. The Maricopa Agricultural Center’s Jones said farmers were allotted only 2.4 acre-feet of water last year.
“More regulations on top of the very strict regulations we have already would definitely hurt our county.” REP. TERESA MARTINEZ
“That means for every acre of farmable ground, you only get 2.4 acre-feet,” Jones said. “So, if you have a crop like alfalfa, which can take up to 6 acre-feet of water, there's no way you can
These alternatives to flood irrigation all result from one key problem: They are allotted a limited amount of water each year.
Bryan Hartman
grow your entire acreage. That becomes a challenge.” Hartman said 2 to 3 acre-feet of water is standard for most farms in the area, which can limit how much they produce each year. “I have a 1,000-acre farm and I can’t grow wall-to- wall alfalfa,” he said. “I just don’t have enough water.”
Arizona’s agricultural industry saw a 36% drop in how much water it withdrew for irrigation purposes from 1980 to 2015, according to the Arizona Farm Bureau. By comparison, the amount of water withdrawn for municipal and industrial purposes — such as mining —
InMaricopa.com | February 2024
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