1. WATER AND IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE IN ARIZONA. Why is so much of Arizona’s water used to irrigate crops in the desert? A partial answer to this question is that Arizona provides at least two of the three prerequisites for producing crops: ample sunshine, high-quality soils, and adequate water. Although the desert lacks su cient rainfall to grow most crops, Arizona’s rivers have supported agriculture for thousands of years, and aquifers in Arizona’s desert valleys hold vast quantities of groundwater. Ongoing drought, coupled with the water demands of a growing population, however, threaten those rivers and aquifers. In this context, it is useful to reexamine irrigated agriculture: its bene ts, water using practices, constraints, and trends.
This Arroyo seeks to provide a comprehensive picture of Arizona’s irrigated agriculture, presenting rst a brief history of the state’s desert agriculture, followed by pro les of agricultural regions in Arizona, their water sources, uses, and crops. Following sections o er background and discussion on the two major sources of water for irrigated agriculture in Arizona: groundwater and the Colorado River. A description of agricultural water use e ciency and conservation, including new crops that may reduce water application and voluntary fallowing of farmland for water conservation and transfer to other uses. Collaboration opportunities with university and government agencies on conservation and water e ciency improvements are outlined. The reader will come away with a deeper understanding of how Arizona achieves sustainable food and ber production in a desert climate.
What is Irrigated Agriculture?
Irrigated agriculture involves the controlled application of water to a crop. In semi-arid environments, such as Arizona, irrigation is essential because there is insu cient precipitation to meet the water needs of most crops. Water is used primarily to supply the water needs of the crop, but it is also used to ush accumulated salts from the soil, to increase humidity and lower temperature surrounding crops, and to protect crops from frost. In 2014 the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) reported that agriculture accounted for approximately 68 percent of Arizona’s total water use. This percentage is in line with the worldwide average, estimated at 70 percent.
Why is Irrigated Agriculture Important to Arizona?
As world population grows, advances in irrigated agriculture will be needed to increase yields. The United Nations projected in 2009 that farmers world-wide will need to produce 70 percent more food by 2050 to keep up with population growth. A 2015 report by the Family Farm Alliance argues that a strong agricultural economy in the western United States helps to keep food a ordable for consumers.
Arizona’s irrigated agriculture provides food and other goods to meet regional, national, and global demand. A 2017 study by University of Arizona economists estimated that agriculture contributes $23.3 billion to the Arizona economy. Of this, $14.8 billion comes directly from sales of farm products, the manufacture of crop inputs, crop processing, marketing and distribution. An additional $8.5 billion comes indirectly from economic activity generated as a result of agricultural income, such as retail sales.
Arizona is the second largest producer of lettuce and spinach in the US,with72,100acresoflandinproduction for all types of lettuce. Fresh vegetables (including lettuce) and melons, mostly grown in Yuma County, contributed $2.5 billion to the state’s economy in 2015. Arizona melon growers produce about 25 percent of U.S. cantaloupe and honeydew melons. Southern Arizona, with a climate favorable for growing cotton, had approximately 175,000 acres in production in 2017. Grain, including barley and wheat, are also gown of quantity wheat in 2014. Figure 1 shows the common crops grown in Arizona and the acres in production for each type of crop for 2012, the year of the latest published Census of Agriculture.
The 2017 Agricultural Survey contains estimates that are approximately comparable for some crop types.
Specialty crops, including pecans and grapes, are important to local, national, and international markets. In 2017, the state had 17,061 acres of pecan trees and was ranked fourth in the nation for the production of pecans. Production of Pima cotton, a high quality, extra- long ber cotton, varies from year to year, with 3,127 acres in production in 2012 and about 15,000 acres in production in 2017. The Lower Colorado River area is a top world-wide producer of Medjool dates, with 5,000 acres in Arizona. The expanding wine industry had 950 acres in production in 2013, with clusters of vineyards in the Willcox and Sonoita/Elgin areas of Cochise and Santa Cruz County and the Verde Valley in Yavapai County. The limited water needs of grapes make this crop ideal for Arizona. Arizona has shared in the recent growth of organic farms nationwide.
| Irrigated Acres | ||
| Crop | 2012* | 2017† |
| Forage (e.g. hay or alfalfa, excluding sorghum) | 322,816 | 315,000 |
| Cotton | 197,455 | 175,000 |
| Vegetables/melons | 130,345 | 134,600 |
| Wheat | 102,581 | 115,000 |
| Orchards | 46,176 | no data |
| Barley for grain | 44,662 | 20,000 |
| Dry beans (excluding lima beans) | 12,461 | no data |
| Sorghum for grain | 10,412 | no data |
| Oats for grain | 2,304 | no data |
Figure 1: Number of irrigated acres in Arizona for major crop types. Sources: *USDA 2012 Census of Agriculture; †USDA 2017 State Agriculture Overview
In 2012, Arizona had 42 USDA certified organic farms; by 2015 that number had grown to 140.
The substantial growth of dairy farming in Arizona has had an impact on irrigated agriculture. In 2017, there were approximately 160,000 milk cows in Maricopa and Pinal Counties, while in 1990 there were fewer than 100,000 milk cows in the entire state. The need to produce feed for dairy cows changed how and what crops are grown, with alfalfa replacing cotton in some areas.
Potential Colorado River Shortages and Impacts on Agriculture
The eventual elimination of the Ag Pool is only one challenge that farmers who rely on CAP water will face in the coming years. Water use in the Lower Colorado River Basin exceeds normal in ows to Lake Mead each year. When combined, a normal release of 8.23 million acre-feet from Lake Powell and approximately 0.7 million acre-feet of in ow from tributaries yields a total average operational in ow into Lake Mead of 9.0 million acre-feet. Given the basic apportionments to the Lower Basin states, the allotment to Mexico, and evaporation losses, Lake Mead annual out ow is about 1.2 million acre-feet more than the annual in ow. The result is an imbalance that causes Lake Mead to drop by 12 feet or more every year. This “structural de cit” is leading to consistent declines in the water storage in Lake Mead such that the status quo is not sustainable (Figure 8). This problem is likely to get worse given warming climate trends. Stream ow on the Colorado River is projected by multiple studies to decrease by at least 10 percent in the next century. In addition, severe drought conditions are highly likely to occur in the coming decades.
In 2007, an agreement among the Lower Basin states and the Bureau of Reclamation was codi ed in the Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Commonly known as the 2007 Interim Guidelines, it established a shortage sharing framework for the Lower Basin, incentives storing water in Lake Mead, and coordinated operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The shortage framework contains three shortage tiers based on Lake Mead elevations. If the Bureau of Reclamation’s August 24-Month Study projection for Lake Mead is at or 1075 feet on
December 31st in any year, a Tier 1 shortage is declared and Arizona’s allocation is reduced by 320,000 acre feet. This reduction increases to 400,000 and 480,000 acre feet if the Lake Med elevation drops to 1050 feet and 1025 feet respectively. Read the entire article at wrrc.arizona.edu
2. Mansand Could Solve Stormwater Pollutantion A simple method for using sand to make stormwater runoff safe for drinking helped UC Berkeley grad student Joseph Charbonnet snag first place at the recent UC Grad Slam, a system wide contest aimed at communicating research. The contest challenges master’s and Ph.D. students to explain their research in three minutes, in a way that will engage and enlighten a general audience.
The winning concept, “mansand” — thusly named, Charbonnet quipped, not because it refuses to ask for directions — is sand treated with manganese oxide, which gives it superpowers to filter out toxins and polluting particles that rainwater picks up from the street and sidewalk. Source: Daily Democrat.
The Environmental Information Association
Arizona Chapter
In alliance with
AND
WILL BE PRESENTING A
FREE
ASBESTOS REGULATORY SEMINAR
Breakfast and Lunch included.
Come meet, share a meal and learn the basics from EIA
Board Members, ADEQ Inspectors and instructors from The
Asbestos Institute.
Show Low, AZ June 14, 2018 8:00am – 3:30pm
Location: Show Low City Hall
Deuce of Clubs Meeting Room
180 N. 9th Street, Show Low., AZ 85901 (928) 532-4000
8:00 am Registration – Continental Breakfast / 8:30 am Seminar Start / 3:30 pm Seminar End
So that we can arrange for food, please register on-line at www.eia-az.org or call 602-864-6564
4. Memorial Day: When and How It began. Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2018 occurs on Monday, May 28. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.
It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
Waterloo—which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
DECORATION DAY
On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.
HISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.
For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.
MEMORIAL DAY TRADITIONS
Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.
Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because it unofficially marks the beginning of summer.
5. SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION! – AT ASU, IN YOUR BUSINESS AND LIFE! June 13
REGISTER NOW at azgreenchamber.org
Arizona State University’s updated and new sustainability goals provide the framework for how ASU approaches the practice of sustainability in everyday operations. Mick Dalrymple, Director of University Sustainability Practices at Arizona State University, will share these goals with the group and will give us some insight on how ASU is achieving them, along with ways to integrate the concepts into your business practices and personal life.
We’ll discuss Climate Positive, a Circular Resource System, Optimized Water, Personal Action, Collaborative Action, Social Equity, Food Reconnection and Resilience & Regeneration. You can find these goals at cfo.asu.edu/sustainability-goals-and-vision
We look forward to sharing this important and exciting information with you at the June 13th Arizona Green Chamber Lunch and Learn!
See Mick Dalrymple’s full bio https://sustainability.asu.edu/person/mick-dalrymple/
Location:
ASU SkySong Building 1, Scottsdale Innovation Center, Global Room 201
1475 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
