Young Farmer and Rancher Update
S
Susan Wilkins, YF&R Vice-chair
Wilki
Vi
h i
As a
member of
the American
Farm Bureau
Federation
Young Farmers
and Ranchers
Committee,
I had the privilege of attending the
YF&R Leadership Conference in
Phoenix, Arizona in mid-February.
I love to travel and especially enjoy
the farm tours that are part of this
conference. Arizona is an extremely
unique state and this conference was
no exception when it came to the
amount of knowledge I gained about
how folks farm in a different part of
the country. I learned about summer
monsoons, dust storms, and why
people put plastic cups on the very
tips of the cacti in their yard when
it’s cold outside. (The cups capture
just enough warmth to protect
the growing tips of the cacti from
freezing. The desert can get a little
chilly at night.)
We toured a very impressive
10,000 acre vegetable farm.
Naturally, in an area that only
receives 7 inches of rain per year and
is known for its perpetual sunshine,
the Farm Bureau had to visit on a
day that had just seen a ½ inch of
rain fall. Because the ground is
so dry and hard, the rain couldn’t
permeate. I had no idea that ½ inch
of water could be responsible for so
much mud!
would laugh when I mentioned
how excited I was about seeing this
natural wonder of the world; but it
was truly a magnificent sight. God
does amazing work! Our group’s
tour guide mentioned that it was
extremely special (and unusual) to be
able to see the Grand Canyon with
snow. In fact, due to a massive snow
storm just the day before, the road
into the Grand Canyon had been
closed to traffic!
Only about 19% of the land in
Arizona is privately owned. The
majority of farmers and ranchers
lease their land from the state or
federal governments. One farm
that we visited noted that they had
been around since 1892. Naturally,
I assumed that their farmland had
been in the family since then. But
instead, it turned out that they owned
no land besides their house lot.
Everything they farmed was leased
and I learned that in Arizona, this is
the norm.
The best part of the entire trip –
just like always – is returning home,
back to the mountains where spring
will soon be upon us. On our farm,
we’ll soon be overrun with newborn
lambs and calves. And seeing those
baby calves frolicking in the new
green grass is more of a wonder and
more awe-inspiring for me than even
the Grand Canyon.
For a farm girl from West
Virginia, the method (or madness)
of farming and ranching in the West
is pretty amazing. Even though the
southern part of Arizona is primarily
desert, with irrigation it is good for
year-round crop growth. In fact,
Arizona ranks 2nd nationally in the
production of cantaloupe, honeydew
melons, head and leaf lettuce,
spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and
lemons. The area around Yuma is
known as the winter lettuce capitol
of the entire world. If you are eating
a salad in the wintertime, it is 99%
likely that it is made with lettuce
from Yuma.
Depending on what climatology
system you use, there are between
five and thirteen climate zones
between the North and South Poles.
On my last day in the state, I saw
six different climate zones in the
span of less than four hours when I
traveled to the Grand Canyon. The
Grand Canyon is located about 230
miles from Phoenix. We climbed six
thousand feet within the first hour,
passing through sandy desert dotted
with cacti, to the chaparral filled
with shrubs and brush, into the snow
covered mountains with junipers and
ponderosa pines, and finally to the
“giant hole in the ground”. Locals
West Virginia Farm Bureau News
13