Charlie Leight/ASU News
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs speaks in Tempe on September 28, 2023.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said the state would terminate its lease with a Saudi-owned company that was farming alfalfa in Arizona. The company has been criticized for growing water-intensive crops for export during the southwest's historic drought.
Fondomonte Arizona LLC has four leases on state trust land in La Paz County. Hobbs said in a press release that he has directed the state Land Department to inspect Fondomonte's farm. Those inspections revealed several violations of lease agreements dating back to at least 2016, she said.
He said one of the four leases expiring early next year will end and the remaining three will not be renewed.
→ See more Arizona water stories
“I am not afraid to do what my predecessors have refused to do: hold people accountable, maximize the value of our national land trusts, and protect Arizona’s water future,” Hobbs said in a statement. “It is unacceptable that Fondomonte continues to pump unlimited amounts of groundwater out of state while clearly defaulting on its lease.”
The alfalfa grown by Fondomonte is shipped to Saudi Arabia to feed dairy cows. The company pumps large amounts of groundwater for irrigation.
The Hobbes administration in April permission was also revoked for the company to drill a new well.
In a statement to KJZZ News, Fondomonte said he does not believe the lease should be terminated and is working with the governor's office to resolve the issue.
“We believe the state mistakenly believes the company is in violation of its lease,” the statement said. “As for other leases that the state will not renew, this poses a risk to all farmers with state land leases, including very high costs to the state and Arizona taxpayers.” It will set a precedent. Mr. Fondomonte will seek every means to ensure there is no discrimination or discrimination.'' Unfair treatment. “
early Monday morning, The state's largest public pension fund announces It will sell its interest in another company that owns a 3,000-acre farm in western Arizona that grows alfalfa for shipment to the Middle East.
