As Arizona struggles to adapt to water shortages that are depleting farms and derailing development plans, one company has emerged as the central villain. Fondomonte, an agricultural company owned by a Saudi conglomerate, has drawn heavy criticism in recent years for siphoning the country's groundwater to grow alfalfa and exporting it as feed for cattle overseas.
Gov. Katie Hobbs responded to those calls for action Monday by canceling one of four leases at Fondo Monte in the state's rural Butler Valley and renewing the remaining leases that expire next year. I promised not to. Hobbs, a Democrat who took office earlier this year, said: Statement of decision The company claimed it was “operating in clear default” on its lease agreements and violated state hazardous waste laws. She also pledged to “hold large numbers of defaulting water users accountable” and “protect Arizona's water so it can grow sustainably for generations to come.” .
To do so, Mr. Hobbs will need to tackle problems bigger than one company. Agriculture accounts for about three-quarters of Arizona's water use, and alfalfa is one of the most water-intensive crops in the West. The state may have managed to fend off one rogue company, but fixing water scarcity across the region will require tougher political and economic choices.
“The governor is looking for a reason to terminate these leases,” said Kathleen Ferris, a senior fellow at Arizona State University's Kill Water Policy Center and author of the state's landmark 1980 groundwater law. I think he was there,” he says. “But the bigger issue is the unregulated use of groundwater in rural areas of the state. That's the big issue in this room. We just aren't addressing the use of this groundwater, and it's a finite amount. is.”
Fondo Monte's aggressive water use in the Butler Valley draws attention to Arizona's lax groundwater regulations and high water demands for crops such as alfalfa. The state has limits on groundwater pumping near population centers like Phoenix and Tucson, but local businesses can freely choose their water without restrictions, even if it means siphoning water from nearby homes and businesses. Only can be pumped.
To make matters worse, the Saudi-owned company operates on some federal land in the valley northwest of Phoenix. Annual payments are only $76,000 to rent the land from the state. In most parts of Arizona, it's illegal to move water from one basin to another, but the state Legislature in the 1980s made the Butler Valley two locations that could someday send water to thirsty Phoenix. I marked it as one of them. (Saudi Arabia Banned alfalfa production Amid severe water shortages in the country, other crops could not be harvested in 2018. )
Fondomonte said he would. appeal against Hobbes' decision, but even if Arizona were successful in forcing the company out, the state would still have a major alfalfa problem. Hay is one of the most water-intensive crops in the United States. Requires approximately 5 acre feet of water per acre annually. One acre-foot of water is equivalent to 326,000 gallons, which is enough to supply two average homes with water for about a year.fondomonte A letter was sent to the state government. In February, the company announced it was growing about 7,000 acres of alfalfa in Arizona.
Crop production was big business in Arizona until the Saudis arrived about a decade ago. The main reason for this is that Arizona's warm climate allows farmers to achieve much higher yields than in other parts of the country. The state produced more than 2 million tons of alfalfa in 2021. 8.2 tons per acre planted. This is much higher than the national average of 3.2 tons per acre.. Fondomonte's production accounts for only a fraction of that, with company officials saying in a February letter that the company produces only 70,000 tons annually, or 2.5% of the state's total production. He said it was equivalent.
Tackling a larger water footprint will be much more difficult. Fondomonte operated on state-owned land. I bought it at a reduced price, so However, most of the state's alfalfa production occurs on private land. The same goes for Cochise County in the state's southeastern corner, where rural residents have been without well water since the large corporation Riverview Dairy began growing alfalfa in the area. Other foreign countries are also getting into this business. A UAE-based company called Al Dara grows and exports alfalfa in La Paz County. With support from the state's own pension fund. Fondomonte itself operates other operations on private property in Vicksburg near Butler Valley.
“There's a church right next to them in Vicksburg and they haven't had water for three years,” said Holly Irwin, a member of the La Paz County Board of Supervisors who has been fighting Fondomonte. She praised Hobbs for canceling the lease, but she feared the state could lease the same land to another company and take over the farm.
“Going forward, they will need to evaluate how things are being done and perhaps limit the amount of water coming out of each well,” she said.
Arizona's responsibility isn't just on foreign companies. groundwater shortage, But. The state exported about 22 percent of its alfalfa crop last year, compared to almost none in 2011, but much of the crop is still used to feed dairy cows in the state and other parts of the West. Additionally, most of the state's largest groundwater pumpers, including Riverview and Peacock-Nutt, Large-scale nut farm operation These companies in the western part of the state are US-owned and based. Even though these companies may be pumping as much water as Fondomonte, without action from lawmakers, Hobbs can't do anything about this overdraft on private property.
“What we're concerned about is that one of the things the governor mentioned in his press release was the idea that water usage was one of the deciding factors for breaking the lease.” said Philip Bashaw, CEO of the Arizona Farm Bureau. For the farmers of the state. “We are concerned that this could set a precedent for other agricultural leases on state lands.” Approximately 150,000 acres of land leased Agricultural land accounts for 1.6 percent of the total land area held in trust.
In a statement to Grist, Fondomonte said the company had not violated the terms of the state lease and vowed to appeal Hobbs' decision. A spokesperson said the company “remains committed to progressive and efficient agricultural practices in all of our operations.”
In some cases, local residents have fought back against coveted businesses, but progress has been difficult. Cochise County residents voted last year to: impose new water restrictions But the basin's largest dairy and nut farms would be eliminated under the new rules and would not have to slow pumping.another Referendum in nearby basin The plan failed when organizations backed by Riverview began lobbying against it.
Cochise County Ground Water War
Currently, there is no one else to take water from Butler Valley, but alfalfa water needs are a serious problem in Maricopa County, the state's population center. The county produced about 30 percent more alfalfa in 2017 than La Paz County, where Fondo Monte operates. , according to USDA statistics. Phoenix-area farms have been draining groundwater for decades to grow alfalfa and other crops, and until the early 21st century they used more water than the county's 4 million residents. That's despite Phoenix having much stricter groundwater regulations than rural areas like the Butler Valley.
Arizona isn't the only state embracing this crop. There are thousands of acres of alfalfa farms in California, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, and Utah, and the alfalfa crops in these states also guzzle large amounts of water. According to some estimates, alfalfa and other silage crops 55% of water usage In the Colorado River Basin, More than half of Utah's water usethe second driest state in the United States.
The reason is simple. Because alfalfa is a lucrative business. Bid prices for hay products in 2022 are about $320 a ton, up from $210 a year ago, making them more lucrative than other large crops such as wheat. It provides nutritious and healthy feed for cows and dairy cows, which means it is in great demand not only in the U.S. but also overseas, including in Saudi Arabia.
“The majority of alfalfa grown in Arizona is grown to support local agriculture, which exists to support urban areas,” Bashaw said, adding that hay is used for crops such as milk, cheese and beef. He added that it will be used as feed for the cows that produce the product. More than 70 percent of those products are sold within the state. “Alfalfa is a really important part of our ability to source dairy products locally in metropolitan areas.”
As long as companies can extract enough water from underground aquifers and the Colorado River, they will likely continue to farm water as much as possible, and water sources across the region will continue to dwindle.
“The longer this situation goes on, the bigger the problem becomes,” Ferris told Grist. As long as farmers have the ability to pump water, they will grow the crops they deem most valuable. ”
