International Spinach Conference

Kurt D. Nolte University of Arizona

Welcome to the Desert Southwest

• Mild Winters

• Little danger of hard frosts

• More than 350 days of sun per year

• One of the longest growing seasons in the US

• Irrigated via Colorado River Allocations

Baja California, Mexico

Imperial Valley, California

Yuma County, Arizona

Mexico

USA

Mexicali Valley Baja California, Mexico 520,000 Harvested Acres

Imperial Valley, California 570,000 Harvested Acres

Yuma County, Arizona 275,000 Harvested Acres

Mexico

USA San Luis Rio Colorado

Baja California, Mexico 64,000 Harvested Acres

Mexicali Valley Baja California, Mexico 520,000 Harvested Acres

Imperial Valley, California 570,000 Harvested Acres

Yuma County, Arizona 275,000 Harvested Acres

Mexico

USA San Luis Rio Colorado

Baja California, Mexico 64,000 Harvested Acres

1.43M Acres in Production

Baja California, Mexico

Imperial Valley, California

Yuma County, Arizona

Mexico

USA

Yuma Valley

Yuma Mesa

Gila Valley

Mohawk Valley

Dome Valley City of

Yuma

Bard/ Winterhaven

Yuma Area Agriculture… • One of the 4 original Arizona Counties • 3rd largest urban center within Arizona • Colorado River irrigated (7 irrigation districts) • Noted for having rich, deep and fertile river bottom soils • 350 day growing season, sunshine 95% of the time • Fresh produce: 22 coolers, 9 salad plants • Fruit: 2 date and 3 citrus packing facilities

Dome Valley

Colorado River Gila River

2012

1887

1962 125 Years of Yuma Agriculture

Alfalfa

Alfalfa Seed

AZ Sweet Oranges

Artichokes

Asian Greens

Baby Leaf Greens

Barley

Basil

Beet Greens

Bell peppers

Bermuda Grass

Bermuda Grass Seed

Black Eye Peas

Boc Choi

Broccoflower

Broccoli

Broccoli Seed

Broccolini

Butter Lettuce

Cabbage

Cantaloupe

Carrot

Cauliflower

Celery

Chard

Chili Pepper

Clementines

Cotton

Date Palms

Dates

Dill

Dried Peas

Eggplant

Endive

Escarole

Fennel

Field Corn

Frisee

Red Mustard

Gourd

Grapefruit

Green Onions

Guayule

Head Lettuce

Hesperaloe

Honeydew

Jojoba

Leaf Lettuce

Leek

Lemon

Lettuce Seed

Lolla Rosa

Mint

Mizuna

Napa Cabbage

Oak Leaf Lettuce

Okra

Olives

Onion Seed

Ornamental Palms

Oro Blanco

Parsley

Pecans

Pima Cotton

Pomegranate

Poppy

Pummelo

Red Chard

Red Mustard

Red Threeawn

Romaine Lettuce

Safflower

Sage

Sorghum

Soybeans

Leaf Spinach

Bunched Spinach

Strawberry

Sugar Beet

Sugar Peas

Sunflower

Sweet Corn

Sweet Sorghum

Swithgrass

Table Beets

Tangelo

Tango Baby Leaf

Thyme

Tomato

Valencia Orange

Vegetable Transplants

Watermelon

Durum Wheat

White Wheat

Red Wheat

Wild Rocket

Yellow Squash

Zuchini

Sudan Grass

Sudan Grass Seed

Mexican Lime

Mini Watermelon

Citrus Trees

Cilantro

Head Lettuce Prices 2014 - 2015

Yuma Harvest November - March

Yuma Harvest Nov. – Mar.

2014 2015

Break Even Price: ~$8.00

Yuma is a Leading US County in Agricultural Sales

Commodity

Yuma’s rank among US counties in sales

Vegetables & Melons Top 0.1%

All Crops Top 0.5%

All Agricultural Products Top 1%

Other Crops & Hay Top 1.2%

Nursery, Greenhouse Top 23%

Grains, Oilseeds, Beans & Peas Top 28%

Yuma is a Leading US County in Crop Acreage

Commodity

Yuma’s rank among US counties in acreage

Vegetables Top 0.1%

Lettuce Top 0.2%

Durum Wheat Top 9%

Forage Top 9%

Reduction in Summer Crops, a Switch to More

Winter Centric Crop Production Systems

• Vegetables now dominate acreage crop and production schemes

• Double cropping on 70+% of acreage is now common

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Other

Utilities

Information

Transportation & warehousing

Other services

Finance and insurance

Administrative services

Accommodation and food services

Wholesale trade

Construction

Professional & scientific services

Manufacturing

Real estate

Retail trade

Health care

Agriculture & supporting services

$ millions

This does NOT include agricultural input industries or food processing industries

Agriculture is the Single Largest Private Sector Contributor to the Yuma Gross Domestic Product (2012)

Measuring an Industry’s Relative Importance: Location Quotients

Location Quotient (LQ): a local industry’s share of local jobs compared to that industry’s share of total, national jobs

Industries with LQs > 1.25 usually considered part of a region’s economic base

LQs are used to identify national centers of certain types of production

Location Quotient (Automotive Example)

Location Quotient (LQ) examples

• Napa Wine & Spirit Merchant Wholesalers

LQ = 13.3

• Silicon Valley Computer & Electronics Manufacturing

LQ = 13.4

• Detroit Motor Vehicle Manufacturing

LQ = 16.31

Combining crop, livestock & agricultural support sectors ...

• … Combining sectors, Yuma’s LQ = 24.5

• Yuma is to agriculture what …

– Napa is to wine

– Detroit is to cars

– Silicon Valley is to computer technology

Yuma Vegetable & Fruit Crops Arizona: #2 State in Lettuce

90 - 95% of Winter US Lettuce

Winter Salad Bowl: Nov - Mar

2011 Yuma Ag Production*:

Iceberg lettuce: 35,000 acres

Romaine & Leaf: 27,000 acres

‘Baby Greens’: 6,000 acres

Spinach: 7,000 acres

Broccoli, Cauliflower: 13,500 acres

Citrus & Dates: 15,000 acres

*National Ag Stats Service, 2012

Iceberg Lettuce

Spinach

~5 - 10% of Yuma County

Agriculture is

Certified Organic

• Spinach is planted at depths ranging from ¼ to ½ inch depth at 21 to 48 seed lines per 84-inch beds

• High seed densities result in about 3.5 million plants/acre

• Spinach is harvested in the Yuma area 21 to 50 days after planting • Yuma spinach is grown for fresh market (bunched or packaged)

Bagged Spinach is Mechanically Harvested Using a Machine with a Front Mounted Cutting Bar

After Harvest, Spinach is Typically Cooled to 34ºF at Centralized Cooling Facilities and Transported to the Processing Plant

• Safe and sustainable spinach production is of paramount importance in Arizona

• Materials and methods aim to reduce the risk of pathogen presence on all produce crops

University of Arizona Fresh Produce Safety http://cals.arizona.edu/fps/

Have a Great Meeting!