Arizona produces prodigious amounts of beef, milk, melons, beans, corn and greens, cotton and hay for consumers. The problem is with the vast amount of agricultural land, a lot of it is running dry. Currently the demand outweighs the production due to fast growth of urban cities in Arizona like Phoenix and long standing economic and political order is shifting because of it. With this, water and power are being drawn from agriculture to the developing urban future.
These farms in Arizona consume the most amount of water due to the growth of cotton. Due to the high temps and these crops, “Farms use as much as 8 feet per acre per year,” says Leslie Meyers. That said, its enormous reservoirs have been drained to about half, and scientists have said the climate change will contribute to a further 20% drop of these streams by 2050.
When comparing cities and agriculture, farmers use a lot more water than cities do. They sustain these cities with food and fiber. Pinal’s growers, is part of a 23 billion industry in Arizona. They account for about 40% of the state’s milk and 45% of its beef sails. Due to the problems with water and government funding, 40% of Arizona’s land became unfarmed, causing the following effect; with fewer crops to sell, farmers buy less seeds and some forgo new equipment, causing a big problem for Arizona.
Every year rent goes up for these farmers and water allocation goes down. Since 2004, farmers knew their allocations would be cut, due to the urbanization of some areas. In exchange, they were promised canal water until 2030. Now, the government keeps close tabs on the groundwater withdrawal. They manage these systems that favor cities and tribes over agricultural areas in times of shortage.
“The future depends on moving water where it needs to go and away from where we don’t want it,” Katheryn Sorenson said to a room with few farmers. Due to the bias, there will be farmers that have to stop growing, affecting them, their production, and later down the road, the cities. This shortage of water will affect everyone at some point. With shortages of food, people will not be able to eat. By 2100, due to human-caused climate change, the Southwest will see 85 more days with a temperature over 100 degrees, increasing demand for water.
Right now, there is no easy way to solve the conflict with water usage and urbanization of desert lands. I believe there needs to be a steady flow of water established between cities and agricultural, preventing agriculture and mouths from getting dry. I also believe there needs to be a proper education on what is at stake here. From the looks of it, it seems many are uneducated in this matter, even those in water services. “To prove this,” Katheryn Sorenson said with unfailing optimism, “we need to know how the set would sustain its growth in the face of such dire environmental predictions.” This comment shows there needs to be a proper education of this major subject.