Tucson Standard

A recent study by the University of Arizona highlights the significant economic impact of Yuma County's agriculture on both the state and local economy. The report reveals that in 2022, Yuma's agriculture and agribusiness generated $4.4 billion in economic activity for Arizona and $3.9 billion for Yuma County.

The research shows that produce from Yuma achieved a retail value of $3.2 billion, positioning the county third nationally in sales of vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Notably, for every $1,000 worth of vegetables sold, less than one acre-foot of water was utilized.

"There's this concern about how much water is being used and if it's being used efficiently," said George Frisvold, who led the study and is a professor at the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the U of A College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences. "In Yuma, they use 0.63 acre-feet to produce $1,000 worth of crops compared to the rest of the Colorado Basin where the average amount used is 1.44 acre-feet to produce a similar value."

The findings place Yuma among major agricultural producers in the nation with vegetable farming concentration 58 times higher than the national average.

"The study findings provide a very important resource for planning and decision making," said José Quintero, an agricultural enterprise analyst in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and U of A Cooperative Extension. "We found that Yuma is to agriculture what Hollywood is to movies, and what Silicon Valley is to computers."

Researchers employed a multiregional input-output model to assess direct and indirect contributions from farming, agribusiness, and related industries using current data primarily from the USDA Census of Agriculture 2022.

"The results were obtained using the most current and accurate data available," stated Claudia V. Montanía, an economic impact analyst at U of A Cooperative Extension.

Of the $3.9 billion economic activity generated in Yuma County, agricultural operations directly contributed $2.8 billion—comprising crop industries ($1.3 billion), livestock industries ($167 million), agricultural support services ($1.3 billion), and university-related activities ($4 million).

"Yuma is a dynamic place with sophisticated agricultural operations that play a key role in winter vegetable supply chains at the national level," remarked Dari Duval from U of A Cooperative Extension.

The study received funding from several sources including the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture.