Arizona Agriculture ~ the backbone of the Arizona Outback

La Paz County, Arizona

FARMS, RANCHES, AGRICULTURE

Phyco 160 Project in Vicksburg AZ .... $10 million Production and Processing Facility. Phyco BioSciences, Inc. has contracted with XL Renewables, Inc. to develop a 160 acre algae biomass project in Arizona.

Tidbits from Arizona Farm Bureau -

Microalgae .... Overall, algae biomass production will become a commodity business in the next 5 to 10 years where commercial growers can be profitable and self-sufficient in energy,” says Ben Cloud, COO of XL Dairy Group, the organization building a biorefinery in Vicksburg, Arizona that will include the use of algae as a feedstock, rather than corn, in a few years to produce ethanol. They also plan to use algae as a feed for livestock.

Guayule ...... (pronounced why-YOU-lee) A plant indigenous to the southwestern United States, guayule is being cultivated by farmers and one company hoping to revolutionize the rubber industry. Guayule does grab the attention of one farmer. Currently managing approximately 16,000 acres of cotton, wheat, alfalfa, pistachios and an assortment of other crops, Larry Hancock of LKH Farming has contracted with natural-latex manufacturer Yulex Corporation to grow 380 acres of guayule in Salome, Arizona. “Today’s farming means you have to diversify,” says Hancock. “With the consistency of change and the need for high-value crops, if a promising one comes around, I’m going to try it.”

Ag Facts from the Arizona Farm Bureau

• Arizona ranks second in the U.S. in head lettuce, leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli production.
• Arizona has more than 15,000 farms and ranches across the state.
• Beef is Arizona's leading agricultural product.
• Arizona produces enough beef annually to feed over 4.6 million Americans.
• Arizona grows enough cotton each year to make more than one pair of jeans for every man, woman and child in the U.S.
• Yuma, Arizona is the winter lettuce capital of the world.
• Nationally, Arizona ranks second in the production of lemons, third in tangerine production, and 4th in the production of oranges and grapefruit.
• Arizona apple growers produce 94.5 million pounds of apples each year.
• There are 140,000 dairy cows in Arizona with a yearly milk production average of 21,705 pounds per cow.
• Arizona has a $9.2 billion agricultural industry.

Arizona Department of Agriculture

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension

* Members of the McMullen Valley Chamber of Commerce

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