Blythe Mayor Joseph DeConinck said between 10 percent to 15 percent of the hay grown in his region is exported overseas, but insists the practice is not contributing to the state's drought. Its a work in progress that will need legislative approval. It's costly for them to drill new wells.". After draining their own glass, the Saudis stick a straw in our groundwater and start slurping. Fondomonte Arizona, a subsidiary of Almarai Co., is under fresh scrutiny for growing alfalfa, which is bound for the Gulf kingdom, as Arizonas drought worsens. But not . But Arizona has cultivated alfalfa for a long time, because in the desert you can get multiple harvests in a given year, as long as you have enough water. Over 51 In Arizona, renewed attention to Fondomontes water use is raising questions about the states lack of regulation around pumping groundwater in rural parts of the state. And its not the only foreign company that farms in the Southwest. Nor does every item thats manufactured in Arizona remain here and many of those goods require significant amounts of water to produce. Pressures on groundwater remain even though farms in Arizona have become very efficient in water use, says Kathleen Ferris, director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association and architect of the Groundwater Management Act. that cities like Las Vegas are ordering people to dig up and remove or the almond What we see now is the legacy of that. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil), Officials from both parties have criticized the use of state water by foreign-owned entities, with Gov. Just 8 months ago, Arizona state agencies approved new deep-water wells in La Paz County for a Saudi-owned company to pump thousands of gallons of water per-minute. It was a candidate for the attorney general at the time (who is now the attorney general) who called for the investigation. turned into biofuelsthats more land than all the other types of energy production in the U.S. Its about protecting our groundwater supplies. Natalie Koch:A double exposure two images mapped onto one another is understood as an error in developing a photo. Hobbs spent $1.5 million to help northern Arizona police protect their cities. 0:47. And we shouldnt. When Will We Stop Letting People Die From Heat in Prison? So their domestic wells that they use for their homes are increasingly dropping, and at some point, they're going to lose access to water. The temperatures are so high that it takes a lot more water to keep that barren soil moist for the alfalfa to grow. China is the primary export market for U.S. hay. The alfalfa is then shipped to Saudi Arabia, where it's illegal to grow because there's a shortage of water. The land and water use became a key part of Mayes' campaign for attorney general, and she has spent her first months in office railing against the deals and looking for ways to untangle the state from them. Prescott honored 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots, firefighters who lost their lives 10 years ago in the Yarnell Hill fire tragedy, on Friday. Those efficencies were achieved by farmers in areas where conservation was mandated, and farmers outside regulated zones who adopted best practices because of market forces. Arizona also has a deeper historical role. used to drill and refine the natural gas that makes nylon and in the production Not every crop grown in Arizona is consumed in the Grand Canyon state. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. High Country News has previously reported about land-grab universities. What is the role of the Arabian Peninsula in the University of Arizona and its agricultural efforts? is clear that the production of meat and dairy is increasingly unsustainable in Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. "In one day the amount of water pumping out of just one of those wells could serve roughly 30,000 Arizona residents, which is pretty astonishing given that the entire population of La Paz County has just over 16,000 people," she said. So there are no limits on how much water they can pump. I think people are just waking up and recognizing that they are exporting huge amounts of their water overseas, even during a drought. In June, The Arizona Republic uncovered the story of how the State Land Department had recently handed over thousands of acres to a Saudi corporation called Fondomonte, giving it permission to. generation capacity of the This desert valley is being farmed for hay and alfalfa using groundwater pulled from the Colorado River, with much of the hay exported to feed animals in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- The state of Arizona has rescinded its approval for two new deepwater wells for a controversial Saudi Arabia-owned farm in the desert west of Phoenix. Fondomonte Arizona, a subsidiary of Almarai Co., is under fresh scrutiny for growing alfalfa, which is bound for the Gulf kingdom, as Arizonas drought worsens. But the question is much bigger than one foreign-owned farm. The Egyptian case fits with the It then exports the plants to Saudi Arabia to feed dairy cattle. to cause cracks in shale rock, allowing natural gas to escape to the surface, Reporter Nathan Halverson tells NPR's Renee Montagne that Almarai bought about 15 square miles in the Arizona desert. To understand the virtual water trade, lets start with She said shes fielded complaints from residents for years that it's getting harder to pump water in nearby wells and has repeatedly asked the state to do something about it. ", IN ARIZONA, FRESH SCRUTINY OF SAUDI-OWNED FARM'S WATER USE. put togetherand those crops need water too. That was two months after The Arizona Republic revealed sweetheart land leases to Fondomonte, and other companies, that allowed it to use groundwater without oversight. water used to grow crops that humans dont even eat directly, such as alfalfa, And that eventually led to this big investment in agriculture that continues to this day at the University of Arizona. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said Friday that the drilling permits for Saudi Arabian-owned company Fondomonte were revoked, claiming credit after she raised objections in early April to state agencies about discrepancies in application paperwork. 0:04. "Our valley has the first water rights on the river.". But I kept finding that there was a circular nature to the stories I was uncovering. He graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the Arizona State University in May of 2022. They have said the companies are exploiting Arizonas groundwater law that allows farms to pump as much water as they want in a time of drought. Foreign entities and individuals control roughly 3% of U.S. farmland, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The revoked permits only involved the drilling of two new deep-water wells. Due to technical limitations of our publishing system, the earlier comments on this story are no longer visible on this page. Nor do we have a law that restricts how much groundwater Saudi, Chinese, California or Arizona farm owners can pump if they are located outside specific water management areas. It makes logical sense for them to do that because they're not going to be able to grow it in Saudi Arabia, especially for milk production.". The well permits were granted by the Arizona Department of Water Resources in August 2022, according to state well records. Click lower left icon to view documents in fullscreen mode. Export demand to Asia cooled last year as hay inventories abroad rose and the strong U.S. dollar made American ag crops more expensive overseas. Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. We can see that with our eyes," Mayes said. The states groundwater, Hobbs said, "should be used to support Arizonans, not foreign business interests.". Ancient springs that were mentioned in the Bible began drying up, and the Saudi Arabian government told its dairy companies to start importing their hay and their wheat from other parts of the world. Arizonas Groundwater Management Act created active management areas largely in urban zones where there are restrictions on water use. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. of the electricity for processing it. Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. AZ International Auto Show & New Car Buyer's Guide 2020 Model Year, Saudi Arabia's largest dairy is growing alfalfa in Arizona, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. Montini: Foreign water guzzlers draining La Paz County? The government the Army and other branches was trying to integrate these areas into the United States, but they didnt know how you were supposed to establish state power in this place that not only doesnt have roads, but also has a really difficult environment. the other side of the world. Fox News Flash top headlines for April 28. map in Arizona, its not just the international water trade or the meat This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. No one we talked to has issue with these corporations coming in and wanting to make money. Instead, the alfalfa will be fed to cows in Saudi Arabia. That's why Gov. emissions are driving climate change, which is exacerbating asked La Paz County Board of Supervisors Chairman Holly Irwin, who represents a rural area in western Arizona where food companies affiliated with the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates have come to farm alfalfa for export. Several large corporate farms in western and southeastern Arizona have come under criticism for using large amounts of water as the southwestern United States is experiencing a severe drought. Republicans Respond to World-Historical Drought by Propping Up Fossil Fuels, How the Meat Industry Undermines Effective Climate Policy, The U.N.s Disturbing New Climate Report Is a Call to Battle. You can literally get three or four times as much hay growing in the desert because you have a very long growing season: It's hot, so the hay dries really quickly once you cut it. "It's outrageous and frankly unacceptable that the state would even consider granting new wells to allow the Saudis to pump millions of gallons of water to grow more alfalfa for their cows," Mayes said, noting the vast amount of water that could come from those new wells. aquifer and dump it on thirsty crops, which we then feed to ourselves or our NK: The idea to create the University of Arizona began in the 1860s, but (the territory) didnt have the money to start it. A pair of well-drilling permits for Fondomonte Farm has been revoked. spin a generator. livestockor turn into biofuels. Part of what upset so many people in Arizona is that the farm is producing alfalfa, a hugely water -intensive crop. 10 min read. academics. County, west of Phoenix. Halverson, along with producer Ike Sriskandarajah, visited that farm for a story for Reveal, an investigative radio program and podcast from The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX. to save water for households or drinking. Fondomonte did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the AP. Sanderson Ford wants to share its thanks to Al McCoy for the impact he made in the Valley for more than a half-decade. The remarkable thing about Saudi Arabia's story is that it'd done something similar in the desert until the water ran out. ", In a statement announcing the California farmland purchase, the Saudi company said the deal "forms part of Almarai's continuous efforts to improve and secure its supply of the highest quality alfalfa hay from outside the (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) to support its dairy business. To make up for the water The state of Arizona has rescinded drilling permits for two water wells for a Saudi Arabia-owned alfalfa farm in the western portion of the state By Associated Press April 22, 2023 new housing construction because of the water shortage. a platform to stop the Saudi According to Elie Elhadj of the Water Research Group, Saudi Arabia's s 1970s policy of limitless water-pumping (a rate that averaged around 5 trillion gallons per year by the 90s) resulted in a total inability to farm wheat due to the Kingdom's non-existent aquifers. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. An Almarai logo is seen in Cairo, Egypt, on April 26, 2023. Her emphasis on doing so led to a brief public disagreement with fellow Democrat Gov. But what they did care about is that their water tables are falling. -Jeff Rosenfield joined KGUN 9 in July of 2022. 2023 www.azcentral.com. Hobbs grants $1.5 million to police departments in Northern Arizona, Prescott remembrance event commemorates 10th anniversary of Yarnell Hill Fire tragedy, Police arrest five people after State Farm Stadium brawl on Thursday, Number of East Phoenix residents with no power drops from around 1,000 to 300, Thank you to Al McCoy for 51 years as voice of the Phoenix Suns, How to identify the symptoms of 3 common anxiety disorders, Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices. Arizona is the leading producer of alfalfa in the US, shipping the crop to other countries as well as to other US states. AZFamily reports in just three minutes, both wells would pump the amount of water an average family of four uses in a month. inefficient transformation of water into human food increasingly intolerable. They approached the state Department of Water Resources to talk about developinga new type of tool for managing groundwater, says DWR director Tom Buschatzke. If choices have to be made in the era of climate change, there But its not the only connection between Arizona and the Arabian Peninsula. Sharon Udasin. industry that needs reexamining. "They got about 15 water wells when they purchased the property. and beyond. In another real-life example of the world's interconnected economy, the Saudis increasingly look to produce animal feed overseas in order to save water in their own territory, most of which is desert. the rapidly drying Colorado River Basin is used to grow food for cattle, whose Legal Statement. Mayes, a Democrat, sought the revocations after she said her office had found inconsistencies in the permit applications. Arizona agriculture and boosterism had already been focusing on fruit production, so they did a survey of farmers around Arizona, and there was strong interest in date farming. State documents show there are at least 23 water wells on the lands controlled by Alamarai's subsidiary, Fondomonte Arizona. The land in question had previously been under cultivation for corn, cotton and other crops, including smaller amounts of alfalfa for hay, he tells The Salt. Fondomonte applied for two 1,200-foot, 3,000-gallons-per-minute wells on Aug. 23. Residents in La Paz County are complaining that local wells are drying up. Politics Apr 28, 2023 2:57 PM EDT In rural Arizona's La Paz County, on the state's rugged border with California, the decision by a Saudi-owned dairy company to grow alfalfa in the American. Currently, the company is still taking thousands of gallons of the state's groundwater using their existing wells. 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