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AZ farmers face water, labor shortages. The incoming administration could make it worse

john boelts
John Boelts
John Boelts

Two of the biggest issues in Arizona right now also happen to be two of the biggest issues facing one of the state’s biggest industries: agriculture.

Farms and farmers are dealing with how to use less water to grow their crops, and in many cases, how to run their operations with fewer workers.

It is into this environment that John Boelts has become the new president of the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation. He operates a farm in Yuma County and has been involved in the organization for several years. He ascended to the top job when the previous president stepped down.

Boelts says there are issues on both the state and federal levels that keep him up at night: water. He’s not a fan of the state Department of Water Resources designating the Willcox Basin as an Active Management Area, which places restrictions on groundwater pumping. Boelts joined The Show to discuss what he's looking out for this year on the water front.

Full conversation

JOHN BOELTS: Two big umbrella issues that we have to work with. One is the federal water we talked about, so that would be maintaining agricultural water rights in La Paz and Yuma County, as well as Maricopa County and Pima County, and also what's left of federal water rights in Pinal County. So there are options and opportunities there.

We have to make sure that we talk to federal folks, Congress, and make sure that the state doesn't try to modify or change what we have going on. We need that water to stay in the hands of agriculture so that we can keep food abundant and affordable. And then internally in the state, like you mentioned about Wilcox, there's a couple of areas around the state that are of primary concern, but really the whole state, we have groundwater issues here and there throughout our state, some areas that are being drawn down too quickly.

We don't really have adequate regulatory framework for local control, such as for the Wilcox Basin so those folks can determine their own destiny. It's really a top down state managing areas sort of mentality, and we need to give the governor some new tools so that she and her Department of Water Resources can adequately service the needs of Arizona's farmers, ranchers, consumers and homeowners.

BRODIE: When you talk about a top-down approach, let me ask you about the Douglas Basin, which a few years ago voted to basically put itself in an AMA. Do you foresee maybe more of that happening in certain parts of the state as groundwater supplies continue to dwindle?

BOELTS: I think there are some areas of concern in our state. I think from Farm Bureau's perspective, our interest is really in trying to make sure that those local voices that manage the natural resources, put it to beneficial use, that those are heard in the process, and so it's key to have a different regulatory framework than the AMA that was established in the 1980s.

BRODIE: What do you make of the idea of so-called ag to urban, where farms, you know, maybe active farms, maybe farms that haven't been active for a while are turned into housing? It's like, do you think in general that's a good idea?

BOELTS: At times that may be the best option for a farmer. We, like, as an organization, Farm Bureau, believe in leaving those private property right decisions in the hands of individuals. When we talk about base and transfers of water, which you kind of hinted at. We're adamantly opposed to that. We think water resources should remain in the communities where they were developed.

We're just simply not going to grow crops without water,, and we can do some tremendous agricultural production, tremendous growing of crops here in the lower half of Arizona if we have the water resources to do it.

BRODIE: Let me ask you about another resource which I know is very important to farmers, which is farm labor, and I think this probably goes into sort of the federal category. But what are you looking out for in terms of the ability of you and and your members to be able to get workers from other places, especially with all the talk about, you know, maybe H-2A visas being reduced or, you know, farm workers not being welcome here anymore.

BOELTS: Yeah, there's, that's a big deal for us in Arizona agriculture. We grow a lot of crops that are labor intensive, whether it be the lettuce and cauliflower and those sort of things that I grow and that my neighbors grow down here in Yuma, all hand harvested, put in boxes. And shipped all over the U.S. and Canada during the winter months of the year. That's a huge deal, but you're right, the solution has to come at the federal level.

We need dramatic improvements of the guest worker programs, and we need to take a look at reforming our legal immigration system. It's key for us to have access to folks legally immigrating to the United States. And in the case that we don't have the capacity for having folks legally immigrate, we also need guest worker programs that fit temporary and, and even some more permanent needs. American agriculture is dramatically short of folks to work and domestic workers are not taking those jobs.

Yuma County alone has over 8,000. Our state is employing nearly 30,000 H-2A workers. That's the federal guest worker program, and that guest worker program is kind of a hot mess. You have to work with five federal agencies. You have to hire lawyers or be a very large business. And what's it really mean for consumers? It has meant the driving up the cost of growing things in this country and supplying them grown in the USA to U.S. consumers. That's a huge problem for us.

BRODIE: Well, it seems like the conversation though is not about how to bring in more guest workers or how to offer more of these H-2A visas. It's more on the restriction side. So I guess how big of a concern is it for you and other farmers in Arizona that with this labor shortage that it might be getting worse in the not too distant future?

BOELTS: There is some concern about that. I think everybody has a little bit of concern, but I do think that with all the talk of deportation and lots of that sort of rhetoric, I do think it's going to be very eye-opening. To folks just how fragile our economy is when you take out the hardworking folks that are here working.

Some of them have overstayed visas. There's a lot of challenges in that area across the country, and it's not just something facing agriculture. And so there's going to be some reckonings and some, some issues to deal with in that front.

And one thing I can say about our incoming president and administration. They have been responsive to business and what businesses needs have been in the past, and ultimately that benefits not just businesses but also employees and workers in our country. It allows us to grow and produce more in this country. So we look forward to those discussions that hopefully will happen before rash action is taken.

BRODIE: You mentioned shipping your produce to other states across the country, of course, and to other countries. I'm wondering what the conversation has been like in the ad community here in Arizona and maybe around the country about the potential of tariffs, especially as it relates to Mexico and Canada.

BOELTS: Yeah, that's gonna be challenging, you know, our incoming president worked on the USMCA, and,, you know, restructured NAFTA if you will, and put a whole new agreement in place. They should be well aware of the negative impacts of tariffs, the negative impacts that that has on agricultural goods that we, that our country trades outside this country.

In fact, American agriculture has been taking a beating since those tariffs went in place. The challenges have continued, so with storable and tradable commodities like grain, cotton, things like that that we produce here in Arizona and do a very good job of producing. That becomes challenging when there are tariffs in place and people who need to buy those products and bring them into their countries.

When they look around the globe, they say, well, maybe we don't want to deal with a country like the United States. So that becomes very challenging, right? And we need to bring some clarity and some sanity talking about ramping up tariffs or talking about that other countries pay tariffs isn't factually correct. When we levy tariffs on products coming into this country, American consumers tend to pay the bulk of those, so tariffs might have their place, but ultimately we're interested in free and fair trade around the globe for agricultural products.

We need to be able to trade with our two biggest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. There's a number of detailed things that probably were overlooked in USMCA that can be improved upon if some modifications are made. So there are opportunities to continue to improve there as well.

KJZZ's The Show transcripts are created on deadline. This text is edited for length and clarity, and may not be in its final form. The authoritative record of KJZZ's programming is the audio record.

Mark Brodie is a co-host of The Show, KJZZ’s locally produced news magazine. Since starting at KJZZ in 2002, Brodie has been a host, reporter and producer, including several years covering the Arizona Legislature, based at the Capitol.
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