The University of Arizona has recently released a new report highlighting the huge impacts of tribal agriculture throughout the Grand Canyon State — including 2,300 jobs and $750 million in total economic output statewide.
This 89-page report was done by Cooperative Extension economic analysts housed at the College of Agriculture, Life and Environment Services with additional support from the Indian Land Tenure Foundation and Native American Agricultural Fund.
It’s filled with lots of fascinating facts.
According to the study, Indigenous farms outnumber the rest, making up close to two-thirds of all operations statewide. And while most tribal farms are between 1 and 9 acres in size, they collectively manage 20 million acres.
That’s more than 80% of Arizona’s farmlands during 2022.
Hopi dry farmer Michael Kotutwa Johnson shared an important reminder.
“The main story is that Indian people are still doing agriculture since before we were in a state,” said Johnson, who is a report co-author. “Maybe doing it in a different form, but we’re still doing that and I think that our contributions have been really unnoticed.”
Including how the vast majority of Arizona farms for commodities, like sheep, goats, vegetables and melons, are owned by Indigenous peoples. Despite tribes owning the lion’s share of state farmland, these growers still face hurdles.
They were only awarded 16% of all federal agricultural payouts in Arizona. Most of those payments in 2022, on average, were roughly $3,800 per farm — compared to $63,600 for non-Native producers.
For Johnson, he thinks this trend will continue to grow, “so I really would make the claim that in about 20 years the only real agriculture in Arizona will be on Indian reservations.”
Maricopa County benefited the most from the tribal agriculture business, earning $203 million in total economic output — followed by $31 million for Yuma County and $18 million in Pima County.
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