1999 YUMA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS

GEOGRAPHY: Yuma County, in southwest Arizona, encompasses approximately 5,561 square miles of desert interspersed with rugged mountains. An abundance of arable land in valley regions, coupled with a warm, dry climate, results in a thriving agricultural business. There are 237,742 acres of farm land in Yuma County, with 195,416 cropped. The Colorado River is the source of irrigation water for the Yuma Mesa and surrounding valleys. The county agricultural water use totals 920,000 acre feet per year. Crops grown east of the Wellton-Mohawk project and east of San Luis are irrigated from wells. Federal and State governments own 89% of the county's total land and 11% is privately owned.

CLIMATE: Average length of growing season (days above 32 F minimum) is 340 days at the Yuma Mesa Ag Center and 350 days at the Yuma Valley Ag Center. Some areas are almost frost-free. Sunshine averages 91.2% of possible time with the average annual high temperature of 87.9 F and the average annual low temperature of 60.5 F. Average yearly rainfall in Yuma County is 3.17 inches.

AGRICULTURE: Value of crops, livestock, fruits and vegetables produced on Yuma County farms and ranches was almost $727 million in 1998. Crops accounted for 90%, while livestock products was 10%. Income from livestock was estimated based on Arizona totals for inventory and gross income.

Principal field crops produced are hay, grain and cotton. Vegetable crops have become increasingly important and generated almost $545 million, the highest returns for any commodity group. Lettuce was the principal vegetable crop with supplies available from mid November into April, and grossing 73% of the vegetable income. Citrus fruit grossed over $64 million in 1999, with lemons as the major crop. Seed crops are becoming increasingly important with more than 5,700 acres grown, grossing over $13 million.

Sales of fat cattle is the county's leading livestock operation. Most of the money generated by the livestock industry is from cattle on feed. Sheep graze alfalfa fields from late fall through winter.

The 1997 farm census indicates 465 farms averaging 511 acres per farm. The Yuma Agribusiness profile published on 2/90 by the Arizona Department of Commerce indicates that 211 agricultural related businesses exist in Yuma County. Ag employment peeks in December. In 1996, agriculture employed 45,984 workers.

Prepared by Barry Tickes and Mohammed Zerkoune, Extension Agents, Agriculture and Robin Laughlin, Administrative Secretary, using Arizona Crop & Livestock Reporting Service 1999 Arizona Agricultural Statistics and other sources.

Yuma County Agricultural Statistics 1999:

CROPS	Crop	Acres	Av. Per Acre	Av. Price	Value/Acre	Gross
FIELD	Cotton Lint SS	22,400	1,251 lbs.	.457 lb.	$571.71	$12,806,237
	Cotton Lint LS	1,800	1,093 lbs.	.822 lb.	898.45	1,617,203
	Alfalfa Hay	30,000	8.3 tons	89.00 ton	738.70	22,161,000
	Other Hay	20,500	4.0 tons	73.00 ton	292.00	5,986,000
	Bermuda Seed	4,700	320 lbs.	1.20 lb.	384.00	1,804,800
	Durum Wheat	35,300	5,880 lbs.	136.70 ton	401.90	14,187,070
	Other Wheat	1,300	6,420 lbs.	105.00 ton	337.05	438,165
	Barley	2,900	5,520 lbs.	100.00 ton	276.00	800,400
	Corn for Grain	3,400	10,130 lbs.	92.80 ton	470.03	1,598,102
	Misc. Field Crops*	3,500				5,819,850
	Misc. Seed Veg.	5,900			2,300.00	13,570,000
	Total	131,700				80,788,827
VEGETABLES	Lettuce, Head	45,000	335 Cwt	12.20 Cwt	4,087.00	183,915,000
	Lettuce, Leaf	5,300	275 Cwt	26.60 Cwt	7,315.00	38,769,500
	Romaine	9,300	292 Cwt	15.10 Cwt	4,409.20	41,005,560
	Cauliflower	3,600	309 Cwt	37.30 Cwt	11,525.70	41,492,520
	Broccoli	8,000	213 Cwt	24.30 Cwt	5,175.90	41,407,200
	Cantaloups (fall & spring )	4,800	551 Cwt	13.80 Cwt	7,603.80	36,498,240
	Potatoes	1,250	220 Cwt	9.05 Cwt	1,991.00	2,488,750
	Spinach	2,900			3,425.20	9,933,080
	Watermelon	1,200	428 Cwt	5.60 Cwt	2,396.80	2,876,160
	Honey Dews	600	184 Cwt	16.60 Cwt	3,054.40	1,832,640
	Misc. Veg's.**	1,580				5,858,406
	Total	83,530				406,077,056
TREE & VINE	Pecans	600	1,189 lbs..	1.25 lb.	1,486.25	891,750
	Grapes	1,115	5.12 ton	801.00 ton	4,101.12	4,572,749
	Lemons	12,800	498 Ctn	6.67 Ctn	3,321.66	42,517,248
	Grapefruit	1,100	614 Ctn	3.50 Ctn	2,149.00	2,363,900
	Valencia	2,100	354 Ctn	9.55 Ctn	3,380.70	7,099,470
	Navel & Sweet	300	273 Ctn	8.46 Ctn	2,309.58	692,874
	Tangerines	2,500	510 Ctn	9.25 Ctn	4,717.50	11,793,750
	TOTAL	20,515				$ 69,931,741
	Total Crops	235,745				$ 556,797,623
LIVESTOCK	Total includes Fat Cattle, Sheep & Lambs, and Misc. Livestock - Est. based on AZ totals of inventory & gross income					$ 71,883,680
Total Crop Gross Income 1999 Yuma County						$ 628,681,303

* Includes Cottonseed (ac. same as Lint), & Safflower
** Includes Bok Choy, Cabbage, Kale, and Napa

Click for more general information on production in agriculture in Arizona.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, James A. Christenson, Director, Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture, The University of Arizona.

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The University of Arizona. College of Agriculture. U.S. Department of Agriculture and Arizona Counties Cooperating