Friday Food Facts

Who uses water? We all do. Yes, agriculture uses a lot of water. But, there’s a lot of water in the food we eat, and it takes water to grow that food. Arizona agriculture grows for all of us.

Arizona’s 300-plus days of sunshine help us grow all the healthy food groups, even fish for protein. Our state’s farmers are busy planting and harvesting 12 months out of the year. Yuma serves up 130 million servings of leafy greens to the U.S. and Canada every day.

Nearly all Arizona farms and ranches are family owned. Some are large with multiple generations while others are incorporated to protect the family business. So, even our large corporate farms are most likely family farms. Our Arizona ranch, Sample Cattle Company, is an LLC.

Arizona agriculture’s 23-billion-dollar industry grows the “Med Diet in the Desert.” Everything from fruits and vegetables, nuts, and a variety of healthy meat proteins including beef. We even raise fish in Arizona. All fitting into the world’s healthiest diet, the Mediterranean diet.

Cow’s milk is naturally nutrient-rich in vitamins. Plus, the calcium in milk is important to bone health in young and old alike. And, Potassium from dairy products can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and lower blood pressure.