I am a university president who did his undergraduate work in the state of Iowa and who has studied agricultural regions in more than 15 countries, but on a recent trip to Yuma I saw the most sophisticated agricultural facilities that I have ever visited. The design, the systems, the structure, the variability, and the use of drones and technology were world-class.

In a state well known for the Grand Canyon and the saguaro cactus, it’s easy to overlook the quietly muscular force that is Arizona agriculture. From the Colorado River Valley to Pinal County to the Salt River Valley to the Verde Valley and all the way north to the Colorado Plateau, each region contributes its own agricultural personality to the state.

Yuma, sitting in a sun-scorched corner of the Sonoran Desert where farming is a bit of a magic trick, is perhaps the state’s oldest and now certainly its most prolific region. Spend one day there, as I did, aided by a fantastic tour by lifelong farmer, Yuma resident and state Sen. Tim Dunn, and you quickly realize that the standard assumptions about desert farming completely miss the mark.

Agriculture thrives in the Yuma corridor not by convenience, but........

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