Agriculture doesn't belong in the desert? What will you eat?

Re:"Fighting the drought: The first step is acknowledgement," by Gary Freitas, June 8 My Turn.

The writer, a forensic psychologist, acknowledged his limited knowledge of water issues, and then proceeded to fully justify such an admission.

He placed the blame for water problems at the feet of agriculture in the desert. In his view, it has no right to exist. By his logic, Los Angeles and Phoenix would be virtually abandoned because these cities do not have the natural water resources to exist.

This conjures visions of someone with a bullhorn: abandon your homes and retreat to a climate with better relative humidity. Not likely.

Water is not water as you go around the state. It is a different issue depending upon the location. We have ground water, surface water and CAP water. I might suggest at least a cursory look-see at history, federal involvement in agriculture, water law and economics.

Arizona agriculture accounts for a more than $17 billion industry and 5 percent of the workforce. So let's just toss this out?

Arizona agriculture is as diverse and varied as the state, is expanding in its contribution and is a leader in water conservation. Arizona uses about the same amount of water today as in 1957 and agriculture is a big part of this conservation formula.

Where do the elitist ideas originate that we should have some sort of planned economy, and "somebody" decides there will or will not be legal economic activity?

Hot and dry climates with relative geographic isolation can be an excellent environment for growing many crops, current as well as futuristic. Irrigated farmland in Arizona can produce almost four times the product as the dry-land farming in the Midwest because we can apply targeted, measured and monitored water to our crops.

We produce stuff. We create products and wealth. We have huge investments in infrastructure, technology and research, and as business people we respond rationally to signals from the marketplace, and not those from drive-by opinions.

And, by the way, we produce food. It's not just a by-product, you know.

Arizona has a considerable wholesale nursery business. What about vegetable production, ranches, dairies and other livestock operations? Perhaps a lack of knowledge contributes to a conception of agriculture that is too small.

The forensic psychologist tells us: "Farming the desert was never a rational choice and is less so today. Solar and wind farming are the desert's natural resources."

Perhaps this hints at other agendas for his attack on agriculture, but no matter: Arizona agriculture is more sustainable than uneducated opinion.

Joe Sigg is government relations director for the Arizona Farm Bureau.