Regenerative desert farming. 🌾🌵

Read Time: 4 minutes

When we think of deserts, we don’t automatically thing of agriculture. We think of saguaro cactus, intense dry heat, scorching sun, and lack of water.

Phoenix, Arizona had 133 days of temperatures at or above 100º F last year and only 4.25” of rain. Farming in the Southwestern United States is not for the faint of heart. Despite the hurdles, Oatman Farms is farming regeneratively, conserving billions of gallons of water, and growing nutrient dense grains.

Water Scarcity in the Arid Southwest

Over Reliance on Colorado River

More than three-fourths of the water diverted from the Colorado River is used for agriculture — with alfalfa and hay crops destined for animal consumption accounting for nearly half.

The Colorado River irrigates 90% of nation's winter vegetable production and 15% of nation’s farmland. It’s been quite the feat of engineering to divert an entire river system to feed a growing and hungry nation.

However, from 2000 to 2015, water consumption exceeded the total river flow. And in August 2021, a water shortage was declared by the federal government for the first time ever.

Unlimited Groundwater for Foreign-Owned Farms

The growing water shortage in the southwest has brought attention to foreign-owned farms and Arizona’s groundwater resource management.

Arizona’s State Land Department leased thousands of acres to a farming operation owned by Middle East dairy giant, Almarai.

They were originally permitted to pump unlimited groundwater, but recently the lease has ceased. These alfalfa harvests were being grown using precious groundwater, then be shipped half-way across the world to feed dairy cows.

The conversation has since shifted to how the state can conserve and protect access to water for a growing population. And another farm south of Phoenix is showing how regenerative agriculture can be a huge part of the solution.

Regenerating Desert Landscapes Using Farming

Oatman Farms & First-Generation Farmer, Yadi Wang

Five years ago, Dax Hansen and his wife purchased their family’s degraded cotton farm in Gila Bend, Arizona which was on the verge of collapse. They couldn’t let the family farm’s legacy fail, so they turned to Regenerative Organic Certified® agriculture to restore and regenerate it.

Thus, Oatman Farms was born.

Yadi Wang is the farm’s manager and also a first generation farmer with a seemingly infinite appetite for curiosity and learning. I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Yadi many times, even sampling their regenerative grains at Wildernesses Brewing in both brewed and baked forms.

Watch the video to hear Yadi’s story firsthand and his dedication to regenerative agriculture and fixing the food system in the Southwest.

Growing Locally Adapted Varieties

Often in agriculture, we try to force crops to grow in regions they aren’t adapted or accustomed to. We’ve done a pretty good job at forcing environments to grow what we want, but not without costs.

Oatman Farms has taken a different approach.

Their main wheat variety, White Sonora, is an heirloom variety of wheat that has been grown in this region for generations. It is believed to be the first wheat introduced to the New World over 300 years ago and thought to be the oldest arid-adapted grain variety cultivated in the Arizona area.

It is extremely drought tolerant, disease resistant, and highly adaptable. By choosing varieties best suited to local contexts, Oatman has remarkably cracked the code on water conservation in the desert environment.

Conserving 1 Billion Gallons of Water Through Soil Health

Every pound of their wheat conserves about 700 gallons of water from surrounding aquifers in comparison to the water intensive crops grown nearby. Choosing the right varieties has lowered the irrigation demands, while focusing on soil health has helped recharge the aquifer and capture more of the rains.

Since implementing soil health practices, Oatman farms increased their soil organic matter from 1.2% to 2.4% from 2019 to 2022.

This may not seem like much, but for every 1% increase in soil organic matter, about 27,000 more gallons of water per acre can be stored. And in the desert, every single drop of water counts.

They’ve measured moisture retention in the soil up to 5 weeks after a rain, even with the daily maximum temperature above 90º F and find their pants soaked in the morning due to transpiration and dew from the living plants.

Over the years, the water infiltration rates in their fields has increased exponentially. In 2019, it took 1” of water 13 minutes and 27 seconds to infiltrate the soil fully, but only 16 seconds in 2024!

Water is entering the soil quicker, limiting erosion and runoff, while increasing the available of moisture to plant roots deeper in the soil profile. Rains can come fast and heavy, so increasing soil organic matter and water infiltration rates helps build resiliency on the farm amongst the arid desert environment.

Rethinking Agriculture in the Southwest

Alfalfa, a Thirsty Crop Out of Place?

In Arizona, alfalfa rules. Their alfalfa yields are among the highest in the world and their year round weather allows for up to 10 harvests per year.

The seasonal water use for alfalfa around the Phoenix area is about 74 inches annually. Despite alfalfa’s higher water footprint (water used per dollars generated), it’s actually lower than many other crops because of the higher than average prices it’s fetched recently.

However, the increased demand for alfalfa is applying pressure on the delicate water supply of the Colorado River and aquifers.

Alfalfa predominantly feeds into Arizona’s dairies, directly feeding their population they’d otherwise have to import from surrounding neighboring states. But 20% of the alfalfa produced is exported, having increased substantially since 2015 with a likelihood of continued foreign demand.

Agriculture as the Solution, Not the Enemy

I don’t see a future where alfalfa production ceases to exist in Arizona. Oatman Farms does paint a picture how regenerative agriculture and soil health can lower alfalfa’s irrigation demands and replenish groundwater levels.

The Southwest desperately needs to pivot their agriculture practices to conserve water, regenerate their ecosystems, and feed a growing population.

And this doesn’t mean giving up beef, as we’ve seen how cattle can actually make it rain and turn deserts back into thriving grasslands.

Farms served by the Central Arizona Project canal have already had their water allocations significantly reduced, requiring them to fallow significant acreage or stop farming altogether. Hopefully those restrictions are wake up calls and invitations to exploring the potential of regenerative agriculture in the desert.