Summit to focus on 2 ag issues
Water, workforce topics at hand
This year’s Southwest Agriculture Summit will focus on two issues of major concern to the industry: water to grow crops and the workforce needed to produce, market and deliver those crops to consumers’ tables.
Now in its 11th year, the summit will be held Feb. 22-23 at Arizona Western College featuring keynote speakers, educational seminars, field demonstrations, exhibitor booths, networking, golfing and social events. It culminates with the sold-out Harvest Dinner, a celebration of Yumaarea agriculture and its partnerships.
The agriculture industry show just keeps getting better and bigger as it strives to broaden its appeal, said Bruce Gwynn, coordinator for the summit put on by the Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association in partnership with the Arizona Western College Foundation, University of Arizona and
Yuma County Farm Bureau.
The event comes as Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association observes its 70th anniversary with its mission to protect and promote the vegetable industry that has made the Yuma area the epicenter of the nation’s winter production of lettuce and other fresh vegetables. Today, agriculture contributes $2.5 billion to Yuma’s economy and 1 in 4 jobs to Yuma County employment.
Gwynn recalled how the summit originated with a handful of people sitting around a table deciding that the industry needed an event where new information impacting area agriculture could be shared. A few short months later, the summit was held with about 300 participants and 35 vendors. The first speaker was James Watt, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1981 to 1983.
“We’ve had an interesting array of speakers since,” Gwynn said.
And the summit outgrew two venues before moving to AWC. Last year’s event attracted approximately 800 participants and 80 vendors, some coming from as far away as Europe and Canada.
“We’ve gotten to be more well known,” Gwynn said, adding that vendors recognize they need to be here. He added that it is particu- larly helpful to see equipment being developed in Europe where farms tend to be smaller, as are the farms in the desert Southwest that grow winter vegetables.
The field demonstration will be held Feb. 22 from 7 a.m. to noon and is open to the public, Gwynn said. It will include hands-on opportunities to see new equipment, systems and strategies in action. In addition, there will be a farm welding seminar, food safety field audit training and an equipment/vehicle maintenance session. The afternoon will include a golf tournament to be held at Mesa Del Sol Country Club, followed by a reception that evening at AWC.
Events on Feb. 23 will kick off at 7:30 a.m. with a morning keynote panel discussing water issues in the desert Southwest. Water has been an ongoing concern as a drought that began in 2000 continues to shrink the resource carried to the Southwest by the Colorado River. It remains to be seen whether winter storms in the Rocky Mountains will forestall a federal shortage declaration in 2018 for the river system.
“We’re business as usual … we’re not in crisis yet,” Gwynn said. “We just wanted to look at where we are.”
Panelists will include Lisa Atkins of the Central Arizona Project, who will provide an update on the Colorado River; Dr. George Seperich, Arizona State University, will discuss the water management certification program he oversees; and Tom Davis, Yuma County Water Users’ Association, will talk about conservation measures.
Water will also be the subject of one of the morning breakout sessions to be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
The luncheon keynote panel will include Dr. Willard Lewallen, superintendent/president of Hartnell College; and Jacqueline Cruz, Office of Institutional Advancement and Hartnell College Foundation. They will share their insights in regards to “Partnerships that create a strong workforce for the dynamic agricultural industry.”
Gwynn said the panel is part of the summit’s strong emphasis this year on education and the opportunities for a wide variety of careers serving the agriculture industry, as well as scholarships that are available to help students with their education. Both the Harvest Dinner and the summit’s golf tournament raise tens of thousands of dollars each year for agriculture scholarships.
“A lot of students, parents and counselors aren’t aware of the great jobs in agriculture,” he said. “There are wonderful jobs … great careers. We want to make sure the kids are applying for the scholarships and are prepared for careers needed in the agriculture industry.”
Those careers extend far beyond the fields, such as diesel mechanics, accoun- tants, researchers and marketers, Gwynn noted.
Another series of breakout sessions from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. will complete the afternoon.
A wide array of topics will be covered in the breakout educational sessions, including regulatory management, crop production updates, use of alternate water sources for agriculture, driving demand for Arizona-grown Medjool dates and understanding agriculture’s Arizona-Mexico relationship. There also will be a series targeting business owners on retirement plans and healthcare reform.
Gwynn said the AWC venue has worked well for the expanding summit, with the fields groomed for the demonstrations, large dining room in the 3C building, space for the trade show, classrooms for the breakout sessions and the assistance of the AWC Foundation and IT staff to help run the event.
To register for the Southwest Ag Summit, call (928) 783-9355 or visit www.swagsummit.com. A complete list of events for the summit and description of breakout sessions is also available online at that website.
For those who want to learn more about Yumaarea agriculture, Matt McGuire from JV Smith Companies will lead an Advanced Ag Tour on Feb. 24 of the Yuma area. Registration for the tour is available on the summit’s website.