Yuma’s economic future could be at risk

Because I’m interested and study anything related to riverfront development, one aspect is agriculture. If you’re going to make Yuma attractive to the tech world you have to give them what they want. It has to be high-tech and organic. And very, very accessible. That led me to vertical farming.

The more I studied it the more I found that vertical farming will have a very negative effect on Yuma’s future if 90-plus percent of leafy greens come from Yuma during the winter. If that amount started to drop every year, the impact on Yuma’s economy would be disastrous.

All along the eastern seaboard huge vertical farms are popping up. The largest will go online this year. That one vertical farm will produce enough leafy greens to supply 50

MILLION PEOPLE. That’s just one farm. There are at least six more that I know of. These vertical gardens are being built all over the country.

The processors, packing houses are looking real hard at vertical farming. Add to the shortage of water, now what will happen to Yuma’s economy? The largest contributor to our economy is going to shrink. The trucking industry, farm equipment suppliers, processors, restaurants and every other service provider in the county will be affected – in a negative way.

Can we be proactive to make sure the local economy doesn’t tank in the future? I say yes. This letter is a warning to become proactive and not reactive. The few large farmers that I did talk to see this coming but they also are at a loss as what to do about it. The rest I tried to talk to didn’t even want to discuss it. The solution? In my studies I have to say it’s multifaceted. Smarter people than me should be able to come up with multiple and better solutions. DENNIS FRANKLIN Yuma