Valley 101

Phoenix was built on agriculture. Without the efforts of early settlers to revive the Hohokam canal system to grow crops, we wouldn't be here today.  But the abundance of land, good climate and accessible water drew new residents and businesses en mass. The more the population grew, the more land was converted to from agricultural land to residential land.  The result? The west valley lost 31% of its agricultural land between 2000 and 2017. The east valley lost almost 54% of agricultural land during the same time.  How are urban farmers in the Valley surviving? And what does the future of farming look like? If you're looking for more on this subject, read this story from Arizona Republic reporter Joshua Bowling.