Visit date 12/17/2007

When we moved to Arizona 25 years ago, dairy farms where everywhere. I marveled at the immensity of this business in our state and kind of got used to it. As time passed I started noticing a sea of roof tops replacing a once thriving dairy business. Like many others I shrugged it off to “that’s progress”. When do we get to the point where progress is not progress at all?

The dairy industry in Arizona had about 300 dairies in its prime. 10 farms went out of business last year alone! Some farms that have ceased operations in Arizona sold their cows to some of the remaining farms making them larger. Other farmers moved their operations as they saw their property values go through the roof here in AZ, they seized the moment, sold for lots of cash and relocated to other states buying cheap land. As much as I hate to see the concrete sea get larger here, I can hardly criticize these decisions. We are talking about huge gains on property value resulting in a big chunk of change in the bank. Currently there are about 67 remaining Arizona dairies in operation, all of which are family owned.

My quest to explore local farms takes me almost to my back yard. Moments from where I live sits several Dairy farms (cooperatives). On the seventeenth of December 2007 I visited one, Superstition Farms on Hawes Rd in Mesa.

First I must thank Casey and Melrose for allowing me to take up some of their time and for being wonderful and informative host.

Superstition farms sits just south of a wall of homes in Mesa Arizona. The homes are more like soldiers marching over the land eager to conquer any exposed dirt in their path. They have the advantage; rarely if ever do you see a dairy or any other farm replace a neighborhood.

This is a 3^rd generation farm on about 30 acres housing over 1000 cows. My expectations were uncertain before my tour. I had only viewed these operations from afar and never really appreciated the complexity of an operation like this. How could anyone without a firsthand tour?

There are great environmental concerns running a dairy farm. Imagine 1000 cows drinking about 200 lbs of water and eating 40 lbs of food each and every day, all this in a relatively small geographic area. That’s a lot of pee and poop always! If not tightly controlled the runoff from these facilities could contaminate ground water, spread disease and cripple their business.

Running a farm near encroaching neighborhoods can make this especially challenge. The way I look at it, if you by a home in the flight path of an airport expect noise and lots of it. If you buy a home near a dairy farm expect that unmistakable smell of a dairy farm and the flies that come with it. Call me crazy but this is plain logic. Once you move in, there are no reasonable grounds for anyone to dictate how that dairy should operate or if it will operate at all. Anyway these are my feelings. But Casey has taken this PR challenge and turned it around by opening his farm to the public for educational tours, hay rides and featuring a small store. They just didn’t wake up one day and place a sign outside. This was a well thought out public relations campaign. A dedicated area where they can educate, communicate and entertain the public was created. They provide entertainment such as plays and a petting zoo. I was told that Sharlets Web will be presented in the near future.Check out their web site for more details. Most of the animals at the petting zoo were rescued or donated.  During my interview there were a couple of families there enjoying the petting zoo and took the farm tour. It’s like anything else, if you take the time to get to know your neighbors and allow them to get to know you, tolerance levels increase on many levels. These guys want to show the community that good things are happening at this farm. Showing they are making efforts to improve the environment and an active participant in their community.

Environmentally friendly   They have taken their responsibility in the community to a higher level. Educating the public about their dairy business is not the only mission. The building housing the store is made mostly of recycled material. This building conforms to the high standards of “The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED).

The paint used are “High quality, formaldehyde-free, non-crystalline silica, acetone-free, zero or low VOC paint with zero VOC pigments” procured through a local company called AKA Green.

The insulation is 100% recycled denim and purchased from Bonded Logic located in Chandler.

A rain water catch will be utilized to water the soon to be constructed “Desert Open Space Garden”. The premise of this garden is to show visitors how they can have a beautiful, thriving garden using minimal resources.

A small composting container provided by the City of Mesa shows how we can provide nutrients to our plants by recycling our kitchen scraps. This is a great idea and takes up little room. Mesa only requires a $5.00 deposit. This composter is a large black garbage can cut in half with holes drilled in the sides.

The garden will be divided into sections, desert landscape, healing garden, tortus garden and an area of the garden is dedicated to a group called Roots and Shoots, a global youth group sponsored by the Jane Goodall foundation. Their focus is on the community and the environment. This is actually a small vegetable garden within this larger garden. The produce harvested from this garden will be sent to soup kitchens to help those in need. I think I may have left out a couple of sections but you should have a general idea of the plan.  

Although the scale of the desert open space garden is not massive, the message is clear. Our natural resources need not be waster to achieve beauty. Look to the end of 2008 for this garden to be completed. If you are interested in visiting and possibly participating as a sponsor please contact Melrose at the Superstition Farm. Melrose@superstitionfarm.com

Another environmental effort is the incorporation of wind and solar power on the farm.

The Cows

The responsibility for caring for these animals is huge in many different respects. Public health stands out. Without meticulous attention to the health of the cows and cleanliness of the operation, risk to public health would be high. I do not claim to hold any credentials or have any expertise that makes me an authority in this field. Actually my expertise resides in the semiconductor business. My conclusion is that these cows do not have any circuit boards or power supplies attached to them in any way. Perhaps someday they will but thankfully not today! With this said I have visited many types of manufacturing facilities throughout the world and met many owner/operators of different operations. I can identify a clean well organized operation. A major key to all of this is the character of the owner/operator. From our conversation there was a great deal of pride and dedication emanating from Casey. This was not a show. He seemed excited about his business, his cows and the future.

Although there are 6 major breeds of cows in the world, this farm has Holsteins and the Jersey . The Holstein is the largest producer of milk in the world and average about 1500 lbs. The milk produced from a Jersey has a greater butterfat content making for better tasting butters and cheese. These cows are smaller ranging from 800-1200 lbs. The average production per cow on this farm is about 15 gallons per day. With this kind of production multiplied by over 1000 cows requires a well oiled machine.The care that is given to these animals is likely better that many people get in the world. They are regularly visited by a vet to monitor general health. They actually have a nutritionist that carefully supervise and formulate a menu that results in healthy, happy high production animals. Do you have a nutritionist? I don’t.

So what do they eat? Durum Wheat Midds a byproduct of wheat production, Cotton seeds, Corn products and nutritional supplements. Because it does get kind of hot here in Phoenix the cows even have an array of fans and water misters that are computer controlled to keep them cool and happy.

Conclusion

There are many opinions and studies that will fright you into not having dairy ever again and other studies that encourage you to have your three dairy products a day for healthy bones. Actually the marketing campaign “GOT MILK” is brilliant. It really does make me want to drink more milk.

I’m an extremely health conscience person, I drink milk and eat cheese but no in mass quantity. Yogurt by the way, you can keep unless it’s in a smoothie. We all need to come to a conclusion we are comfortable with regarding diet. Moderation is my favorite word. Have a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, meats “and” dairy products along with daily activity you
will live a long life.

The reality is, this is big business for Arizona, a half a billion dollar business. It’s a good business to keep around and support. I encourage anyone who wants a new perspective on this industry to check out the link summary below and certainly visit the Superstition Farm.
 

Summary of links and resources:
 

· Superstition Farms

· Community Supported Agriculture

· City of Mesa compost can style=”font-family: ‘Arial’,’sans-serif’”>

· Crooked carrot farm Ocotillo and Schnapps.

· Roots and Shoots are building the garden. They are part of the style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Jane Goodall foundation

· East Maricopa Natural Resource Conservation District

· ARIZONA’S Natural Resource Conservation Districts

· Supported by the Arizona State Land Department

· East Maricopa Resource Conservation District

· United Dairymen of Arizona

· Crooked Sky Farm – Glendale

· AKA Green: Green building supplies, Low VOC paints

· LEED Leadership in energy and environmental design

· Bonded Logic : Based in Chandler they make insulation out of blue jeans

· Edible Phoenix: Articles about local growers in Phoenix and other places in the country. This is franchise of Edible Communities