Making lemonade: Farming in Yuma outside the lettuce fields

My hands were stained a bright lime green as I picked fresh lemons (not limes!) and listened to Mr. Keuchel, owner of the farm we were visiting, explain some of the details of citrus production in Arizona. I was with a group of young leaders from around the country, the ASU Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership cohort, visiting Keuchel Farms on a week-long Arizona food and farm immersion trip.

During our Food Policy Immersion in DC, my classmates and I had the opportunity to visit “the Hill,” speak to legislators, learn about the inner-workings of different agencies at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and get a better understanding of the overall ecosystem of lawmakers, researchers, lobbyists, advocates, constituents and more, who shape policies that affect us all.

We walked through numerous hallways and seemingly endless offices to finally arrive at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) headquarters in the USDA’s Whitten Building in Washington, DC and meet with Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, the administrator of the ARS. As an agricultural scientist myself, it was the meeting I was most looking forward to all week!

During our time on Capitol Hill our cohort was able to have a meeting with the chair of the Committee on Rules, Jim McGovern. This was our only meeting in the Capitol building and, as our badges stated, it was official business. We rode the connecting tram from Rayburn building into the Capitol and headed to the Committee on Rules.

In early March, our Arizona State University (ASU) Food Policy cohort met in person for the second time. This time, we convened in Washington, DC to meet with members of various organizations active in the food policy sector. Our week in Washington, DC included visits to the United States Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, just to name a few. We also had individuals engaged in public policy meet with us at ASU’s Barrett & O’Connor Washington Center to share their insight and expertise. One of these individuals was Michael Stebbins, PhD.

Welcome to Wednesdays from Washington! Week 1 - Featuring Congresswoman Chellie Pingree It may be ~2,300 miles from the Sun Devil Stadium to the National Capitol building in Washington, DC,

Our students were surprised to learn that the Phoenix metro area uses less water than it did in 1987. That’s because there’s lots of hard work going on to make water use more efficient, including at the ASU Decision Center for a Desert City where Ray Quay works.

Back in early December I was lucky enough to escape the chilly Northeast to travel to the place that boasts the Guinness World Record for t

It had been an action- packed day already when our Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership graduate certificate cohort arrived at Engrained restaurant. Hailing from across the country, from Hawai’i to Connecticut, we had gathered in Tempe for a week- long immersion into the Arizona sustainable food and agriculture scene. Visiting the restaurant’s beautiful space was a welcome reprieve from a busy day of site visits. Students met with Alana Levine, Director of Zero Waste and Grounds Services at ASU Facilities and Krista Hicks O’Brien, Sustainability Manager, Aramark at ASU. A restaurant that walks the walk, Engrained sits on the middle of ASU campus on the top floor of the Memorial Union building and acts as both a teaching space for foodie students, as well as an active eatery for the ASU community.

Just before we left Tempe to tour farms and ranches in Southern Arizona, we were honored to have breakfast with Mark Killian, Director of Arizona Department of Agriculture.

For over ninety years the Kerr Family Dairy in Buckeye, Arizona has been committed to family farming. Commitment is one word that Wes Kerr, our generous host continued to reference over and over again, “we are committed to our family, committed to our animals, and committed to our land.”

“I have been thinking of you guys, without the restaurant job, how are you coping?” I was talking to my friend John, who has been waiting tables for the past 4 years. “Well, we make do. We have some savings. And I am trying to create an in-house garden. I never thought about this before, but you know, just in case. Plus it feels good.”