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Arizona farmer an advocate for water issues
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“You’ve
got to plan on changes a couple of years ahead of time.”
When he’s not busy running his 2,500-acre
irrigated hay operation, Wade Accomazzo of Tolleson, Arizona,
is often attending meetings concerning one of the most precious
commodities in his region — water.
Wade’s farm is located just 15 miles outside
of fast-growing Phoenix. “Western agriculture is dependent
on water,” he says. “But cities also need water so
the supply is limited. Water has been an issue for the last
25 years, and will continue to be.
“I was born and raised in Arizona, and I don’t know
what it’s like to be dependent on rainfall,” Wade
continues. “We get only six inches of rain a year. Our
water comes mainly from northern Arizona mountain snow runoff
and from the Colorado River. When our crops need irrigation,
we call the Irrigation District and have water the next day
in most cases. It costs more, but we also have higher crop yields,”
he says. “We don’t have to worry about our alfalfa
hay, cotton, wheat and corn drying up.
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Wade Accomazzo and his mother,
Jacque.
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“When we compared apples to apples, the blue
tractors were a better deal.”
—Wade Accomazzo
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“A good third of my time is spent on attending meetings about
water issues right now,” Wade says. “There’s a group
of farmers who are very politically active, whether it be through the
Arizona Farm Bureau, the Agriculture Business Council of Arizona or
the Cotton Grower’s Association. My philosophy is that the more
meetings I attend, the better informed I am. You’ve got to plan
on changes a couple of years ahead of time.”
Wade readily acknowledges that he couldn’t afford time away from
the farm without his dependable employees.
“Without a doubt, I’m dependent on good people. I can spend
a week in meetings and know everything is getting done the way it needs
to be done because of our farm manager, Art Gomez, and because of the
controller in our office, Barbara Barnes,” he says. “Our employees
give me the freedom to prepare for where our operation needs to be three
years from now.”
Family partnership
In 1993, Wade was earning his Ag Business Management degree at the
University of Arizona when his Dad passed away. That cemented his decision
to return to the farm in partnership with his mom, Jacque.
“We market our own alfalfa and corn,” he says. “Most
of our corn is contracted to local dairymen who each milk 1,500 to 3,000
cows. We market our alfalfa in-house. We sell a good portion of early-cutting
hay to dairies, but our main focus is selling 95-pound bales to retail
customers such as horse owners.
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“There’s a need here for hay, especially in the winter,”
he says. “We can get 10 cuttings a year, but from October
until the end of April anything you can put into a bale has got
too much protein to feed horses and is better suited for dairy
cows. Over a period of two years in the mid-’80s, the Accomazzos
built sixteen hay barns that can store 450 to 500 tons of hay.
“Our entire summer yield is stored for winter sale when
there isn’t any hay to be baled. Of course, we took a hit
in the beginning because we were not selling our product in the
same year we grew it, but we were able to do it. Most Arizona
hay growers sell, either directly or through brokers, to dairies.
The Arizona dairy market is growing, especially because of a water
shortage in California.”
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Lots of equipment
Growing all that hay requires a great deal of equipment.
“We’ve owned New Holland hay equipment for 30 plus years,
either rakes, swathers or road-siders,” says Wade. “Our decision
to go with blue tractors was made about two years ago, and today, we
have 20 New Holland tractors: three 3010Ss, nine 5610Ss, four TM135s,
one 8670 and three 8970s. In the past we bought green.”
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Wade says the main reason for the change from green to blue tractors
was efficiency and cost. “When we compared apples to apples,
the blue tractors were a better deal, especially with the financing
package. We leased the first dozen small tractors, which worked
out well for us. The second purchase, about a year ago, was for
the larger tractors. I compared a New Holland Model 8970 to a
John Deere 8410, and the New Holland was between $7,500 and $10,000
cheaper per tractor.
“Most of the time we pay cash for our equipment,” Wade
explains. “We don’t finance. But the finance deal that
New Holland Credit offered was 0% interest for three years. So,
when you count 0% same as cash, you can tailor your payments along
with depreciation because you’re making a capital payment.
You can depreciate the tractor as you’re paying on it and
it’s almost a wash, tax-wise.
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The Accomazzos have 16 hay barns
that can store a total of 450 to 500 tons of hay.
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Wade says the large tractors are used for ripping, discing, plowing
and laser-leveling work.
“Most of our irrigated alfalfa fields are laser-leveled, depending
on where they originate, at ” end-fall, ” side-fall per hundred
feet,” he says. “We use pull-type equipment in our hay borders.
We run hay borders that are approximately 100 feet wide. When we have
ground that’s sloped, we laser them in between the hay borders
to zero (or dead-flat side-fall) so the water runs all the way across
the border.
“We use our New Holland square balers and hay wagons for baling
hay. We also have two New Holland HW34O swathers that I love for cutting
hay and grass. You can run the machines upwards of 8 mph. We cut 80
acres per day on average by lunch and take advantage of drying hay the
first day, rather than being out there all day long. If you’re
cutting hay all day, the hay you cut in the morning is going to dry
differently than hay you cut in the afternoon. The last border you cut
is going to be wet when the sun goes down.
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Wade Accomazzo says he can cut
an average of 80 acres of hay a day with his New Holland
HW340 swathers.
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“We used to have three HW300s, but now we go with two HW34Os
and cut the hay faster. With diesel and oil, parts and labor so
expensive, if I eliminate one man and one machine, it’s more
efficient,” he says. “And the HW34Os really make it
easy to change knives. If you break a knife, you deal with one
bolt and you’re ready to go. That’s what I like about
today’s machines.”
As for the future, Accomazzo says he continues to enjoy his chosen
work. “Dad and Mom built this place, and the principles they
instilled in me are still the ones that continue to drive me today,”
he says.
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“As far as the business, if you treat the people who work for
you well, they’re going to help make you successful. If you give
people a sense of ownership, they’ll thrive on it,” he says.
“We’ve bought some land farther west in Arizona that we’re
going to farm starting next year. We have a retail feed store here on
our place as well. And, we’re in the process of starting a small
satellite operation in northern Arizona this fall to sell our products.
It’s just a natural progression for the future.”
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