Ott Farm's a long time family
farm to the south grows a variety of field crops including Alfalfa
in this field.
Alfalfa consumes more water
than any other crop below Imperial Dam which is about 6 miles North
east of here. Farmers apply as much as seven vertical feet of water
to alfalfa crops, to promote growth under the hot desert sun.
Although it comprises less than twenty percent of the region's
irrigated acreage, alfalfa uses over forty percent of the water
used by the region's crops. Per acre, alfalfa consumes sixty
percent more water than wheat, the region's largest crop, forty
percent more water than cotton and seventy -five percent more water
than lettuce. Although alfalfa consumes an enormous quantity of
water, it's value per acre is relatively low. Farmers grow alfalfa
because it requires less labor than other crops, can be harvested
multiple times during the long growing season. Alfalfa is a feed
crop, especially for dairy operations in Arizona and
California.