Gabe’s Guide: Martha’s Date Farm
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KSWT, KECY)- According to a recent report from Cushman & Wakefield, dates are driving demand in both the retail and foodservices sectors. The rising demand is supporting strong sales activity for date palm orchards in Arizona and California.
- Arizona produced 22,100,000 pounds of dates from 3,500 bearing acres.
- Date production increases in Arizona. California saw only frictional changes in bearing acres the last two years and Arizona saw around a 59% increase during the same time period.
Matt Davis, Director at Cushman & Wakefield San Diego, also adds “Rising demand for the product has generated increasing interest in the market from private and institutional investors.”
Martha’s Gardens Medjool Date Farm was founded in 1990 by Nels Rogers and his wife Martha. The farm originated on a parcel of desert land on the Yuma Mesa overlooking Yuma’s Gila Valley, located 10 miles east of downtown Yuma.
In the beginning of operations, the Rogers family cleared the previously unused desert land in preparation for planting the Medjool date palms. After clearing the land was completed, wells were drilled and a drip irrigation system was installed to irrigate the palms on a year round basis. Date production requires a large amount of water, even though date palms are a desert plant and can survive drought conditions.
The original planting consisted of 300 Medjool date palm off-shoots and the Rogers family farm today has roughly 8000 palms planted on over 100 acres. Each year the family has the opportunity to plant additional acreage by removing the young offshoots that are produced naturally as clones of themselves by the adult female palms.
