SPECIAL REPORT: What the change of season means for local agriculture

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The change of season means go time for local agriculture across the Desert Southwest.

We share more about how local growers gear up for the winter season and how they dealt with a record-breaking summer.

This year was the hottest summer ever recorded in Yuma's history.

Not only did it have local residents sweating, thirsty, and stressed, but it also had the same effects on local ag.

Matt McGuire, the Chief Agriculture Officer for J.V. Smith Companies, says "Boy, it was hot here for a long time, it really caused us a lot of problems… The plants go dormant, they just refuse to grow when it gets that hot for so long. 108 to 110 they can stand, 115 plus not so much,".

He says this one-of-a-kind summer caused quite a few issues.

A summer that none of us have experienced I haven't experienced in my 40 years. Kind of unusual but we'll see what happens to the crop at the end with that much heat on it and there was a big shortage of green onions here in August and September because of the heat that we had in July," says McGuire.

But the highly anticipated winter ag season is finally here.

While the rest of the country is battling freezing temperatures, the large amount of sunlight, rich soil, and cool temperatures make the Desert Southwest an ideal place for winter produce every year.

According to Visit Yuma, agriculture is Yuma’s number one business valuing a four billion industry each year.

The Executive Director at the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture, Tanya Hodges, shares what this means for not only Yuma but for all 50 states.

"We get excited every year when it goes from brown to green but what that really means is that 90% of everyone in North America gets to eat and consume our vegetables that we produce. So there's a big impact so we call it go time. We'll have the product from the field to the consumer in as close as 48 hours," says Hodges.

Like many industries today, local growers are doing what they can to stay ahead of the curve.

Whether it is growing crops like durum wheat, cotton, and alfalfa in the summer or harvesting greens like lettuce, broccoli, and cabbage in the winter, J.V. Smith companies share some ways they're incorporating new automated systems and a-I technology into their farming processes.

"Some AI recognition-driven cultivators are in the field right now. We still have the new laser-weeders and drones. All those things are gearing up and being used full-time and we're always on the lookout for what we can use to save some labor, money, and that kind of thing," shares McGuire.

We also spoke with the President of J.V. Smith Companies Kristen Smith Eshaya.

She and Hodges are two women who are highly involved in keeping the local ag world turning.

They share how one precious resource plays such a pivotal role in Yuma's existence and how they're able to conserve it.

"Water is what fuels us and we have all the infrastructure here. We've been set up a long time to grow here so we got the labor, the infrastructure, and the systems in place like you can't just pick up and move all that to another place so our water is extremely important to us so we're doing all we can to preserve it," shares Eshaya.

"It's very highly monitored. We grow everything on flat ground so there's no runoff of water. Every bit of water available is being used to the plant to grow the plant," adds Hodges.

McGuire doubles down by saying "Without water there's not a Yuma, there's not a Desert Southwest for the most part. We're as efficient as a drip but we're always looking at new ways to increase that efficiency by 1%. So water is precious let's only put on as much as we need,".

I asked all the local ag leaders what their biggest goal for the winter season is.

They all encourage us to eat our veggies.

"All studies show the more green you eat, the longer you live, the healthier life you live," shares McGuire.

Eshaya says "If you're eating a salad in the winter, it's because we're here growing it"

Hodges adds "Eat your vegetables!".