Sustainable food production in the desert is a concept I have wrestled with for the last seven years, ever since we began the Bisbee Farmers Market.  After visiting many ranches, farms and backyards where solar water pumps, solar powered electric fencing, windmills, rain water harvesting and organic methods are used,  I’ve concluded that it is not only possible but something to promote. To educate consumers and producers we created the non profit organization, Baja Arizona Sustainable Agriculture.  

Photos by Valerie McCaffrey Recently at the Sierra Vista Farmers Market, Alethea Swift and her daughter Caitlyn feed “Bunny” one of the 100 new goat kids born this spring to the family’s Fiore di Capra, Grade A Dairy and Creamery in Pomerene, outside of Benson. The Swifts will offer their smorgasbord of Italian-style goat cheeses available in cheese logs, spreads, 6 packs, and samplers as well as savory and dessert tortes this week at the Sierra Vista Farmers Market, now open year-round every Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. Stop by for samples. The Swifts also make creamy goat’s milk soap and lotion in many fragrances.

Baja Arizona is the region south of the Gila River that runs between Tucson and Phoenix forming the boundary of the lower third of the state that used to belong to Mexico before the Gadsden Purchase in 1852.  It stretches from Willcox to Yuma.

A lot of food is raised here, most of it not in a sustainable fashion, using water from the Colorado River or over pumped from the ground, man-made chemical fertilizers and insecticides that pollute and harm the soil, unhealthy and very inefficient feeding of corn to ruminants to raise meat and dairy products. The semis roar in and out, taking away the food, so most of what is raised here is not eaten here.

It didn’t used to be like this and doesn’t have to be like this now.  Baja Arizona is committed to changing things so that most of the food that is raised here is also eaten here.  Sustainable agriculture includes sustainable local marketing.  To make this change more and more of us will need to go on the 100 mile diet eating mostly foods raised within a 100 miles.  This cuts down on long distance transportation and long term storage and works to sustain local farmers and ranchers, rural communities and character, open space and wildlife.

One of the most sustainable things about agriculture here is the abundant sunshine, a  renewable resource for year-round green house and outdoor growing.  Water is the most limiting resource that needs to be strictly conserved.  Baja Arizona promotes organic methods which include increasing soil organic matter so it acts like a sponge and holds more water.  Raising cattle, sheep, goats and poultry on grass not only builds up the soil but also yields healthier, leaner meat, milk and eggs.

Other strategies involve the use of water-frugal irrigation methods such as drip as well as  intercropping, more dense plantings and mulches to prevent evaporation and using drought-tolerant native varieties such as deep rooted, heat-hardy tepary beans that mature in 2 months.  Rain water harvesting can be done on any scale from roof home collection to designing fields and ponds to capture rain flood waters.  Sustainable ranching involves replanting with native grasses to cover the ground, careful rotational grazing and building lots of small check dams to slow the water down so it sinks in.   

Sustainable agriculture also includes local food processing and cooking. Solar cooking is something my husband and I have done for the past 25 years with ovens that we made ourselves or purchased that get over 350 degrees and can cook just about anything.  Baja  AZ is currently working to develop community kitchens to increase the products made from local agricultural produce such as jerky, jams, pickles, salsas and baked goods.  Wheat can be raised here and organic wheat is already being grown in a couple of places.  Olives are now being cultivated in Queen Creek near the Gila River for healthy olive oil.

Very sustainable desert foods can be raised that need no supplemental water once established.  These include mesquite for nutritious 16% protein meal that can be added to any baking, prickly pear fruit and pads that yield cholesterol-lowering and diabetes-friendly vegetables for salads and sautés as well as nectar for jelly and pancake syrup, chia seeds that have more omega 3’s than flax, and calcium rich cholla cactus buds that taste like artichokes.

To further explore sustainability in the desert come to the local food and sustainable event this Saturday, March 15 at the Sierra Vista Public Library starting at 10:30 a.m. I will present Baja Arizona and its sustainable practices and programs.  Edna Weigel, columnist for the Mountain View News will reflect on the historic sustainability in the region and talk about how she raises food for her family using collected rain water.  Cado Daily of the Water Wise Program will discuss water sustainability. Brenda Foote of Sierra Vista’s Refuse Department will address recycling, John Faust, the green advantages of co-housing and Gretchen Kent, sustainability on Fort Huachuca.

Handouts will be available on Baja AZ’s programs and workshops, including solar cooking, harvesting desert foods, backyard organic gardening and how to find local food. 

This Week at the Sierra Vista Farmers Market

Greens:  Asian greens, spring salad mix, and salad interests such as arugula, mizuna, escarole, and frizze fresh from Agua Linda Farm. Corky and Carol Berty will have spinach and garlic chives as well as farm eggs from the Garden of Eat’n.  Get bok choy and other greens from Woody’s (Jim Woodruff) Organic Garden.

Unsprayed, just-picked tangelos and grapefruit from Tucson will be offered at Baja Arizona’s information booth.  Stop by for free organic seed catalogs.

The Hallsteds will return with two kinds of local unsprayed pecans.

John from Fiesta Growers in Tucson will bring his selection of seasonal vegetable and herb plants. Cool season, frost-hardy red and green lettuce varieties, endive, cabbage, broccoli, snow peas, sugar peas, chard, mustard greens, collards. Select from herbs such as parsley, chives, oregano, dill, chocolate mint, peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, cilantro, lemon thyme, English thyme and more. Squash and bean seeds too!

Mike and Alethea Swift of the Fiore di Capra, Grade A Goat Dairy and Creamery in Pomerene report, ”We’ve had over 100 kids born now so it’s crazy around here!”  They will bring their smorgasbord of goat cheeses available in cheese logs, spreads, 6 packs, and samplers as well as savory and dessert tortes. Stop by for samples. For a special gift or to treat yourself, select a matched set of creamy goat’s milk soap and lotion.

San Ysidro Farm has an abundance of lamb riblets (slabs of ribs) and beef ribs.  To cook them so the meat falls off the bone, rancher Nathan Watkins recommends that you slow cook, DON”T BOIL, for several hours in oven or roaster at 300 degrees. Drain off any fat, cook for another hour or two, drain off fat. Pour your favorite sauce and cook for another 1/2 to 1 hour or put on the grill for about 15 to 30 minutes. His healthy meat market also offers antibiotic and hormone-free natural pork, sausage, chorizo and bacon,  pastured whole chickens, chicken breasts, wings, ground chicken and eggs as well as all cuts of beef and lamb.

Adventure Coffee’s signature and best selling coffee is Full Moon Blend which is a blend of coffee from four growing regions.  Anyone buying a pound of any organic, fair-trade coffee from around the world gets a cup of fresh brewed coffee on the house.

Elfrida Egg man, Don Smythe, reports that 100 new chicks have arrived.  He gives them lots of nurturing under heat lamps and checks them 3 or 4 times a night to see that they’re neither too hot nor too cold.  Don will have fresh large brown eggs and welcomes egg cartons for reuse.

River Organica will offer high quality baked goods (scones, biscotti, lemon curd, brownies, chocolate chip and ginger cookies, graham crackers and breads) made from heirloom emmer grain and wild crafted, home-grown or organic ingredients.  Her brownies are 40% chocolate and made with 4 different kinds of chocolate including a chocolate truffle topping.

Katherine Zellerbach will not be at the farmers market on Thursday but will be happy to deliver Just Coffee, agave nectar, prickly pear nectar, chia or heirloom dried beans to your home. Call her at 458-2237 for delivery.

Max McCarty will have razor clams as well as black cod in addition to wild salmon and halibut. Black cod are tasty deep sea fish that live down at 1600 feet so they have more oil than most.

Dragoon Marketplace offers pesticide-free lemons from Phoenix, baby lettuce and red, orange and yellow greenhouse tomatoes from Sunizona Farms as well as home-style jams, Simmons Honey, chutney and lemon marmalade from local produce made with agave nectar, Santa Cruz Chili Co.’s red chile powder and chili pastes, Bonita Bean Co.’s pinto beans and 9 bean soup mix and local pistachios.  Stop by for samples of fragrant and effective Planet Earth Remedies.

 Grammy’s Garden (lots of unsprayed fresh produce from Willcox, other parts of Arizona and certified organic from Mexico), Dr. Hummus and the Maya Tea Company will also be at the market along with holistic Azmira pet food and quick-acting homeopathic remedies and snake-bite kits.  Desert Oasis Soaps will offer long lasting soap in an amazing array of colors and fragrances as well as muscle soaks, whipped body frosting, dog treats and dog beds.

Teriyaki Short Ribs

(Adapted from Shannon Hayes’ Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tblsp ground ginger

1/2 cup honey

3 tblsp finely chopped chives

3 cups water

2 tblsp cider or rice vinegar

1 large head garlic, cloves peeled and left whole

3 pounds beef short ribs

4 tblsp sesame oil

In large Dutch oven, whisk the soy sauce, ginger, honey, chives, water and vinegar; add garlic.  Add shrot ribs.  Bring the pot to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer, covered for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until meat is fort-tender.  Remove ribs and continue to simmer broth, uncovered on stove. Meanwhile place ribs on a roasting pan, meat side up in a preheated 450 degree oven and brush with sesame oil.  Roast for 15 minutes or until edges become crispy.

Wild Alaskan Salmon with Pecan Pesto

(adapted from Keith Tindall from White Egret Farm)

4 wild Alaskan salmon fillets

1/3 lb. shelled pecans

3 oz butter

1 or 2 fresh jalapenos

1 small lemon or orange

1 3-inch sprig rosemary

Olive oil

Sea salt

Pepper

Heat oven to 300 degrees and toast pecans carefully on a cookie sheet until you can smell aroma of toasted nuts, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to cool cookie sheet.  Rinse salmon and pat dry.  Butterfly fillets with sharp knife if desired.  Rub salmon with olive oil, salt and pepper both sides. Heat iron skillet over medium heat.  Saute fillets until firm to touch.  Prepare jalapenos by removing tops and splitting lengthwise.  Take out ribs and remove seeds with sharp knife.  Chop coarsely.  Cut cold butter into 1/2 tblsp pats.  Prepare the zest of ? small lemon and chop finely.  Chop rosemary.  Add butter, jalapenos, pecans, rosemary and lemon zest to food processor or blender. 

Process for 5 to 8 seconds and scrape.  Repeat 2 or 3 times until a paste has formed. 

Do not over-process.  Spread pesto over cooked salmon.