6 February 18 – March 2, 2012 Dairies From Page 1
cycles and the willingness of the dairy farm owners to sell their land,” de la Torre says. “We can't predict how soon it will happen to any specific property, but even when you assume that the dairy farms are going to stay for a long time because the dairy industry is doing well, one can also assume that at one point in the future, as far down the road as that may seem, property values will be high enough to make it worthwhile for the dairy farm owners to sell.”
FINAL FOUR According to the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office, four
working dairies remain in Chandler. They hang on in the shadows of urban encroachment, conducting operations without the aid of flashy websites or social media connec- tions that characterize businesses with an eye on the future. Listed by property owner, the sites are: Creamland Properties on the south side of the Santan Loop 202 Freeway near McQueen Road; Kuiper Dairy, owned by Harold and Darrel Kuiper, at the southeast corner of Price and Willis roads; Hamstra Holdings at the northeast corner of McQueen and Queen Creek roads; and Pastorino Londo east of Lindsay and south of Ocotillo roads. While Pastorino Londo is still officially designated a
dairy, Maracay Homes, the same builder that bought out Dugan’s Dairy five years ago, has already purchased the site and is in the process of converting it to new homes. “On Jan. 12, the Chandler City
Council voted to rezone the Pastorino dairy farm to allow the development of a residential subdivision with 74 lots,” says de la Torre. If the rezoning goes through as expected, the 23-acre former dairy
farm will become a subdivision featuring single-family homes, tree-lined streets and a community recreation area. This contin- ues a trend that eventually will mean the only farms left in Chandler will be small family run parcels a fraction of the size of today’s dairy establishments. “Currently we estimate that 12% of
Chandler's municipal planning area is uti- lized for agriculture, which includes crops, livestock, rural residential, and dairy farms,” de la Torre reports. “Eventually, when the municipal planning area is mostly developed, there will be no more dairy farms. When the city reaches build out, we project that 4% of the city's planning area will still be utilized for agricultural or rural residential. These will mostly be in the form of 1- to 5-acre properties that will not be big enough for large scale agri- cultural operations, but will allow rural area residents to farm their properties and maintain their livestock.”
MOO’VIN’ TO THE COUNTRY
State dairy experts agree there is no future for large-scale milk-producing farms in the city. Keith Murfield, CEO of United Dairymen of Arizona and a Chandler resident, is surprised the land records still show any dairies operating in the municipal area. “I don’t list any mem-
NEW DEVELOPMENT: The Kuiper Dairy, at Price and Willis roads, is the site of a new yet-to-be determined project.
bers with working dairies in Chandler,” says Murfield. “The growth of the city made it much harder and more costly to get trucks in
A view of the SanTan Mountains is about all that is left of the Pastorino Londo Dairy east of Lindsay and south of Ocotillo roads, which will be a housing development.
and out with feed and milk. And all the new houses mean new neighbors who don’t want to live around a dairy farm, even if it was there first.” Conditions are much more hospitable in remote areas of
the state, where there is better access to feed and less resis- tance from nearby residents complaining about the noise, smell and commotion of dairy operations. “The dairy business is still thriving in Arizona, but farm-
ers are going to places like Stanfield, Buckeye and Casa Grande,” Murfield notes. “It’s less expensive to farm in these areas, and upgrades in what we call ‘cow comfort’ are making operations more efficient. Statewide, milk produc- tion is up about 20% and we’re the 12th largest dairy state in the country. There’s still a lot of milk being produced in Arizona, just not in Chandler anymore.”
HOLDING ON TO HERITAGE The imminent demise of Chandler’s dairy industry does
not, however, signal the end of its cultural significance to the city. Local officials are determined to preserve the SanTan Sun area’s farm heritage and are taking steps to make sure it remains a permanent part of the region’s complexion. “Agriculture is an important part of Chandler's history,” says de la Torre. “For this reason, the Council adopted as
Community
www.SanTanSun.com
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