Cattle, Beef, and Dairy Across Arizona

Cattle ranching in Arizona dates all the way back to 1690. After the Civil War there were many technological innovations in the farming industry that caused Arizona's farming and cattle to take off. During the 1890's the cattle farming industry in AZ spiked, Arizona was home to over 1.5 million cows at this time. Dairy production in AZ started much later, around the 1900's. Even though Arizona dairy industry didn't start until much later then cattle ranching, it quickly took off and became one of Arizona's largest and most profitable industries. Even by 1957 the industry was worth a shocking 25 million dollars. When the dairy industry originally took off in around 1950, Arizona had about 80 dairy farms, however that number has slightly decreased, now there are roughly 70 statewide. Even though the number of farms decreased Arizona heard size for dairy production is amongst some of the largest in the country.

Arizona is known for its dairy cows and produces more dairy then most other states, we have an estimated 960,000 cattle as of 2023. Even though Arizona is still one of the highest dairy producers by cattle we have had a decrease in cattle since 1890 when cattle production originally took of and Arizona had about 1.5 million heads of cattle. Droughts in Arizona have heavily impacted the decrease in the cattle industry and production of dairy products. Farms and ranches are effected by droughts because heat stress slows down dairy production, dry hay also means less nutrition for the cattle. The dairy industry in Arizona is one of our most successful, it provides over 44,00 jobs, while also being very profitable.

One major factor causing cattle and dairy farms to spread out and leave the major cities in AZ is urban sprawl. As these cities population have grown and as they become more developed it forces farmers to spread out and find farms in places that will not have houses built over them. But, because of this increase in Arizona's population there has been less land available all over the state, and the land that is left has increased in price due to the demand. This is causing our numbers of cattle and dairy farms to decrease over the years.

Cattle ranches in Arizona produce enough beef to feed over 8 million Americans every single year. Sales of cattle in Arizona are over 1.7 billion dollars. Arizona's beef industry provides 431 million dollars of our yearly profits. As of 2024, Arizona has over seven thousand farms and ranches. You can find cattle farms in every single county in Arizona. The largest cattle farm is the Big Boquillas Ranch, which spans about seven hundred fifty thousand acers. The beef industry in Arizona has provided around 8 thousand jobs. As we have already seen, Arizona cattle industry has declined since it firsts started, and we will continue to face problems in the future due to cost-effectiveness, and droughts. Droughts are one the the main issues causing cattle farms in AZ to flop. Droughts cause issues such as taking away from the amount of water and the quality of our water recourses for the cattle. We will also need to work on raising the consumer demand for organic and locally produced beef so that the beef industry stays one of these most dependable in Arizona.

Cattle, dairy, and beef production in Arizona are key components of our booming economy. Arizona’s cattle make a lot of income whether it comes from the dairy industry or the meat industry. As stated earlier the dairy industry has been very profitable and produced many jobs for citizens of Arizona. The meat industry is another part of the cattle industry, a huge part is that  Arizona can single handedly feed about 8 million American's when it comes to cattle meat. Because of this Arizona is one of America's leading producers of dairy and beef.  In conclusion the cattle industry altogether has a huge impact on the economy and income of the state all together.