LA PAZ COUNTY, Ariz. — A company known for growing crops in western Arizona and shipping them overseas is reportedly taking steps to vacate the property, officials said.
Fondomonte, a company supplying alfalfa to dairy farms in Saudi Arabia, is no longer pumping water in the Butler Valley groundwater basin of La Paz County, according to the governor's office.
“Today is the start of a new chapter for Arizona’s water future,” Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a statement Thursday.
As of Feb. 15, Fondomonte is no longer irrigating on any of the leases it had in the Butler Valley, the governor's office said.
The announcement comes shortly after state auditors found Fondomonte has been allowed to lease state trust land at significantly cheap rates for years and didn't have to pay extra for using Arizona's water.
The value of Fondomonte's annual water usage in Arizona was estimated to be between $1.2 and $2.5 million, the audit report shows.
Fondomonte was notified by the State Land Department last year that three of its leases with the state would not be renewed after they expire in February 2024. The fourth lease was terminated by the state last October.
*Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.*
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