As Matt Palmer looks around Arizona’s Gila Valley, he sees it through the eyes of family and farming. Others see the mountain-ringed river basin as a picturesque area ripe for development. Two very different perceptions, they create competition for acres and make it more challenging by the year for farmers here to buy or rent land they need to maintain their operations. Despite the challenges, this sixth-generation cotton farmer notes they’ve been lucky. VIP Farms, based in Thatcher and named for Matthew’s grandfather, Verle I. Palmer, was able to buy some crop ground last year. The owner had hoped for investor interest, but when that didn’t happen, the land came back up for sale. It was a rare opportunity for Palmer to add acres to his operation. OFF THE PEAK. “In this area, land is going for $2,000 to $10,000 per acre right now. There was a time, though, when owners were asking up to $20,000 an acre. We saw that trend down as less investor money came into the market,” he explains. The land least likely to draw the interest of developers is close to the Gila River. Palmer explains these areas are prone to flooding, making them too risky for anything other than agriculture. The Gila Valley is a tight-knit farming region consisting of some 30,000 acres. Elevation is about 3,000 feet, making it “on the bubble” as far as cotton production is concerned. Despite that, the Palmers grow both Pima and upland varieties, averaging 2.5 bales on the Pima and 3.5 bales on the upland. The farm encompasses about 4,800 acres of leased and owned ground....
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