A Learning Experience

COMMENTARY

• • Mortimer Farms operates year-round unlike seasonal farms in Arizona
  • Farm festivals combine entertainment with education to engage families
  • Annual sales data and consumer trends help determine crop priorities while experimenting on new varieties
  • Arizona supports extensive direct market channels: 95 farmers markets, 11 CSAs, and more
  • Announcing the new “Peach You Pick It” event.

  RESOURCE

  • Find Farms To Visit via Fill Your Plate.org

Community Engagement

COMMENTARY

• Mortimer Farms opens its U-Pick-It Peach orchard to the public
  • Higher climate allows a later peach season
  • Arizona’s long Sweet Corn Season
  • Hosting barn dances, weddings and farm-to-table dinners to bring community engagement
  • Sustainable farming practices like composting and land preservation are central for farm operations
  • The rise of beginning farmers reflects a growing interest in direct market farming
  • Food security need to preserve farmland over home and business development

  RESOURCE

  • New U-Pick peach orchard by reservation only. Book online.

Festival Season At The Farm

COMMENTARY

• Mortimer Farms hosts many events annually including Pumpkin Fest and Corn Maze
• Sweet Corn and Watermelon festivals celebrates these crops grown at the farm
• Seasonal festivals include Sunflower and Christmas festivals
• Monthly farm-to-table dinners feature seasonal harvests with wine pairings
• Find Mortimer Farms Events & Festival Schedule

FACT

•  Arizona’s agriculture industry generated $5.2 billion in 2022 from 16,710 direct to market farms

RESOURCE

• Become A Member Of The Arizona Farm Bureau For $59/year