A Saudi Arabian company is growing alfalfa on farms in the drought-prone southwestern United States and sending it overseas to feed cows., that she has canceled one of Saudi-owned farming company Fondomonte’s state land leases, citing default on the lease. The state will not renew three other leases in February 2024, she said.
Fondomonte also leases thousands of acres of farmland from the Arizona State Land Department in La Paz County, records show, and another Fondomonte subsidiary in CaliforniaSo why does Saudi Arabia rely on overseas farms to grow alfalfa? The country finalized a ban in 2018 on the growth of alfalfa and other crops that were straining its water supply, Natalie Koch, a professor of geography at Syracuse University, said.
“If you have enough water to pump to irrigate it, then you can get many cuts in a year in a desert,” Koch said.