Contributed article
PHOENIX – The American Farm Bureau and Arizona Farm Bureau — accompanied by Arizona farmers, ranchers, and growers — presented Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema with the Golden Plow Award – the highest honor the Bureau awards to sitting Members of Congress – for her work delivering lasting solutions strengthening Arizona’s agricultural industry.
“By working side by side with Arizona farmers, ranchers, and producers in every corner of our state, we’ve delivered real results to strengthen Arizona’s water future, address workforce shortages, and create a healthy economy where Arizona family farmers can thrive. We’ll keep working together to ensure Arizona farmers can feed families across the country – now and for generations to come,” said Sinema.
Sinema earned the “Friend of the Farm Bureau” award three times prior to receiving the Golden Plow Award for her work supporting Arizona’s agriculture and, most recently, for securing historic investments for Western drought resilience.
The Senator has held consistent meetings with Arizona farmers, ranchers, and agricultural leaders about the challenges and opportunities facing their industry – including Arizona’s water supply and future, the current border and immigration system, and labor shortages. Sinema partnered with the Arizona Farm Bureau to shape her bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law to address many Arizona farming priorities, like meaningful investments repairing and improving outdated water systems.
In response to the worsening drought conditions facing farmers in the American West, Sinema launched a Water Advisory Council at the Hoover Dam last year – an assembly of Arizona water experts and key stakeholders from diverse backgrounds – to develop solutions securing the region’s water future.
Between Sinema’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law and the Inflation Reduction law she shaped, the Senator has secured more than $12 billion in drought relief and Western water funding. Sinema regularly meets with farmers, stakeholders, irrigation groups, tribal leaders, and her Water Advisory Council to ensure the funding is implemented efficiently and effectively.
