By Lindsey Gemme | Eloy Enterprise
In January, a proposal to lease some city-owned land to an area farmer came into question. Vice-Mayor Joel Belloc directed staff to lower the three-year agreement to one year, and open up the land to Eloy farmers first, and perhaps at a higher price per acre.
Last month, the agreement once again went before Council after staff and Brynn-Con Farms owner Vernon Barnes discussed the new parameters.
The original agreement was to rent the 220 acres near Shedd and Tweedy roads for three years, for $100 an acre.
According to Barnes, the three-year agreement would be preferable, since he had invested over $70,000 in the fertilizers and other materials in order to make it farmable and increase the yield of his cotton crop.
It also came to light that Brynn-Con Farms were indeed Eloy-based farmers, farming properties that amount to over 3,700 acres of land, 2,265 acres of which they own outright. The rest they lease, including the 220-acre parcel in question owned by the city.
Barnes requested that council grant the three-year agreement so that he could recoup the money he invested in his crop. He also proposed that each year, he would develop another 10 acres, with a total of 240 farmable acres at the end of the agreement. This would both benefit him, and the city.
