Buckeye's agricultural heritage is fading as development replaces farmland

• Carrie Mayfield's husband's family purchased their Buckeye farm in the late '60s, and bought it from their in-laws in 1996.

State of play: In addition to his farm, Rovey works about 3,000 acres of a neighbor's. But that land is slated for development.

• Mayfield also rents farmland along with her own. If the people they lease from sell their property, Mayfield's family has less land to use.
• "The total land base for farming is being eaten up by urban development," she said.
• Rovey noted that increased vehicle traffic has made it harder to drive tractors and other farm equipment on Buckeye's roads.

What's next: "We'll be selling out one of these days, but not right now. The big question is, where do we go? What do I do?" Rovey said.

• Buying farmland for agricultural purposes in Arizona these days is simply cost-prohibitive, he added.

Yes, but: There are mixed feelings in the farming community as Buckeye's agricultural property disappears because the city's transformation also presents opportunity.

• Mayfield said many farmers have long struggled, and when they sell to developers they're able to support themselves and leave an inheritance.

• Ironically, it's not always Buckeye's farmers who are most resistant to change — it's the people who moved there because they wanted to live in a rural community.

The bottom line: Mayfield thinks there's still a future for farming in Buckeye, but not necessarily a long one.

• She's unsure whether her son, who bought her farm a couple of years ago, will be able to finish his career farming in Buckeye.
• "It's going quickly," she said. "Is it going to be 10 years? Is it going to be 20 years? … But in 50 years I don't think there's going to be very many farms left in the Buckeye area."