The American Farm Bureau Board toured Yuma, Ariz. farms, a lettuce processing plant, and the International Border in mid-March as part of its annual board meeting designed to help national farm leaders understand the diversity of U.S. agriculture.

The two-day tour of desert farms in and around Yuma showcased winter vegetable production in a season that was extended somewhat across the region because of weather issues in the Salinas Valley of California that have delayed planting for the summer crop.

National farm leaders saw active harvest operations, watched farmworkers cross the International Border just south of Yuma, toured the Dole processing plant where lettuce was cooled and processed, and visited the University of Arizona’s Research and Extension Farm at Yuma.

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall hailed the trip as a great way for the organization to understand national farm issues as directors set Farm Bureau policy and work to promote American agriculture within Congress.