Land Leasing
The Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI) currently has 68,000 acres under cultivation - many with our trademarked Navajo Pride brand agricultural products. NAPI also offers beneficial leasing opportunities for other agricultural producers. Currently, NAPI has land lease contracts with JBS/5 Rivers, Navajo Mesa Farms, Pumpkin Patch Fundraisers (PPF) and Upland Desert Popcorn.

These relationships are profitable and mutually beneficial. According to managers at the Bean plant, NAPI farmland is ideal for their business, providing them with plentiful land, water and the necessary infrastructure to make their business profitable. "We have product that is distributed throughout the U.S. and into Mexico from this site," says Roselyn Yazzie. "Without NAPI, our operation would probably be substantially more expensive."

In addition, NAPI, with its potential to farm a total of 110,630 acres, has plenty of room for expansion in agribusiness. While other agricultural regions are faced with increased land cost and restrictions for irrigation water due to drought factors, NAPI has resources available at hand.

Irrigation water is allocated according to an annual cropping plan and the infrastructure is provided. NAPI also has an outstanding workforce available for hire, such as operators and center pivot technicians. Currently a vegetable program is being considered whereby NAPI would partner with an experienced vegetable grower to develop a vegetable or organic farming program.

PPF, Pumpkin & Popcorn Growers have gone from 100 to 6,500 acres over the past five years. "We have a win-win situation here," says Leon Notah, head grower. "Our rapid expansion is a testament to the relationship we have with NAPI, and we look forward to it growing and continuing."

Processing
Processing plant opportunities also exist at NAPI. One distinct advantage of this opportunity is an industrial park, which is divided into five to ten acre parcels. The Bean plant sits on one of these parcels to package and ship dry edible pinto beans. "We process and package beans from this site, and it works quite well for us," says Roselyn Yazzie. Other potential opportunities from these business sites would include russet and chipper potatoes, carrot products and cold-packing vegetables and lettuce.

Finally, not only does NAPI have available land, but also has available water for processing plants. This factor is a definite one to consider as processing plants look for new opportunities to place their plants.

For additional information on land leasing opportunities for farming or processing, please contact Tsosie Lewis at 505.566.2600, ext 2602 or email tlewis@navajopride.com.

Grazing
There are two types of grazing opportunities available at NAPI: winter grazing and summer pasture. NAPI offers this land for grazing to sheep and cattle owners. Grazing provides NAPI with another crop rotation while it keeps cover on the land before the next crop is planted. It also helps minimize erosion problems.

Grazing provides NAPI with another source of income. It also provides owners with alternative pasture needs in times of drought. We understand the dynamics of grazing patterns; therefore we assign sheep and cattle to specific areas of the farm. Our customers are satisfied with NAPI's service and each year, we have seen pasture demand increase. All livestock owners can take advantage of this great opportunity.

For more information on NAPI's grazing pasture program, contact Leonard Scott at 505.566-2635 fax (505) 324-9458 or email lscott@navajopride.com.