As the city of Chandler moves away from its agricultural roots and heads towards a high-tech future, the dairy farms are disappearing. The latest casualty, Hamstra Family Dairy is gone and in its place stands a construction site that will become the Allred Park Place Business Park.
Hamstra’s Dairy, like most farms in Chandler, was located on land that was leased from a developer. With the price of land per square foot increasing rapidly, most farmers cannot afford to own their land. Leasing the land has become an alternative than many have turned to. Developers often enter into lease agreements with farmers due to the lower taxes assessed to land used for agricultural purposes, and because they are sure the farmers will take care of the land. However, once the developer is ready to convert the land for commercial or residential use, the farm has to relocate or shut down.
With the rapid growth of what was once a farming town, Chandler has seen the price of land to sky-rocket because there is less developed land available. With the projected value of land to increase by 50% in the next year, agriculture will continue to be driven out of Chandler and into more rural areas like the town of Maricopa or Casa Grande.
A few dairy farms remain on the outskirts of Chandler city limits on county land, like the Creamline Dairy which sits on 25 acres two miles south of downtown Chandler. Owner Diane Spruit reached an agreement with the city that if they should decide to sell their farm the property would be annexed into the city’s Airpark and set aside for commercial development.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture the number of dairies in Maricopa County has been cut in half from 1997 to 2007. Chandler expects to have little to no undeveloped land in the next five to ten years.