My father, a naturalized British citizen, was an important figure in my life. My grandfather, who was the western correspondent of The Times of London, died fairly young, and my father had to skip college and go to work to support the family. He went into underwriting and invested in the Maricopa Land and Cattle Company, whose purpose was to make the desert fertile.
My dad was interested in the concept, so he moved us to Phoenix in the 1940s to try it himself. He became a pioneer in turning the desert into fertile land. He applied modern management principles to farming. He enlisted the University of Arizona for help with soil management and modification, and he hired an engineering company to drill for water.
He also learned about crop rotation and plowing. We grew citrus, cotton and vegetables on a 500-acre farm. My dad even figured out how to grow high-grade Supima, or long-staple, cotton.
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