Yuma's Mellon Farms celebrates 75 years of family farming

Vegetable grower Mellon Farms, Yuma, Ariz., is celebrating 75 years of family farming.

The company, founded by Archie Mellon in 1945, grows in Yuma, Gila and the Wellton-Mohawk Valley regions in Arizona, according to a news release.

Mellon Farms grows leafy greens and other vegetables, along with fruit, seed crops and grains, producing year-round.

Mellon was stationed in Yuma as an Army Air Corps flight instructor during World War II, and began farming in the Gila Valley after the war, according to the release. He expanded in the Yuma Valley, and a son, Doug, joined the operation and acquired his first farm in 1961. He incorporated Doug Mellon Farms Inc. in 1976, and expanded again in the Wellton-Mohawk, Yuma and Gila valleys, according to the release.

Doug Mellon’s sons, Colin, Todd and Cory now manage the operation, incorporated as Doug Mellon Farms II Inc. in 2008.

The farm uses sustainable practices, including composting, crop rotation and other measures.

“Being good stewards of the land is an obligation, and ultimately makes the best business sense,” Colin Mellon said in the release.

The fourth generation of Mellons are involved in farm-related activities, and the company also sees a continuity with multiple generations of employees working the fields, including the Urias and Banuelos families as prominent names, according to the release.

“When Archie Mellon founded Mellon farms it was his goal to create not only an environment for excellence in family farming but to ensure the Mellon family would meet the growing demand for fresh fruits and vegetables for generations to come,” according to the release.