Salinas and Yuma Are 500 Miles Apart—But Agribusiness Is Growing Them Closer

The California and Arizona Cities Have Been Fused by Consumers’ Year-Round Appetite for Fresh Produce

Salinas, California and Yuma, Arizona are quite far apart—485 miles by plane and 600 by car.

But no two cities in the West are closer.

Salinas and Yuma are bound by two unstoppable California forces: salad and consumer expectation. We expect to have fresh salads on our tables year-round. In October, an arduous process makes that possible by linking the two cities. It goes by a deceptively simple name: Transition.

Transition happens twice a year. In the fall, major lettuce and vegetable growers and processors in Salinas literally pack up and move …