Production
Beauty
Education
Agritopia Farm is a commercial farm growing UDSA certified organic produce for the community. On-site, we also have a thriving community garden and gorgeous tranquil biblical garden.
You can find our produce on-site at our farm store, weekly at the Gilbert Farmer’s Market, via the Sun Produce Co-op, or by our weekly Farm Box subscription.
In order to preserve the land that they cherished, the Johnston family created a community where the farm could remain at the heart of everything.
Working with land planners, builders and the town of Gilbert, Agritopia was created to not only preserve the farm in a new urban setting, but to create a village atmosphere with commerce and a vibrant neighborhood surrounding the farm.
The commercial portion of the farm has three different growing areas, that have been growing to Certified Organic standards since 2002. There are row crops, the citrus and stone fruit orchard, and we even have an area where we grow Medjool dates and olives.
The Community Garden area of the farm is for those who would like to grow their own produce and share with others their gardening journey. While the plots belong to individual gardeners, the walking paths between are free for everyone to walk through and enjoy.
The Biblical Garden is a special section of the farm. The climate of our Arizona desert, and the middle east are very similar. In the Biblical Garden, located north of the Community Garden, one can find numerous plants and their citations in the bible. It's a peaceful place to sit and reflect and enjoy the scenery.
This land has a long standing history of farming.
In 1927 the farm produced alfalfa hay, along with many other farms in Gilbert. During that time, Gilbert was knows as the "Hay capital of the world" as producers were able to harvest alfalfa more than six times a year. The Johnston Family was able to add a small farmhouse as well as a tractor shed before the turn of a new decade.
During the 50's cash crops changed to cotton and wheat.
New buildings were added to the homestead. A cement block tractor shed was added and the existing barn was replaced with a recycled aluminum Quonset hut barn made from melted down WWII aircraft.
In 1960 the farm was purchased by a young farmer, Jim Johnston and his wife Virginia.
Shortly after, they built a home on the farm to raise their 3 boys - Joe, Steve and Paul. The crops changed once again and the farm grew pima cotton, durum wheat for pasta, barley, field corn, sugar beets, milo and alfalfa.
Find Our Produce
Preserving Arizona’s
Agriculture Legacy
The Johnston Family Foundation for Urban Agriculture was created in 2015 and was later named The Arizona Urban Agriculture Foundation to continue the heritage of farming on this land in perpetuity, and to demonstrate the continuation of urban farming in the state of Arizona.
At the Arizona Urban Agriculture Foundation, we firmly believe in the power of community and the incredible impact we can achieve when we support one another. Our mission to cultivate sustainable urban agriculture and foster a resilient food system relies on the collective effort of like-minded individuals like you.