The Murphree Family
Maricopa - Maricopa County
Inducted in 2024
Pat and Pennee Murphree’s main farm was in Maricopa, Arizona, with one section and leasing acreage. Additionally, while running their place, Pat worked for the University of Arizona’s Maricopa Agricultural Center or “Big MAC” as manager for their demonstration farm. He grew cotton, alfalfa, grains, and specialty crops in both places. Over the years, Pat and Pennee have grown almost everything you can imagine that grows in our Arizona climate. While with the University, they constantly experimented with alternative crops, especially at the professors’ request.
One of the specialty crops tried was Pistachios, specifically on the Neely (Pat’s older sister, Louise’s place in Maricopa). In the 1970s, Pat Murphree and his wife Pennee had a Pistachio seedling nursery. They grew the rootstock, obtaining seed from California. “We sold quite a few trees throughout Arizona and some into New Mexico. We’ve calculated that a couple hundred acres are probably in existence today from the rootstock we grew in our seedling nursery and sold to Pistachio farmers in Arizona and New Mexico,” explains Pat.
He continues, “During any given farming year, we might be farming as many as 3,200 acres between the U of A demonstration farms, our farm, and leasing additional acres. All the crops I have farmed have been exciting to grow. Cotton, of course, was our main crop. Based on soil types and what you planted, it was an interesting opportunity to test your efforts to grow a quality crop while managing your costs for maximum production and ROI [Return on Investment]. When working with the University, many project leaders would work with us, including hosting their experiments on our family farm. They used to call our place U of A South.”
Pat’s parents, Aubrey Pat Murphree, Sr., and Frances Pritchard Murphree, farmed approximately 240 acres on the northeast corner of Pecos and Gilbert in Chandler before selling it in the late 1980s to purchase a farm further south. When calculated, the Murphrees have been growing cotton in the mid-south and southwest for more than 100 years. The Arizona footprint began when Pat Sr. began farming for Doc Chandler in 1917; the founder of Chandler, Arizona: Chandler’s company, Chandler Improvement Company, weathered ups and downs. However, the depression hit hard, and the company became Bogel Farms, where Pat Sr. also began working. He saved and eventually bought the farm near Pecos and Gilbert. He raised their four children, including Pat, Jr., the family’s baby.
Ag Changes in Our Lifetime
When asked about changes to farming practices, Pat says: “Today’s farmers are moving away from conducting too many trips down the field to reduce costs to no-till or low-till environments. Depending on the situation, one trip in a field could cost 5 to 6 dollars an acre. It’s more expensive per acre today than when I farmed through 2004. Reducing tillage trips has been one of the most cost-effective changes in crop production that I’ve observed in my lifetime.”
Pat says, “Costs to run a farm continue to go up. I used to pay $120 a ton for UN32 (fertilizer). Now, our farmers pay more than $600 or $700 a ton, always going up, never down. Fuel costs for me then were just under a dollar a gallon for tractor diesel.”
Promoting Agriculture
Community-wise, Pat and Pennee Murphree were involved in several things in Maricopa, including 4-H, FFA, and the local community church. Maricopa’s community event was Stagecoach Days, where everyone pitched in.
But Pat insists that Pennee’s community and volunteer outreach are the things to discuss. “While I was farming, Pennee spent the last 45 years promoting the cotton and agriculture industry. Suppose you factor in everything she’s done on the local, state, and national level, her promotion efforts have reached thousands of consumers, aided in helping the public understand the cotton industry and agriculture in general, and made agriculture an interesting, historical, and entertaining topic for all interested parties.”
Pennee began cotton promotion through her activities in the Farm Bureau, especially with the Casa Grande Valley Cotton Women (CGVCW). During her presidency in 1993, she expanded some of the community outreach areas that culminated when she became Western Regional Director for the National Cotton Council’s Cotton Women’s Committee. During that time, Pennee went nationwide, conducting seminars and fashion shows, helping host special events, and much more. She’d been active with the National Cotton Council since the 1980s. She could tell you more about the cotton industry across the country because of her involvement with the National Cotton Council.
A highlight of Pennee’s agriculture promotional efforts was authoring a children’s book about cotton called “The Adventures of 100% Happy Shirt.” Written in 1995, Pennee and educators have been using this book to teach children about modern cotton production in the USA. To date, more than ten thousand copies (quantity of the original printing, which is now wholly distributed) of “The Adventures of 100% Happy Shirt” were mainly donated to classrooms or only charged the cost of printing-Pennee’s last significant effort to promote cotton tied in with our Nation’s history. Being a genealogy enthusiast, Pennee discovered some distant family ties to the U.S. President’s Wives. While researching, she found a collection of cotton dresses about to be donated to a drama club. The First Lady’s collection of cotton dresses made in 1976 to celebrate the Bicentennial caught Pennee’s attention. After receiving permission to use the collection, she developed an educational “Caretakers of Our History” program, which she presented to different organizations.
Pat’s aviation hobby started when working with U of A’s project leaders on the various experiments’ Big MAC’ conducts. When Pat was manager, he used to fly the project leaders all over Arizona so they could take pictures of their projects in various locations. The plane came in handy when Pat was at the U of A. Flying gave a different perspective of what the crops looked like. They were ahead of the curve. Now, the U of A uses unmanned aerial flights, or drones, to check crops, map fields, and do more and more precision agriculture. In 1975, Pat was Arizona’s Intermediate state champion. He especially loved aerobatic aviation.
Tinkering was like a hobby for Pat. This is not an unusual trait for farmers. “Most might not know I developed the portable weir that I received a U.S. patent on,” says Pat. In the 1970s (it seems like I got a lot of things done in the ‘70s), I developed a portable weir device to measure water use in the ditch. The technology is straightforward to use, and since then, more sophisticated and exact measuring systems have come into play. In Arizona, we constantly want to improve our water use in farming. This device lets a farmer know exactly what his water use is and then determine how to adjust. The system is still in use today, and the manufacturer, Fullerform, still sells the implement.”
When Pat retired from farming, he had many welding tools. He does a lot of welding in retirement, everything from welding tables and BBQs. Flying-wise, he used to be active in aviation with others. He’s also made bowling ball cannons. Making bowling ball cannons was one of the most fun things to make.
Along with others, he goes out to a dry lakebed nearby and shoots for distance and accuracy. “It’s amazing what 8 ounces of black powder and a 16-pound bowling ball can do,” he says. “The cannons can sometimes shoot the bowling ball entirely out of sight. Once, we brought an old refrigerator out, and while our accuracy could have been better, we eventually hit it. It sent the bowling ball entirely through the refrigerator, still rolling another 600 to 700 yards. Our dry lakebed used for practice shots is 1,350 yards, and set at a 45-degree angle (the cannon), we can shoot the balls about 1,000 to 1,200 yards. If we do a 35-degree angle, we can shoot about 1,500.” [Translated, that’s about three-quarters of a mile.]
Pat and Pennee Murphree have received much recognition over the years. Still, the ones they cherish include Pennee Murphree, who received the Arizona Center for Rural Leadership’s AGRARIAN IMPACT award. Pat has received FFA and 4-H recognitions and recently was recognized by the U of A for his outstanding contribution to Arizona agriculture. Julie was recognized as the University of Arizona’s Science communicator.
Affiliations
Pat Murphree
Arizona Farm Bureau
Arizona Cotton Growers
The University of Arizona CALES Award 2023
Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame Committee
FFA and 4-H Recognitions
Pennee Murphree
Arizona Farm Bureau
Casa Grande Valley Cotton Wives – President
Western Regional Director - National Cotton Council's Cotton Women's Committee
The University of Arizona CALES Award 2023
Rural Leadership's AGRARIAN IMPACT award