Yuma County agriculture leader Vicki Scott dies at 63

Vicki Scott helped shape how Yuma County’s produce industry talks about food safety, and how it trains for it. The longtime Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association board member died May 20 at 63, leaving behind a record that reached from farm fields and packing operations to the annual Southwest Ag Summit at Arizona Western College.

Scott spent 19 years as director of food safety and quality assurance for Amigo Farms in Yuma, where her work helped establish standards and practices the industry still uses today, according to her obituary. Before that, she put in 18 years with the City of Yuma in wastewater, starting as a water quality chemist and later managing the wastewater treatment lab. That technical background gave her a practical understanding of systems, testing and risk, skills that later became central to her work in agriculture.

Her role at Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association made her a familiar name in one of the county’s most important industry gatherings. She helped lead the Southwest Ag Summit at Arizona Western College, with food safety as a consistent focus. In a region where produce quality and safety can determine market access and consumer trust, Scott’s influence extended beyond one company or one season. She became part of the training culture that growers, shippers and field managers still rely on as food-safety expectations continue to tighten.

Scott also used her career to support the broader community around agriculture. She previously served on the board of Campesinos Sin Fronteras, which serves low-income farmworkers and Latino families in Yuma County. That work connected the business of agriculture to the people who harvest, pack and support it every day, reinforcing her reputation as both a technical leader and a mentor. She attended the University of Arizona, where she met her husband, William J. Scott, Jr., and settled in Yuma in 1980 after graduating.

A celebration of life was held May 30 at the Legacy Event Center at the Yuma County Fairgrounds, where state and local agriculture leaders gathered, including Arizona Department of Agriculture Director Paul Brierley. Scott is survived by her husband, William J. Scott, Jr.; daughters Meghan Scott and Allyson Scott, and Allyson’s husband, Luis Holguin; grandchildren Sienna, Kate, Landon and Addison; her mother and stepfather, Vicki-Lynne and John Reed; her sister, Desiree, and Dan Zinger; her brother, Sean Steele; and nieces and nephews. Donations in her honor may be made to the Women in Water Scholarship Fund or the Yuma County Historical Society for the Ag Museum.