\u201cAgriculture\u2019s Contribution to New Mexico\u2019s Economy.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\nGiven the slim profit margins in agriculture, farmers and ranchers are always looking for new efficiencies. That fact bears out in some interesting ways. For instance, recent news stories about our declining chile acreage ignore the fact that New Mexico chile growers are now growing more chile per acre than they were 25 years ago. They and other growers have adopted things like laser leveling, drip irrigation, sensor technology, and satellite imaging \u2013 all of which contribute to more efficient water use by both plants and farmers.<\/p>\n
But traditional flood irrigation \u2013 watering crops by applying water to the surface of the ground in which they\u2019re growing \u2013 has its own merits. Research conducted at NMSU (Ward, 2008) shows that as much as 58 percent of the water applied to some of New Mexico\u2019s major crops via flood irrigation returns to the aquifer.<\/p>\n
With these \u201creturn flows,\u201d as they\u2019re known, water gets filtered as it percolates through the ground. Then it\u2019s available for others, including municipalities that provide drinking water to the bulk of the people reading this\u2026 perhaps you.<\/p>\n
Even if you dwell in an urban area, chances are that agriculture exists nearby. Data released by USDA last year showed that there are nearly 25,000 farms, ranches, and other such agricultural operations across New Mexico. That figure covers a wide range of sizes \u2013 including small farms with $1,000 worth of production a year \u2013 as well as ethnic backgrounds, ages, and crops. And agricultural diversity translates into a diverse economy.<\/p>\n
While a dollars-and-cents approach is helpful when talking about agriculture and its water use, it ignores the tremendous cultural contributions farming and ranching make to New Mexico.<\/p>\n
What would this region be like without the people who have called this place home for centuries and even millennia, thanks in part to the Three Sisters of beans, corn, and squash? How different would the meaning of\u00a0la comunidad\u00a0be in northern New Mexico without the water-sharing approach of our acequia system? What water would sustain our state\u2019s wildlife populations if not for the rainwater that sheep and cattle ranchers catch in dirt tanks to water their animals year-round?<\/p>\n
And what would a\u00a0Saturday\u00a0morning in your community feel like without the vibrancy of your local farmers market? The state\u2019s 75 farmers markets are all the more important when you consider the high rate of food deserts (low-income communities with limited access to grocery stores) here. Many of these markets are now participating in a program called Double Up Food Bucks, which allows recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to double their purchasing power of fresh, local food at the farmers market.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s good for low-income families, farmers and ranchers who sell at the market, and communities that will see those dollars spent and re-spent locally.<\/p>\n
I often tell people that farmers and ranchers take water \u2013 a substance that begins with zero calories, zero protein, zero fiber \u2013 and make it nutritious. If you\u2019d like to consider directing water away from agriculture, I ask you to please save that thought for the next time you sit down to eat. Would you be willing to part with the enchiladas that were made using New Mexico chile, onions, and cheese? Neither would I.<\/p>\n
New Mexico\u2019s unique cuisine is dependent on New Mexico\u2019s unique agricultural heritage. And while our unique cuisine is something we have access to whenever the craving hits, it\u2019s coveted by those who live elsewhere. Eating New Mexican food is an important part of the experience tourists come here looking for.<\/p>\n
I grew up on a ranch in northern New Mexico. I know how hard agricultural work is, and how thankless it may seems on tough days \u2013 but in the end, it\u2019s still one of the most rewarding things people can do for themselves, their families, and their communities. Thank you to all the past, present, and future farmers and ranchers across New Mexico, and thanks to everyone who stands in strong support of them.<\/p>\n
Witte is the state secretary of agriculture. He grew up on a ranch in northern New Mexico.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
National Farmers Market Week last week got me thinking about the economic and cultural importance of not just the state\u2019s 75 farmers markets, but of New Mexico agriculture more broadly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[118,147,107,277],"class_list":["post-72574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-economy","tag-environment","tag-roundhouse","tag-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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