Agriculture’s role in NM economy, culture, water cycle

Jeff Witte is the state secretary of agriculture. He grew up on a ranch in northern New Mexico. National Farmers Market Week this week got me thinking about the economic and cultural importance of not just the state’s 75 farmers markets, but of New Mexico agriculture more broadly. On the economics side, New Mexico agriculture […]

Agriculture’s role in NM economy, culture, water cycle

Jeff Witte is the state secretary of agriculture. He grew up on a ranch in northern New Mexico.

National Farmers Market Week this week got me thinking about the economic and cultural importance of not just the state’s 75 farmers markets, but of New Mexico agriculture more broadly.

Jeff Witte, New Mexico Department of Agriculture secretary.
Jeff Witte, New Mexico Department of Agriculture secretary.

On the economics side, New Mexico agriculture is a $4 billion-a-year sector. But the true financial impact of agriculture in the state is much bigger. Four billion is a measure of the value of agricultural commodities at the farm or ranch: things like live cattle, raw milk, and unprocessed wheat. Turning those commodities into the products that most people no longer make for themselves – such as when milk gets turned into cheese, and when wheat gets turned into flour – adds several billion dollars more to the system.

In fact, researchers at New Mexico State University recently estimated that agriculture and food processing, combined, “accounted for $10.6 billion (roughly 12.3%) of New Mexico’s $86.5 billion gross state product (GSP) in 2012. In addition, the two industries directly created 32,578 jobs and 18,308 jobs in related support activities for a total of 50,886 jobs statewide.” (Interested readers can learn more by reading NMSU Cooperative Extension Service Circular 675, entitled “Agriculture’s Contribution to New Mexico’s Economy”.)

Given 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 – all of which contribute to more efficient water use by both plants and farmers. But traditional flood irrigation – watering crops by applying water to the surface of the ground in which they’re growing – 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’s major crops via flood irrigation returns to the aquifer. With these “return flows”, as they’re known, water gets filtered as it percolates through the ground.  Then it’s available for others, including municipalities that provide drinking water to the bulk of the people reading this…perhaps you.

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 – including small farms with $1,000 worth of production a year – as well as ethnic backgrounds, ages, and crops.  And agricultural diversity translates into a diverse economy.

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. 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 la comunidad be in northern New Mexico without the water-sharing approach of our acequia system? What water would sustain our state’s wildlife populations if not for the rainwater that sheep and cattle ranchers catch in dirt tanks to water their animals year-round?

And what would a Saturday morning in your community feel like without the vibrancy of your local farmers market? The state’s 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. That’s 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.

I often tell people that farmers and ranchers take water – a substance that begins with zero calories, zero protein, zero fiber – and make it nutritious. If you’d 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. New Mexico’s unique cuisine is dependent on New Mexico’s unique agricultural heritage. And while our unique cuisine is something we have access to whenever the craving hits, it’s coveted by those who live elsewhere. Eating New Mexican food is an important part of the experience tourists come here looking for.

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 – but in the end, it’s 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.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

A New Mexico-based LGBTQ rights organization endorsed 15 candidates for state House and Senate seats for the 2024 elections.  Marshall Martinez, executive director of…
Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…
Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. Congress would make it harder for the government to designate new national monuments. The proposed Congressional Oversight of the…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid announced on Wednesday that it will cover the cost of Opill, the first oral contraception approved for over-the-counter use. It is…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

The Navajo Nation and San Juan County reached an agreement Monday about commission districts after the tribe alleged that its members were not adequately…
MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.…
Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report