ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico farmers produced fewer of the state’s famed hot peppers in 2017, and data released by federal and state agriculture officials show the value of the chile crop has declined.
The tallies for the last growing season show planted chile acreage has shrunk by more than half over the last 17 years, from a peak in 2005 of 17,500 acres (7,082 hectares) to 8,100 acres (3,278 hectares) last year. About 94 percent of that was harvested.
The number of tons produced also has dropped, and agricultural experts are placing the blame on a lack of labor and a persistent drought that has forced farmers to shift priorities.
As for the value of the crop, that dropped to an estimated $44.6 million in 2017 despite continued demand for New Mexico’s signature crop.
New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte said Wednesday that limited irrigation supplies have resulted in farmers focusing what little water they do get on more permanent crops such as the pecan orchards that line the Hatch and Mesilla valleys in southern New Mexico.
That has left annual crops such as chile, lettuce and onions in the dust.
Still, Witte said there’s no danger of New Mexico’s annual tradition of roasting green chile going by the wayside.
— Read on www.lamonitor.com/content/less-new-mexicos-famed-chile-crop-produced-2017
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