Agriculture as Economic Development (Roosevelt County)

The Farmer’s Market is a vital part of small scale vegetable producers’ income in Roosevelt County. The market is open two days a week at 5 p.m. and begins selling in July and continues until frost. This agent strives to provide producers with assistance in whatever arena aid is needed. In April of 2011 this agent worked with the Farmer’s Market Director for Roosevelt County to coordinate a Farmer’s Market informational meeting with local growers. 80% of those in attendance left with knowledge of new market regulations and paperwork requirements for selling produce in the upcoming year. This agent spent considerable time working throughout the year with the market manager, local growers, and community development specialist to brain storm on means to combat the lack of participation by growers and buyers. The 2011 growing season was miserable and has negatively impacted numerous growers. This agent in conjunction with the Roosevelt County Extension Office offered a cooking with fresh vegetables demonstration at the Farmer’s Market to educate consumers on new and simple ways to utilize fresh produce at home. Improved marketing and sales will be vital to grower sustainability and success.

With the intent of improving profitability of local vegetable growers this agent participated in a grant to build a low cost greenhouse i.e. (hoophouse). The hoophouse has sparked a lot of interest from the community and has provided a great deal of practical education on greenhouse production of vegetables. This agent spent a fair amount of time this spring and summer working on and in the greenhouse. It has proved to be a valuable training tool and will be utilized greatly in the coming years. 100% of the people that have interacted with the greenhouse have learned about it.

This agent serves in multiple capacities over the course of a year and one of those is an ex-officio member of the Roosevelt County Fairboard. The fairboard is the governing body that directs the fair and this agent serves to provide technical support to the decision making process. The fair is an ongoing event and requires some planning and efforts throughout the year in order to see a successful event each year. In addition, this agent serves to meet the needs of people and activities that occur during the fair. The Roosevelt County Fair is a large event held annually in August. It brings together people from all over the area and provides a large economic stimulus to the community. The amount of time required can be quite extensive but the reward to individuals as well as the community is greatly justified. Roosevelt County residents are more satisfied and have a greater quality of life when events such as the fair are provided in a community.

The New Mexico Ag Expo is a large farm and ranch show held in Portales, New Mexico every year. The expo is attended by greater than 2000 people from across New Mexico and West Texas. It hosts over 250 vendors from over 14 states and 2 foreign countries. The Ag Expo is a great venue for reaching agriculture producers in a timely manner prior to the upcoming farming year. Products presented and expo participants vary a great deal and offer attendees a vast selection of agricultural goods and services to fit their farming or ranching needs. A producer can often read about products or services that could benefit their program but through attending the expo they can get one on one consultation with the company. Vendors are given evaluations at the conclusion of the show to determine their satisfaction with the event. Comments and suggestions given at that point are evaluated by the committee to determine if changes are needed to improve the show. This agent is an active member of the planning committee which manages all components of the show. This agent is actively involved with the day to day management of the event and serves as one of the main contacts for the event throughout the year. Producers that attend this event are better equipped with information to make decisions that impact their operations. This agent was re-elected as the Chairman of the Ag Expo Committee for the 2012 event.

This agent is responsible for determining and coordinating all educational seminars. This agent utilizes multiple sources of information to find timely and relevant information to present in the lectures. This agent also utilizes a variety of sources for speakers in order to find knowledgeable people to present this timely information. The goal of this agent is to supply information that improves daily lives or makes a positive economic impact on agricultural operations. 50% of the people that attended educational seminars said it would make a direct impact on how they make business decisions.

The Farmer’s Market is a vital part of small scale vegetable producers’ income in Roosevelt County. The market is open two days a week at 5 p.m. and begins selling in July and continues until frost. This agent strives to provide producers with assistance in whatever arena aid is needed. In February of 2010 this agent worked with Curry County Agent and Farmer’s Market Directors for Curry and Roosevelt Counties to coordinate a Farmer’s Market development workshop with NM State Community Development Specialist. The program was hosted in Curry County and saw an outstanding attendance. We had 25 attendees from 5 counties and 2 states. The program started at the beginning looking at variety and crop selection and moved all the way through to adding value to crops and marketing. 20% of those in attendance left with new knowledge of improved production practices and potential marketing options.

This agent serves in multiple capacities over the course of a year and one of those is an ex-officio member of the Roosevelt County Fairboard. The fairboard is the governing body that directs the fair and this agent serves to provide technical support to the decision making process. The fair is an ongoing event and requires some planning and efforts throughout the year in order to see a successful event each year. In addition, this agent serves to meet the needs of people and activities that occur during the fair. The Roosevelt County Fair is a large event held annually in August. It brings together people from all over the area and provides a large economic stimulus to the community. The amount of time required can be quite extensive but the reward to individuals as well as the community is greatly justified. Roosevelt County residents are more satisfied and have a greater quality of life when events such as the fair are provided in a community.

The New Mexico Ag Expo is a large farm and ranch show held in Portales, New Mexico every year. The expo is attended by greater than 2000 people from across New Mexico and West Texas. It hosts over 250 vendors from over 14 states and 2 foreign countries. The Ag Expo is a great venue for reaching agriculture producers in a timely manner prior to the upcoming farming year. Products presented and expo participants vary a great deal and offer attendees a vast selection of agricultural goods and services to fit their farming or ranching needs. A producer can often read about products or services that could benefit their program but through attending the expo they can get one on one consultation with the company. Vendors are given evaluations at the conclusion of the show to determine their satisfaction with the event. Comments and suggestions given at that point are evaluated by the committee to determine if changes are needed to improve the show. This agent is an active member of the planning committee which manages all components of the show. This agent is actively involved with the day to day management of the event and serves as one of the main contacts for the event throughout the year. Producers that attend this event are better equipped with information to make decisions that impact their operations. This agent was re-elected as the Chairman of the Ag Expo Committee for the 2011 event.

This agent is responsible for determining and coordinating all educational seminars. This agent utilizes multiple sources of information to find timely and relevant information to present in the lectures. This agent also utilizes a variety of sources for speakers in order to find knowledgeable people to present this timely information. The goal of this agent is to supply information that improves daily lives or makes a positive economic impact on agricultural operations. 50% of the people that attended educational seminars said it would make a direct impact on how they make business decisions.

The New Mexico Ag Expo is a large farm and ranch show held in Portales, New Mexico every year. The expo is attended by greater than 2500 people from across New Mexico and West Texas. It hosts over 300 vendors from over 16 states and 2 foreign countries. The Ag Expo is a great venue for reaching agriculture producers in a timely manner prior to the upcoming farming year. Products presented and expo participants vary a great deal and offer attendees a vast selection of agricultural goods and services to fit their farming or ranching needs. A producer can often read about products or services that could benefit their program but through attending the expo they can get one on one consultation with the company. Vendors are given evaluations at the conclusion of the show to determine their satisfaction with the event. Comments and suggestions given at that point are evaluated by the committee to determine if changes are needed to improve the show. This agent is an active member of the planning committee which manages all components of the show. This agent is actively involved with the day to day management of the event and serves as one of the main contacts for the event throughout the year. Producers that attend this event are better equipped with information to make decisions that impact their operations. This agent was selected as the President for the Ag Expo Committee for the 2009 event.

2009 saw an expansion of the Dairy Pavilion. The building again hosted all dairy seminars, programs, and luncheons for the Ag Expo, but also saw direct dairy product vendors stationed in booths. The dairy industry is a large part of the economy and the greater focus of the dairy pavilion provides for a more direct impact with producers. This new venue will allow for more targeted and timely programming to the dairy industry. In addition to the dairy programs, this agent is responsible for determining and coordinating all educational seminars. This agent utilizes multiple sources of information to find timely and relevant information to present in the lectures. This agent also utilizes a variety of sources for speakers in order to find knowledgeable people to present this timely information. The goal of this agent is to supply information that improves daily lives or makes a positive economic impact on agricultural operations. 50% of the people that attended educational seminars said it would make a direct impact on how they make business decisions.

The Farmer’s Market is a vital part of small scale vegetable producers’ income in Roosevelt County. The market is open two days a week at 5 p.m. and begins selling in July and continues until frost. This agent strives to provide producers with assistance in whatever arena aid is needed. In April of 2009 a program was provided to introduce new growers to the gardening occupation. Twenty – one new and seasoned growers were in attendance for a presentation by the state vegetable specialist. Growers were treated to a lively discussion on production of multiple practices and varieties. 10% of those in attendance left with new knowledge of production practies. Following the program a business meeting was held for the local market group.

Often opportunities come along at extremely unexpected times or from unusual directions. This agent was contacted in the spring of 2008 by a writer with the National Geographic Magazine. She was seeking information about a picture taken in Roosevelt County in 1957. After a lengthy discussion this agent ended up being quoted in the National Geographic Magazine, September 2008 issue. After the release of that issue to news stands this agent was subsequently interviewed for a press release from the New Mexico State Communications Department. That interview has now been carried in two different local papers. This agent has also received numerous personal contacts as well as phone calls and emails about the National Geographic Article. This has brought positive attention to the Cooperative Extension Service as well as the occupation of an Agriculture Agent.