Commercial Vegetable Production (Doña Ana County)

The agent has been involved in vegetable conferences, workshops, and other events to help bring research based information to the public. Comments from local chile and onion producers clearly state that the universities role in vegetable research has benefited their operations. The agriculture agent recorded over 1,450 inquires into agriculture for the past year. These inquires represent local clientele who are involved in home gardening, small scale farming, to large producers. All of these inquires reflect the need for increased knowledge on the part of clientele. The agent is working to fulfill these clientele needs through one on one, and various events.

Dona Ana County is one of the major agricultural areas of New Mexico. With its mild climate, crops can be produced year round. Vegetable production includes chile, onion, lettuce, cabbage, and corn as its primary crops. Chile is still the number one vegetable crop grown in Dona Ana County, with onions a very close second. The agent made 122 agricultural visits this past year, with more than 1/3rd directed solely at vegetable crops. The primary two vegetable crops dealt with this past year were chile and onions. The agent participated in many events and conferences including the Western Sustainable Agriculture, Research and Education, ‘Integrated Pest Management’ workshop, NM Organic Commodity Commission, ‘Managing the Transition to Organic Production’, NM Chile Conference, Organic Farming Conference, 4-H County and District Contests, Chile Mechanization Workshops, SW Hispanic Small Farmers and Ranchers Conference, and the Hatch Chile Festival. By participating in these events the agent was able to provide, distribute, or present information on various vegetable crops to his clientele. These large events are also designed to provide a venue for information distribution to farmers, and the public. Through these events the agent recorded over 23,000 attendees. These attendees bring knowledge learned at these conferences, back to their communities, and possibly share it with their neighbors.
The agent worked through the Chile Mechanization Working Group, to better understand the chile industry and the development of a green chile harvester. The green chile harvester is critical for farmers and the chile industry in order to compete with increasing costs and international trade.
The agent was instrumental in helping to establish both school and community vegetable gardens in his county. School gardens were established at: Conlee Elementary School, Las Cruces; Vado Elementary School, Vado; and Hatch Elementary School, Hatch. Community gardens were established at: Community of Hope, Fairlight Gardens, Las Cruces; Las Esperanzas Mesquite District Community Garden, Las Cruces; Chaparral Community Garden, Chaparral; Vado Community Garden, Vado; and Anthony Community Garden, Anthony.
The agent participated in other events that brought the agent in direct contact with small farm producers, these include: the Southern NM State Fair, the Sierra County Fair, the County and District 4-H contests, and educational demonstrations through the school systems.

Conducted the fourth annual ‘Sustainable Agriculture Workshop’ in Santa Fe, NM on December 9, 2007, with the cooperation of Patrick Torres, County Extension Agent and sponsored by WSARE. The program provided an overview of alternative crops for growers to enhance sustainable crop production in New Mexico.

Conducted the Chile Field Day, Aug 19, 2008. This event increased awareness of the New Mexican chile industry, and also served to showcase chile field research projects at NMSU.

Assisted in presenting the NM Chile Conference, Feb 5, 2008. Coordinated the afternoon topics and speakers.

Serve as co-PI, of the Chile Yield Project. This group, composed of a multidisciplinary team of scientists, was assembled to investigate reported yield reductions in chile. Research plots at the Leyendecker and the Artesia Science Centers were maintained to continue a long-term chile rotational study.

Chaired and coordinated the Chile Mechanization Working group. This committee is composed of chile breeders, growers, industry reps, and agricultural engineers. The purpose of the group is to coordinate efforts and plan research towards the successfully mechanize harvest of green chile and cayenne peppers.

Green Chile Breeding for Mechanization. Continued efforts to breed green chile for improved machine harvest efficiency. Coordinated the green chile mechanical harvest test at Leyendecker and conducted the trials in conjunction with agricultural engineers at the USDA Cotton Ginning Lab and M-Tech. Collected plant attribute data and harvest quality data from five varieties of chile to analyze harvest efficiency compared to harvester head parameters and type. Made special arrangements to borrow Israeli harvester from Shane Franzoy to test and demonstrate at Leyendecker. Also, made plant selection from ‘Heritage NM 6-4’ for machine harvest attributes.

Coordinated the red chile and paprika breeding program. Continued efforts to breed high yielding, highly pigmented chile varieties suitable for machine harvest. This long-term program increases profitability for chile growers in the state by providing higher yield and quality red chile varieties. Machine harvest adaptation will increase competitiveness for growers in the state, and reduce the labor requirements for production.


Organized and chair the New Mexico WSARE advisory board. This group consists of NMDA, NRCS, growers, and researchers interested in sustainable agriculture. The purpose is to discuss and plan the yearly Sustainable Agriculture Workshop.

Served as planning committee member and local coordinator for the WSARE Regional Planning Conference held in Albuquerque, June 10-12, 2008. This conference involved the coordinated effort of five states: New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Selected individuals from each state were selected and invited to participate in brainstorming activities to shape the future direction of WSARE activities.

Jeff Anderson has signed on to support Commercial Vegetable Production within Doña Ana County.

Coordinated the red chile and paprika breeding program. Continued efforts to breed high yielding, highly pigmented chile varieties suitable for machine harvest. Evaluated advanced replicated trials of the red chile and paprika breeding lines in Las Cruces and Artesia. This long-term program increases profitability for chile growers in the state by providing higher yield and quality red chile varieties. Machine harvest adaptation will increase competitiveness for growers in the state, and reduce the labor requirements for production.

Conducted the third annual ‘Sustainable Agriculture Workshop’. Held in Socorro, NM with the cooperation of Tom Dean, County Extension Agent. This program introduced and enforced concepts related to water use efficiency as related to sustainable agriculture for crop production in New Mexico.

Conducted the Onion Field Day, May 23. This event increased awareness of the New Mexican onion industry, and also served to showcase onion field research projects at NMSU.

Assisted in coordination of the NM Chile Conference. Coordinated and moderated the afternoon mechanization workshop.

Assisted in initiating, and serve as co-PI, of the Chile Yield Project. This group was assembled to investigate reported yield reductions in chile with repeat croppings. Growers and processors throughout the southwest were visited and interviewed regarding their experiences. With much effort, I located three fields that were going into chile for the first time, paired with fields previously in chile, and set up research test plots with these cooperating growers. In addition, I also helped coordinate research plots at the Leyendecker and the Artesia Science Centers to begin a long-term chile rotational study.

Launched and chair the Green Chile Mechanization Working group. This committee is composed of chile breeders, growers, industry reps, and agricultural engineers. The purpose of the group is to coordinate efforts and plan research towards the successfully mechanize harvest of green chile and cayenne peppers.

Green Chile Breeding for Mechanization. Initiated efforts to breed green chile for improved machine harvest efficiency. Coordinated two green chile mechanical harvest observational tests, Sept 4 (Las Cruces- Tharp’s) and October 10 (Deming – Keelor’s). Coordinated with the grower and processor to conduct these special harvests. Local growers and industry representatives were invited to the test in Deming; approximately 12 individuals attended the demonstration. Collected plant attribute data and harvest quality data that will be presented at the NM Chile Conference. The information obtained will be used to determine the protocols for next year’s mechanical harvest research. Also, made preliminary plant selection from ‘NuMex Joe E Parker’ for machine harvest attributes.

Organized and chair the New Mexico WSARE advisory board. This group consists of NMDA, NRCS, growers, and researchers interested in sustainable agriculture. The purpose is to discuss and plan the yearly Sustainable Agriculture Workshop.