For comparison purposes, gross sales of organic agricultural products were less than $5,000 back in 1991, according to John Boren, director of N.M. State University’s Cooperative Extension Service. But today, gross sales exceed 67 billion dollars for organic products. 

Since 2005 there has been a 66 percent increase in New Mexico’s certified organic producers and over a 470 percent increase in organic acreage.

Boren gave his report at this year’s  N.M. Organic Farming Conference in Albuquerque. Noting that organic production takes place in 26 of New Mexico’s 33 counties, he concluded that it “is certainly critical that we find ways to better support New Mexico organic agricultural production because many families depend upon organic farm income for survival. And I can assure you, their activities are extremely important to the economic wellbeing of our New Mexico communities.”  

 Boren outlined the enormous variety of assistance available through the extension service from the Small Farms Task Force in north-central New Mexico to the Las Cruces Campus Science Department. The former supports small farms and sustainable agriculture while the latter provides plant diagnostics, insect and weed pest identification and pest management strategies and irrigation and marketing assistance. 

On-site demonstrations throughout the state help teach diverse growing practices for the variety of temperature and soil conditions throughout our area. The Master Gardener Program is one small boon that most nonprofessionals may have encountered, but  assistance to farmers is multifaceted and comprehensive.

The 2011 New Mexico Organic Farming Conference took place this year on February 18 and  19 at The Marriott Pyramid Hotel in Albuquerque. It is an event sponsored jointly  by the organization Farm to Table, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (USDA), the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission (OCC) and New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service. Joanie Quinn of the OCC was a warm and energetic master of ceremonies, introducing the structure and offerings of the two-day event.  

A letter from Congressman Martin Heinrich’s office,  recognized the contribution of organic farmers in the state, which “connects New Mexicans with locally grown foods that increase health and contribute to our local economy.”  It was a good nod of support, and along with leaflets explaining legislation to protect New Mexico’s farmers, it reiterated the economic and political impact of the agricultural community.

David Lucero, of the N.M. Department of Agriculture’s Marketing Division, brought conference attendees up to date  about the  possible merger of  Organic Commodity Commission with  the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, and more importantly, announced  funding offered from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture through a Specialty Crop Grant  from the USDA, for around $400,000. 

Workshops in Santa Fe and Las Cruces will help anyone interested in submitting concept proposals to apply for those grants. He noted that the state of New Mexico also offers a  specialty crops program.

Boren was keynote speaker. He is associate dean at the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. 

Six areas of  study represented by workshops throughout the two-day conference were: soil, crop, livestock, weed and pest management, farm support and market gardening.

Corrales’ Doug Findley spoke on berry production. He manages Heidi’s Raspberry Farm in Corrales. He offered straightforward trial-and-error, tested tips on growing raspberries and strawberries, without losing your shirt in the process, or making planting mistakes that can cost you your investment and optimism. Findley presented, and his sister, Heidi Eleftheriou, piped in occasionally, while a colorful slide show clarified the details.

 This seemed to be the trend: first-hand, down-to-earth knowledge, with slide shows illustrating just how things are done. Experienced farmers, soil specialists, ranchers, scientists and practitioners  covered a wide variety of organic production,troubleshooting, and marketing.

People were milling, munching, chatting and sipping in the halls  which were packed. Product and service tables lined every wall and every small side room. Finally there was a commencement, a welcome presentation and then suddenly quiet descended as people make their way to conference-style classrooms. 

Organizers scurried and organized, took a breath and touched base with each other, cleared up procedural questions and ironed out little items needing ironing out. 

Le Adams  from Farm to Table, an organization which joined the alliance of groups to organize this conference around six years ago, is proud of the way it has been set up as primarily a “production conference.” 

In many of the workshops, a deliberate attempt to pair an academician and a practitioner from the field helped to address the way different people learn, and provided a relatively comprehensive view of the various subjects presented.  Adding workshops on grants and loans, financing and business management rounded out the primarily hands-on approach of the conference. 

Adams said the goal was to have the larger conference rooms for the more popular topics, but some were more popular than anticipated.

NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service has been involved in the New Mexico Organic Farming Conference since its inception in 1989. It had been mandated by the governor as a way to address the needs of organic producers, according to Del Jimenez, of the Research Division, NMSU Extension Service. Speakers pointed out that not all people attending the conference were organic producers; many would just like to put less chemicals in the soil and on their plants even though they may not be “certified organic.” 

It is the goal of the extension service to help all producers in the state reach their goals of sustainability and practicality. Information that is applicable to the success of all producers is a high priority.  “Organics is a way of life; it’s a religion to many of these people over here. There are benefits that are positive, and we try to build on those positive assets of growing without the use of chemicals. It is different than just going out there and growing commercially, and so we stress the benefits of organic production,” Al Cade said.

 Brett  Bakker, chief inspector of the Organic Commodities Commission, manned the information table for the OCC. I was able to address some of my concerns about genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) and organic produce “coexisting” side by side on our agricultural lands in New Mexico.

He was just as worried about the risks of contamination as I was, and that it is a concern that has yet to be solved. Needed regulation from the USDA would add considerable training investment for regulators and testing provisions to address  the possibility of  drift from seed, soil, chemical sprays and water. 

Distributors and processors of organic food now tend to do the testing case-by-case, because the cost to them, for organic versus non-organic foods is higher. Many times the farmer takes the burden of testing upon himself, by employing the use of independent labs. 

With the new climate of GMO crops, the USDA receives more and more urging from local organic regulators to address the problem more uniformly. This is a unique opportunity offered in the conference setting, to speak one-to-one with agency representatives about concerns affecting the entire industry.

A conversation with New Mexico Department of Agriculture Representative Jim Brueggen from Las Cruces covered a lot of ground regarding the higher costs of organic production, the relative closeness of the organic consumer with producer via farmers’ markets, and the need to educate the public about even the appearance of organically grown products versus those that most Americans have seen in  supermarkets all their lives.