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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Event to Focus On Small Farmers

By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
    What makes the 2007 New Mexico Agricultural Small Farm Conference and Trade Show in Moriarty worth attending?
    Ninety-two percent of all farms and ranches in the state are considered small by federal Department of Agriculture standards, said Del Jimenez, an agriculture specialist for the NMSU Cooperative Extension Service.
    "The program has been set up for the small farmers and ranchers," Jimenez said. The USDA qualification cutoff for small ranchers and farmers is about $100,000 in gross annual income, he said.
    NMSU has set aside three days of talking and demonstrations for the conference Nov. 2-4 at the Moriarty Civic Center. It will focus on livestock, agriculture, marketing and demonstrations all geared toward the small farmer and rancher.
    According to Jimenez, the university has never before focused on small farmers with a unique conference.
    "This is an opportunity for small producers to get together, network, learn and get educated on what's happening in the state of New Mexico for agriculture," Jimenez said.
    Those who attend are unlikely to be bored, because simultaneously scheduled throughout each day are three different presentations along with demonstrations and sometimes even a holiday cooking demonstration.
    Twenty different companies will present agricultural products including EggCartons.com, selling poultry industry products; Agro Engineering from Colorado; Syngenta Crop Protection from North Carolina; and Albuquerque companies Mesa Tractor, Sierra Irrigation and Proven Products, which produces cardboard boxes.
    Twelve organizations will also be giving out information, including the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission, Farm to Table and New Mexico Beef Council.
    On Friday, Moriarty City Councilor Steve Anaya, a member of the NMSU board of regents, will give the introductory speech. Also on Friday, Manny Encinias will present "New Mexico Cattle Health Concerns," and on Saturday his father, Moriarty Mayor Adan Encinias, will give the first speech.
    Moriarty Chamber of Commerce president Harry Herrera will give the final day's introductory speech.
    Registration for all day Friday is $25, all day Saturday is $30, all day Sunday is $25 or all three days is $60.
    Register at the door or ahead of time by calling Jimenez at 852-2668 or e-mailing him at djimenez@nmsu.edu.