Chile crop appears strong before harvest
By Diana M. Alba Sun-News reporter

A Las Cruces Sun-News story published on 07/22/2009

LAS CRUCES – It’s around this time of year that New Mexicans begin anxiously eyeing the contents of their deep freezes, wondering whether they’ve got enough green chile to make it until the start of the summer harvest.

Often rationing ensues.

But not to worry. It’s not much longer until the first pods will come off plants.
The green chile harvest should begin in earnest in the next two to three weeks, said Stephanie Walker, extension vegetable specialist at New Mexico State University.

Chile lovers will be happy to learn that the crop appears strong so far. Walker said chile hasn’t been hit by the disease seen in recent years.

She said weather conditions, especially dryness this month and early on in the season, have helped prevent bacterial and fungal diseases that cut into crop yields in past years. In addition, Walker said, there weren’t as many weeds last winter, which cut down on the number of insects that transmit the chile-killing virus called curly top.

“We’ve had some real rough years recently, and this year is going to be our best year in many years,” she said. “We did have a little problem with birds and rabbits in some areas, but not as bad as in previous years. As long as the weather keeps cooperating, we’re going to have an excellent, excellent crop.”

Walker said any rains or flooded fields in upcoming weeks could promote the fungal disease called chile wilt, which would hurt production.

At least one grower, Joe Lujan, who operates a you-pick-it field north of Las Cruces, is already allowing customers to gather chile in his 30-acre plot. He said the crop is “doing really good right now.”
“Last year about the time we started harvesting, the rains started, and most of us lost half of our crop to rain. I don’t want any rain until December,” he said with a laugh.

The farm is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, except Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Meanwhile, in Hatch, which promotes itself as the “Chile Capital of the World,” the crop is also faring well, said Mayor Judd Nordyke. He said the village is already fielding questions from interested chile buyers.

“We’re getting a lot of queries: ‘Is it ready yet? Are people roasting it yet?’” he said. “It’s a little bit early.”

Still, Nordyke said, “we’re just looking forward to what we hope is going to be a bumper year.”

Last year, the state produced 60,140 tons of chile, about a 23 percent increase over the previous year, according to statistics from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Meanwhile, in Do-a Ana County last year, about 20,600 tons of chile were produced, according to NASS. That was roughly a 61 percent increase over 2007.

Increases statewide were attributed mostly to farmers growing high-yielding green chile varieties, according to the report. Plus, Walker said disease pressure was greater in past years.

Though production was up compared to 2007, it was still much less than previous years. Industry experts have said chile production has been on a trend of decline because of the increased costs of farming and labor, as well as competition from Mexico.

The crop’s statewide value in 2008 jumped to $42.3 million, about a 48 percent increase over 2007. NASS attributed the gain to farmers getting much higher contract prices for the crop.

Lujan said his family has been farming chile at the site, about seven miles north of Mayfield High School off N.M. Hwy. 185, for about 50 years. He once planted as much as 100 acres – 50 for the you-pick-it operation and 50 for contracted sales to California buyers – but contracted prices declined, prompting him to cut back. Also, he said farming expenses shot up dramatically.

“There’s a lot of farmers that quit growing chile,” he said.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at dalba@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5443

Harvest stats
Year

Statewide chile production*

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Harvested acres 16,800 14,700 15,400 16,200 13,800 11,000 11,100

Production in tons 96,400 85,360 106,850 88,760 73,400 49,000 60,140

Crop value $53.4 million $41.1 million $50.3 million $47.8 million $39.6 million $28.7 million $42.3 million
Doña Ana County production*

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Harvested acres 4,400 3,400 3,900 3,500 3,000 3,200 3,200

Production in tons 21,170 24,410 34,830 16,720 22,100 12,800 20,600

Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service

*includes red and green

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