Pueblo chile season is beginning

The soil is prepped and the seeds are loaded.

“The planter, it makes a trench and it drops the seed in the trench every inch. It buries them up and them we irrigate them and they come up and we have Pueblo chile,” said Shane Milberger with Milberger Farms.

The chile is a staple of southern Colorado- and the life-blood at Milberger farms.

“We expect a good season, you know we always do, and we always strive to get that good season,” said Milberger.

It’s a huge part of the more than $50 million agriculture industry in Pueblo county.

This fast-growing industry starts at the farms with Pueblo chile seeds.

“The Pueblo chile is really important to us here at the chamber and to the city because it’s kind of our icon,” said Pueblo Chamber President Rod Slyhoff.
Slyhoff says Pueblo’s economy would be in trouble without the crop.

“It’s a really important part of our system here and we’re really proud of it,” Slyhoff said.

The results are thanks to the hard work of many local farmers and countless hours of work.

“Every day, every day between now and harvest, and several hours,” said Milberger.

Pueblo will have enough chiles until the process starts all over again next year.

“Whatever Mother Nature deals us, we deal with it and we make chiles some way or another,” Milberger said.