Chile farmers struggle with monsoons

By Sasha Lenninger

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    SOCORRO, New Mexico (KOAT) — It’s an aroma every New Mexican knows. Green chile season is here — but it hasn’t been an easy harvesting season due to the drought and monsoon rain.

Glen Duggins is a chile farmer in Socorro. He told KOAT spring started late for him because the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy delayed water due to the drought.

“The first farms might have got it in 40 to 45 days, but the delay was at least 60 days here,” Duggins said.

That caused him a delay in planting his crops. So, he had to look elsewhere for a bit in order to make the harvesting season window.

“We planted 300,000 transplants. We sent seed to Arizona, they grew them, we brought them back, so we could move forward and be on the market on time,” Duggins said.

He said that did not come cheap, but he made the window.

“There’s a window that you have to arrive at in the chile market. It starts right about now, the first of august, and it will go to the first of September. If you don’t hit that window, you are not going to get into it,” Duggins said. “It’s like selling pumpkins in June. Nobody wants them and they want their chile in chile season and that’s all there is to it. You can’t pick green chile in the winter and you can’t sell it early either.”

If you don’t make that window, it can be detrimental for a farmer.

“When you arrive halfway through the market, the stores have moved on. the stores have gone with somebody else. If you can’t get there from the start, it’s going to be very hard for you to cut in halfway,” Duggins said.

But this season has been rough. First the drought, the delayed water and recently the monsoon rains. Duggins said the moisture has killed 10% to 15% of his crop.

“Chile is very sensitive to water…if you irrigate your field and one of those heavy monsoons rains come right after well you’re going to be in trouble,” Duggins said. “They bring arroyos in and the arroyos run a lot of mud…sometimes that’s all we have to water with. And that’s what happened and that accelerates the disease.”

But Duggins told KOAT there is one thing you can do to help farmers in New Mexico.

“Buy New Mexico certified chile. If it doesn’t say that it’s probably not new Mexican,” he said. “At the end of the day, with all of the problems farmers are facing, if you don’t support them, it’s just going to vanish. Our pride and joy is just going to be gone.”

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