by Patrick Jaramillo 

Workshop participants gather around a newly installed headgate. Photo credit: Patrick Jaramillo

The New Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA) hosted a USDA demonstration workshop at the Cleveland Community Center in the Mora Valley on Sunday, July 17.Representatives from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Rural Development showed up and talked about the many ways their agencies can help farmers and ranchers. The workshop finished with a field trip to a local ranch so participants could see firsthand a NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service) cost-share project and how it is improving that ranch's productivity and profitability.  

The main focus of the workshop was to highlight all the tools the USDA has available to farmers and ranchers. Andrew Ortiz from FSA explained how many of the programs administered by his office can help producers who have experienced a loss of crop or livestock. The bulk of FSA's programs are disaster or indemnity programs, which means they help offset the cost of losing crops or livestock in the event of natural disaster. Many of these programs have been mentioned in NMAA's previous newsletters, but the most helpful program right now is the Livestock Forage Program (LFP). Because of the severe drought conditions we are experiencing, there is simply not enough grass growing to sustain the herds ranchers normally would run. The LFP can assist ranchers by providing payments to stockmen to buy hay for their animals.

The NRCS is a different agency with a different mission. Where the FSA focuses on what is being produced, the NRCS is concerned with the land that is producing all this food. The most popular program administered by the NRCS is a cost-share program called the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). We have talked about EQIP on these pages before, because it is a very helpful program. Through the EQIP program, producers can get reimbursed for improvements made on their land that will increase conservation of natural resources. These conservation measures help farmers and ranchers maximize the land and water they have available to them, increasing production and profitability.  

Andres Aragon, from the Rural Development office, shared a lot of information about what Rural Development has to offer New Mexicans.  Although Rural Development has a wide reaching mission, spanning from housing, utilities and business development in rural areas; one of the most helpful programs available to farmers and ranchers is the Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG). This grant program can help a producer expand their operation from growing food to selling a processed product, like a rancher selling carne seca rather than selling cattle on the hoof; or a farmer selling roasted packaged chile or jams. With just a little work, a producer can greatly increase their revenue. The VAPG provides funds to do a feasibility study and capital to get the operation running.  

The workshop was capped off with a tour of Harold Trujillo's ranch to see how an EQIP project is helping him maximize available water and increase soil quality, improving his overall operation. Through EQIP, the NRCS is helping to stabilize a pond, install irrigation lines, stock tanks, and implementing a grazing rotation system that will greatly improve soil and pasture quality.

We are very proud of our long history of ranching and farming here in New Mexico. Those rich agricultural traditions have shaped our communities and shaped us. The reason these traditions are so entrenched in our culture is because they have sustained our people here on this land for generations, and will continue to do so for as long we keep up our way of life. The USDA programs are not the answer to all agricultural problems, but they are very useful tools that can be utilized together with traditional practices to ensure that we are able to provide food for ourselves and our communities just like we have done for generations.

by Quita Ortiz 

NMAA staff presents information about Acequia Restoration Plans. Photo credit: Pilar Trujillo

The New Mexico Acequia Association held an Acequia Infrastructure and Project Management workshop on June 30^th. It took place at the State Records Center and Archives in Santa Fe with the purpose of providing options for infrastructure needs.  

There are an estimated 800 acequias in New Mexico; and there are over 10,000 families who rely on their acequias so that their agricultural livelihoods and cultural heritage can persist for the coming generations. For centuries, acequias have been a central feature in many of New Mexico's communities by providing life-giving water for agricultural traditions and serving as community-based institutions for local water management.  

With changes in economic structures and trends, acequias have had to adapt to modern challenges. In the last 50 years, more and more rural families have shifted to wage employment, leaving less time to devote to traditional acequia infrastructure methods. There isn't as much manpower available to make repairs and improvements to the acequia and these changes have resulted in the need for acequias to seek outside help. So it's necessary for acequias to be informed of available state and federal programs intended assist them with infrastructure projects. 

The workshop began with a panel of acequia commissioners who shared their experiences with their infrastructure projects; and the available state and federal programs they used to complete their projects. They all gave advice on project management and strongly emphasized the need to carefully plan and manage projects. The paperwork, process, and planning can be overwhelming, so there needs to be a good layout along with efficient management in order to ensure all steps of the process are carried out in a smooth, cohesive way.  

The workshop featured informational presentations by state and federal agencies. Ray Acosta and Jonathan Martinez of the the Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) presented information about their Acequia Rehabilitation Program  including eligibility requirements, rehabilitation programs, capital improvement projects, and disaster assistance. Cliff Sanchez, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), spoke of the agency's Acequia Outreach efforts by taking workshop participants through all the necessary steps needed to complete infrastructure projects. He also included information surrounding the many programs that NRCS offers.  The workshop switched gears a bit when Steve Carson, an independent consultant, conducted his presentation which focused on alternative infrastructure options. Steve focused on natural channel design for acequia infrastructure, taking advantage of the physical characteristics of river systems as a basis for irrigation diversion systems.   

Lastly, NMAA staff presented information Acequia Restoration Plans and the Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) process. NMAA developed the idea of restoration plans with the objective to generate well-prepared funding requests, improving the chance of obtaining resources for infrastructure improvements from EQIP and AWEP. During the workshop NMAA used the case of San Ysidro in the Jemez River Basin Coalition of Acequias, illustrating the planning process including the development of infrastructure assessment maps and the need for community input. NMAA also provided an overview of ICIPs including general information such as deadlines and how they relate to Capital Outlay projects.  

The NMAA would like to acknowledge and thank all the presenters who took the time to openly share their knowledge with others. We'd also like to thank all the participants who took time to attend the workshop. 

USDA's Farm Service Agency  

ALERT

Welcome Pattie!    

Pattie was recently hired as the Administrative Director and we're happy to have her on the team.  

Thank You!!!  

Thanks to our foundation supporters including (in alphabetical order) Catholic Campaign for Human Development, The Christensen Fund, Marguerite Casey Foundation, New Mexico Community Foundation, McCune Foundation, Panta Rhea Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

We'd also greatly appreciate the financial support provided to us by state and federal sources: the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Advocacy and Outreach; and the State of New Mexico's Department of Finance Administration.