SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO
Luj谩n holds roundtable on fertilizer, fuel costs
Food producers emphasize water and long-running challenges
Published
LAS CRUCES 鈥� During a roundtable discussion on the current environment for agriculture in New Mexico, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luj谩n heard from producers and ag economists about the rising costs of fertilizer and fuel stemming from the war in Iran.
Yet current events only exacerbate long-term conditions particular to New Mexico and the American West, they emphasized, such as long-running droughts, labor shortages, price inflation trending upward since 2000 and, above all, water scarcity.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need loans if we don鈥檛 have water,鈥� remarked Scott Adams, a farmer from the Hatch Valley.
The experts who met with Luj谩n on Friday at New Mexico State University underscored longer trends looming over recent events. The room included producers of dairy, chile peppers, pecans, other crops and beef cattle.
James Lillywhite, an agricultural economist and associate dean at NMSU, reported that 25% of New Mexico鈥檚 jobs and $14.4 billion in total wages are related to agriculture, including 146,374 direct jobs paying $5.9 billion.
While there are approximately 21,000 farms and ranches still in operation statewide, the average age of their owners exceeds 60 years, he said, and succeeding generations are not filling the gap.
Mortgages, insurance and short-term credit are harder to obtain and more expensive. The costs of production are outpacing returns for products. Trade policies, including shifting and sometimes unpredictable tariffs, have roiled markets and investment while also driving up the cost of equipment and supplies. Farm labor shortages and failed efforts at reform have intensified competition with Mexican imports.
Those pressures existed even before the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes against Iran in February, opening a military conflict resulting in damage or closures to fertilizer production in the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for global shipping, affects over one third of global supplies of fertilizer products with shocking price increases and the prospect of supply shortages unfolding.
And underlying all of that is water: drought conditions, rising temperatures and underfunded irrigation infrastructure were cited repeatedly as the senator listened, asked questions and made notes.
Rafael Rovirosa, a fifth-generation farmer growing pecans in Do帽a Ana County and board president of the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, said irrigators could expect 4-inch allocations from the Rio Grande this year 鈥� down from a previous norm of 36 inches. As supply from the river shrinks, producers are forced to pump water, leading to soaring costs for water-intensive crops like pecans. 鈥淥ur energy costs are through the roof,鈥� Rovirosa said.
Moreover, multiple participants told Luj谩n that water was being lost because of poor maintenance of river channels, a federal obligation, complicating New Mexico鈥檚 commitments to supply Texas under the Rio Grande Compact.
Earlier in the week, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District suspended irrigation deliveries to Corrales due to low river levels, attributed to low snowpack and hot temperatures in March.
Downstream, the Elephant Butte Reservoir fell to 3% of its capacity last year and the Bureau of Reclamation recently warned that 2026 could be even worse. Rovirosa told Luj谩n New Mexico is running a deficit of 132,000 acre-feet under the compact.
As far as requests, the producers in the room recommended getting agricultural labor reform, such as the H-2A visa program, over the finish line; securing funding for low-interest loans and programs supporting dairy and specialty crops; and strategic trade policies to bring costs down and level the playing field against imports.
鈥淲e enjoy the cheapest and the safest food supply in the world here in the U.S., and not a lot of people realize that,鈥� Beverly Idsinga, executive director of Dairy Producers of New Mexico, said. 鈥淚f we can鈥檛 have people help us produce that food and have affordable costs 鈥� we鈥檙e going to have to import food that鈥檚 not going to be as safe, it鈥檚 not going to be as cheap, it鈥檚 not going to be as healthy.鈥�
Luj谩n, a Democrat, sits on the Senate on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
In an interview following the meeting, Luj谩n told the Journal the Federal Trade Commission should keep an eye on energy prices and potential exploitation of the military conflict at the cost of struggling farmers. He has co-sponsored that would back those investigations by funding additional FTC staff dedicated to that task.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 worried about is that at the end of the Iran war, these prices are just going to stick around and that there鈥檚 going to be price gouging on top of the nonsense that鈥檚 happening today,鈥� he said.
He also pledged to review the farm bill recently passed in the House of Representatives and push for full funding in a Senate version for programs that benefit farms and increase support for food assistance and specialty crops particular to New Mexico, such as pecans and chiles.
Yet the most pressing need may be out of Congress鈥� purview. On Friday, after expressing optimism about the farm bill and addressing a number of policy questions, cattle rancher Larry Reagan, president of the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, concluded: 鈥淛ust send us some rain and snow.鈥�
Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.
