According to US Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt almost 90% farmers in the US have to work outside of their land to make ends meet.
In her role overseeing marketing and regulatory programs, she says the USDA can do a lot to help small and rural farmers get more of their products on the market.
Moffitt was in Santa Fe on Wednesday along with Sen. Ben Ray Lujan to talk to food producers during a meeting at the Farmers Market.
One area that was a major focus during the discussion was an emphasis on specialty crops like New Mexico chiles.
On Wednesday the USDA announced a new program to benefit specialty crop growers, with over $600-thousand coming to New Mexico.
Moffitt says one program being funded though the block grants is a promotion of the use of fresh chiles.
“Canned chiles are great but they saw a decline in fresh chiles production here in New Mexico,” she said. “So the Department of Agriculture with producers invested in cooking demonstrations and store education on what to do with fresh chiles so that fresh chilies can continue to grow and prosper just as well as the canned chiles.”
Sen. Lujan says there has been growth and excitement in some of the programs coming out of the USDA and the innovation being made possible for New Mexico farmers.
He says he appreciates how the programs have the flexibility so smaller producers can apply as well and be adjusted to meet the needs of family farms.