Local farming business revitalizes old chicken farm in Berino, N.M.

New life is coming to an old egg-processing facility in Berino, N.M.

On Monday, Gov. Susana Martinez announced Wholesome Valley Farms will create 90 jobs with the renovation of the facility. The company will turn the property into a farm and research facility, creating hydroponic greenhouses, seed drying rooms and cotton seed milling.

ABC-7 took a tour of the property, which consists of 249 acres of land and more than 600,000 square feet of buildings.

According to the New Mexico Environment Department, the previous owner damaged the water table with too much nitrogen by allowing the chicken waste to leach into the water table over the years, requiring extensive and expensive cleanup.

That’s when Wholesome Valley Farms devised a plan that uses the latest technology to slowly get rid of the contaminated water overtime, by pumping the water into various plants that consumed nitrogen.

Jay Hill, the farm manager for Wholesome Valley Farms said it’ll cost millions of dollars to clean up the property. Renovations are currently underway. The facility is expected to create 155 new jobs over the course of four years.