Hatch Farmers Expect Smaller Green Chile Crop

Green chile farmers in the Hatch and Mesilla valleys in southern New Mexico expect a smaller crop during this season due a scarcity of water.

Farmers have had to rely almost exclusively on groundwater pumped from wells.

Those farmers lacking wells have had to cut back on chile planting or switch to less thirsty crops.

Several processors tell the Albuquerque Journal that they didn’t expect to be affected much by the smaller water allotment from the Rio Grande, because they generally buy chile from farmers with wells who can deliver on prearranged contracts.

Processors say that the farmers supplying them with chile will see lowered profits because of the added costs of running wells so much to compensate for reduced Rio Grande water.