New Mexico spends $5M to boost chile worker wages amid labor shortage
HATCH, New Mexico — New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales says the state is stepping in to ensure a timely chile harvest after growers and producers raised concerns about an inadequate supply of labor.
Morales says the state will funnel up to $5 million in federal pandemic relief toward enhanced wages for farmers who harvest New Mexico’s renowned green and red chile crop in the late summer and early fall.
New Mexico will use the federal relief funds to boost wages among chile pickers and processors to $19.50 an hour in an effort to ensure adequate labor.
Republican State Sen. Crystal Diamond on Thursday applauded the move to help farmers. Some Republican state legislators blame the labor shortage on generous unemployment benefits, while Morales says the problem predates the pandemic.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham indicated the state’s strategy will ensure a complete harvest of its most iconic crop. Harvest typically takes place in late summer and early fall, arriving a few weeks early this year as farmers increase reliance on seedlings to jumpstart the crop.
“It is an all-important symbol of New Mexican agriculture and commerce,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “I will do everything in my power to support the industry in their efforts to harvest and process a successful 2021 crop.”
The wage subsidies are through chile growers, labor contractors and processors.
