Project Overview
Commodities
- Agronomic: cotton, hay, hemp, medics/alfalfa
- Nuts: pecans
- Vegetables: peppers
- Additional Plants: trees
- Animals: bees, bovine, poultry
Practices
- Education and Training: demonstration, display, extension, farmer to farmer, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, workshop
- Farm Business Management: grant making
Proposal abstract:
Sales of agricultural produce from New Mexico totaled $2.86 billion in 2016 (USDA-NASS, 2017). Out of this total, livestock sale was $2.15 billion, which accounts for about 75% of income received from agriculture in New Mexico during 2016 (USDA-NASS, 2017). In 2009, the income generated from livestock products was $2.4 billion compared to $2.15 billion in 2016, and this corresponds to an income loss of about 10% (USDA-NASS, 2017; USDA-NASS, 2010). To address the issues related to livestock production in New Mexico, we propose to have a single-day NM WSARE Conference focused on sustainable livestock production and management. The proposed conference will address issues such as grass-fed and pasture-raised animals on farms and ranches; drought, forage availability, animal welfare certification, safe handling practices and other issues related to livestock production. The program for the conference will be well balanced, to include information for large- and small-scale producers.
In addition to the NM WSARE conference, we plan to have a Farm Walk that will focus on sustainable agricultural practices on diverse issues. A farm will be selected for the Farm Walk, with the host farmer providing information on their practices, and challenges being faced in their production, and how they are addressing those challenges. The NM Sustainable Agriculture Conference sponsored by WSARE has been an annual event for several years in New Mexico, and several agricultural professionals and stakeholders have provided positive feedback about the knowledge gained from these conferences.
Project objectives from proposal:
Information presented during the proposed NM WSARE Conference and Farm Walk will increase the knowledge of agricultural professionals on sustainable livestock farming and sustainable agricultural practices in NM. Agricultural professionals and attendees of these events will increase their knowledge, especially on livestock production and management in New Mexico and in other areas of sustainable agricultural practices at farm level.