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Chili crop escapes major disease, but faces labor and priceALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)--Nothing says fall is near like the sweet smell of green chili roasting outside of markets and on backyard barbecue grills. The harvest has begun in southern New Mexico, and this year's crop is making a strong showing after standing up to diseases like curly top virus and chili wilt and escaping the unruly weather that plagued last year's crop. Despite the solid crop, experts say labor and price pressures are mounting while production continues to decline, setting the stage for an uncertain future for the state's premiere crop. Stephanie Walker, vegetable specialist with New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service, pointed to labor shortages and foreign imports as just two of the several obstacles chili farmers face as they try to keep the industry going. "Those are issues that will send chili farmers out of the business long before any of the disease problems," she said. It's been an uphill battle for chili farmer Harvey Morrow of Hatch. Last year, he took an estimated $2 million hit when he lost his entire 150-acre crop to flooding. He replanted this year and is now battling bacterial leaf spot, which causes the plants to lose their leaves. And once his crop is ready, Morrow said he might not be able to find the manpower to pick the hot peppers. "With the border really closed down, we're not getting enough labor. We'll tell the labor contractor to bring a 40-man crew, and it's getting harder and harder to get them," Morrow said. Most pickers have proper documentation, but Morrow said some arrive with questionable papers. While he doesn't agree with illegal immigration, he said the country needs some kind of guest worker program. Terry Crawford, professor of agriculture business and economics at NMSU, speculates that tougher border enforcement and employee sanctions are to blame for the lack for field workers. He also said New Mexico isn't as attractive as it once was to many laborers, possibly because of a slowdown in the housing market. Whatever the reasons, the impacts can been seen in both red and green chili markets. "I've heard that some farmers this year didn't plant as much acreage for green because red can be mechanically harvested," he said. Green chili has to be hand picked. NMSU is working on a mechanical harvester for green chili, Crawford said. Green chili also faces trade pressures from Peruvian imports. Until recently, most green imports were from Mexico, while red came from India and China, Crawford said. Foreign competition keeps prices low, while the production cost for local farmers continues to rise. Crawford said making investments in improving harvesting techniques and breeding methods is essential for the chili crop. "Given the fact that green chili is what's under the labor pressure, (mechanized harvesting) will be critical to the survival of the industry," he said. The demand for chili in the U.S. has increased and the market for chili products remains strong, said T.J. Runyan, sales manager for Skyline Produce, a Hatch company that packages and markets crops including chili. Runyan said the state's fresh market chili is carving a good niche thanks to an addiction to all things spicy that's spreading across the country. "With things like the Travel Channel and Food Network, we're getting good exposure and people are curious. We have some hope," Runyan said. "We'll always have a niche but I think the heyday of chili (in New Mexico) might have passed with all the chili imports now." This year, the start of the green chili harvest was slightly delayed by cool temperatures. But as long as any wet weather is kept at bay, Walker said farmers will be in good shape. Last year, about half of the 2,000-3,000 acres of chili grown in Hatch and surrounding areas to the west were lost due to flooding and moisture-related diseases. Most chili in the state is grown to the south in Luna and Dona Ana counties. In 2006, total chili production declined for the second year in a row to 73,400 tons. In 2005, growers produced 88,760 tons, but that was 17 percent below 2004 numbers due to damage from the curly top virus. Morrow, who has grown chili for 25 years, is losing his optimism as the challenges mount. He's considering switching to alfalfa and corn. "We're not going to grow much chili anymore, if any. It's just too risky and too expensive to grow," he said. "It's sad because that's what we've always done is grow chili." Date: 8/23/07
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