National Latino Farmers and Ranchers

Since the initiation of the project, over 300 outreach activities and events have taken place. The Latino Farmers team has met with farmers, ranchers, and students and shared information regarding training and resources available to them. Customer Relationship Management system containing contact information and a relational/capacity-building log of activities has been created. The team has a feedback loop approach in place to continue to make improvements to the current system. Close to 40 distinct partnerships have been developed. To name a few: The College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences; the Organic Trade Association; Federation of Southern Cooperatives; Florida Farm Workers Association; Van Ness Main Street; Appalachian Agricultural Foundation; Latinas Leading Tomorrow; Carlos Rosario Center; El Poder de Ser Mujer; Fresh Farms; etc. In partnership with Western Landowners Alliance and the Rural Coalition, Latino Farmers has produced a documentary titled La Lumbre en Nuestra Floresta about the devastating impact of the worst forest fire in New Mexico history, The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. It was co-directed by a Latino Farmers employee and one of its constituent members, Lawrence Gallegos. Access to UDC Food Hubs at the Firebird Research Farm, Bertie Backus Food Hub, and P.R. Harris Farms has been secured for the for the organizations members to enable them to grow and learn about farming and conservation practices.

On October 27-29, 2022, Latino Farmers held a major intrastate annual conference, El Congreso, in Isleta, New Mexico. The conference drew participation from farmers and ranchers nationwide, with the highest number of attendees from New Mexico and the neighboring states, as well as USDA representatives from the headquarters and the regional offices. The conference was attended by approximately 300 people; over40 workshops were held during a three-day period. El Congreso was filmed and generated major publicity. As a result of the NIFA project, the number of registered participants at El Congreso increased by 150 percent from the previous year, reaching over 270 adults and over 100 youth. Nearly 90 workshops have been held since project initiation, including 40 workshops and roundtables held at El Congreso; 24 assistance workshops for produce vendors elated to DC Produce PLUS, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and Farmers Market Nutrition Program; and 24 sales & marketing, packaging, and transport sessions for Farmers Market vendors and urban agriculture practitioners from the historically underserved communities of Wards 7 and 8 of the District of Columbia who are being offered distribution throughout the Farmers Market system.

We signed MOU for three demonstration farms: Wagner Farms, Mendez Produce, Maestas Family Farm. We have worked with The NRCS Local Offices in Sandoval, Rio Arriba, and Taos Counties to have the fields surveyed and plans made to install Irrigation systems on all three Farms. We have also submitted the plans for the Wagner farm to both the Local NRCS Office and the State NRCS for review by their engineers. We partnered with organizations including the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council, New Mexico Acequia Association, Trout Unlimited, Western Landowners Alliance, New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts, and others to advocate for legislation to help Farmers during the 2023 Legislative session. Two Bills that we advocated for that passed the NM Legislature in 2023 that will make a big difference to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in New Mexico are the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund and the NM Food Initiative. We partnered with New Mexico State County Extension Service on a Hoop House Construction Workshop on May 4, 2023. The workshop was to teach Farmers, Ranchers, and Community Members an inexpensive way the can extended their growing season.