State tells farmers not to farm unless they ‘absolutely need to’

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    Albuquerque, NM (KOAT ) — A record drought season in New Mexico has some farmers worried about how they are going to get produce in the grocery store.

It has prompted the state’s engineer to issue a report telling farmers not to farm unless they “absolutely need to farm.”

“I don’t what you boys in the city are going to do,” said Glen Duggins, a Socorro farmer. “What will the people do when they want the farms to shut down. Just how will the produce get on the shelves for the people to buy? You know that is where it comes from.”

So why is this happening?

Experts say there are three things going on: Temperatures are hotter, the state did not have a good monsoon for the past two years and the state’s snowpacks are down.

“It is likely dryer than it has been in over 100 years here in New Mexico,” KOAT meteorologist Eric Green said. “This appears to be the lowest we have seen going into a new year and that is why the outlook is so dire for farmers this year. We just know there is not enough water to go around and it takes too much to keep those crops going throughout the year.”

At least for Duggins, the farming continues.

“There is no way we can shut down,” Duggins said.

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