NEWSBITES / 11, 15, 33

A southern New Mexico company that grows algae for Omega-3 nutrition products has been awarded economic assistance to expand its operations. Green Stream Farms in Columbus, N.M. grows algae on 96 acres of lined ponds, but current demand is higher than the facility can supply. The farm has sufficient water to support expansion; however, new buildings, processing and harvesting equipment are needed.

A $250,000 grant from the state Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) job-creators fund will allow Green Stream to more than double its annual harvest, from 250 tons to 700 tons by 2022, adding 23 employees over the next five years. The upgrades will increase production to an industrial scale. Luna County is the fiscal agent for the grant.

Green Stream Farms’ algae farm in Luna County, N.M. is expanding. Courtesy of New Mexico Economic Development

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said, “The investment in this community will create jobs and boost the vital agricultural economy of southern New Mexico.” “Chile and other agricultural commodities are the foundation of the economy in Luna County,” NMED Cabinet Secretary Alicia Keyes said. “With this investment and our partnership with Luna County, the state is helping even out the seasonality for some of these jobs and create yearround opportunities.” “Green Stream Algae Farms is a vital component of our local economy,” County Manager Chris Brice said.

Luna County is the ideal location for Green Stream’s micro-algae product due to its climate and moderate overnight temperatures. The site is the second-largest outdoor algae farm in the world. Harvesting takes place nine or 10 months out of the year, while ponds hibernate in the hotter summer months.

The family-owned company started operating on the property in 2019 and is investing about $7 million in upgraded equipment. Green Stream’s algae are primarily used as a feed supplement for healthier livestock and for human nutraceutical products. The Omega-3 oils industry is expected to grow to $6.95 billion worldwide by 2022, according to an industry analysis by Allied Market Research.

In response to many lawsuits, Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, will no longer sell glyphosate-containing products to U.S. home gardeners. The company faces about 30,000 legal claims from customers who believe the products caused them to develop cancer.

Glyphosate has been linked to the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer declared in 2015 that it was “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Juries sided with the plaintiffs in three highly watched trials before Bayer settled about 95,000 cases in 2020 to the tune of $10 billion. That settlement, one of the largest in U.S. history, allowed Bayer to continue to sell Roundup without any warnings. More than 90 percent of recent claims come from the residential home and garden market. The products will continue to be sold under the Roundup brand with different active ingredients in 2023, following reviews by the EPA and state regulatory bodies. Farmers and retailers will have continued access to glyphosate-based herbicides, according to AG Web Farm Journal.

“Bayer’s decision to end U.S. residential sale of Roundup is a historic victory for public health and the environment,” Center for Food Safety Executive Director Andrew Kimbrell said in a statement. “As agricultural, large-scale use of this toxic pesticide continues, our farmworkers remain at risk. It’s time for EPA to act and ban glyphosate for all uses.”

In August, the Biden administration announced it was banning use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide used on numerous food crops. Studies have linked it to potential brain damage in children and other serious disorders. The Pesticide Action Network North America and the Natural Resources Defense Council petitioned the EPA in 2007 to remove all approved levels of chlorpyrifos in food.