™ Volume 72, No. 7
“A Successful Summer Conference”
® August 2015
by Dalene Hodnett, Director of Communications and Media Relations
New Mexico Farm & Livestock members enjoyed a tour of a hydroponic tomato farm during the Summer Conference in Taos.
What do beer, a cake walk and workers comp regulations have in common? They were all part of a New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau Summer Conference that brought over 100 people to Taos for fun, education and camaraderie. Conference participants enjoyed agricultural tours that included a visit to
Growing Opportunities, a hydroponic ranchers to email their comments to tomato farm that grows heirloom DGF-Bear-Cougar-Rules@state.nm.us varieties as well as basil. Maria’s Farm “New Mexico ranchers have the best was also a tour destination featuring genetics and we need to share them a peach and apple orchard as well as with the world,” said Juan Sanchez, a farm that caters directly to the local marketing specialist with the New farmers markets by growing flowers, Mexico Department of Agriculture during his talk about trade missions. brussel sprouts and chile. The tours continued on page 3 “Conference” finished up at a nearby hops farm where locally brewed beer was on The Workers Comp Administration was repre- the menu. Ted Salazar’s farm dates back to 1958, and a sented by Rachel Bayles and Peggy Tafoya. nearby acequia has been there since 1820. Workers comp was a hot issue as representatives explained the new ruling which affects all of agriculture. For more information about the new requirement for workers comp insurance please see President White’s column on page two. Another issue which sparked interest was the proposed revision of the bear and cougar rule by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Dr. Elise Goldstein encouraged all farmers and
August 2015
Farm & Ranch Page 1