[CH] Bad News From New Mexico.... Is True........ :(
j-n-isa@worldnet.att.net
Thu, 24 Jun 1999 19:57:22 -0600
Things are very bad for the chile farmer here in the Mesilla Valley. In
a recent artical in the bulletin by Lyn McKinley, Imogene Cervantes is
noted to say that:
It came on like a thief in the night. Left behind in its wake in the
Mesilla Valley are field upon field of evenly spaced rows of soil and a
few clumps of plants where foot-tall stands of young green chile should
be. The artical goes on to refer to the situation as a "disaster
area". Donald Biad of Biad chile notes that, "in the Mesilla Valley,
100 percent of the plants are damaged to some degree, some worse than
others". It is also noted that "reports indicate that Hatch and Deming
feilds are in better shape".
Cool nights, high winds, insects and Curly Top Virus name a few of
problems noted that are contributing to "the '99 chile crash". It is
also "speculated" that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) removal
of "Floridan" (a fungacide used in its grandular form by chile farmers)
may also be a contributing factor to the problem. The artical also
notes that chile farmers just across the border in Mexico, with the same
climate, seed and no gov't regulations are doing fine.
I have not been to Hatch in a while so I can't speak for it, but here in
Las Cruces things look very, very bad. On the brighter side of
things... chile crops in other states are doing well; though there just
isn't any match for Hatch chile.
For the record: information used in this post was attained from "the
Bulletin" vol. 31 NO 25..... Front page artical, "What's Causing the
Great Chile Crash?" by Lyn McKinley.
I've been watching the posts to this group for a while.... I hate for
this to be my first contribution to the group. I just thought this
information may be of interest to the group since around 46 percent of
the nations "hot chiles" come from this area... Be prepared for higher
prices.
MARZ