New Mexico Acequia Association

Nuestra Cosecha: The purpose of this project is to support farmers and ranchers in raising native crops and livestock and increase the cultivation of foods that are culturally and spiritually meaningful to our communities.  A major objective of the project is to increase the extent of locally grown food that is processed and eaten within our own communities.  

Acequia leaders have given many years of their lives protecting acequia water rights through adjudication, protests to water transfers, legislative advocacy, and many other types of efforts.  While important gains have been made, there are growing concerns about the need to continue and increase the use of acequias for irrigation. 

In recent years, the leadership of the New Mexico Acequia Association has expressed an urgent need to address the issues surrounding farming and ranching.  A common belief among acequia leaders is that our collective efforts to sustain our way of life must be grounded in working the land by raising livestock and crops and in revitalizing local food traditions.  

Therefore, the Nuestra Cosecha project was created to increase the amount of farmers and ranchers growing food that is processed and eaten within the same community or region in such a way that strengthens our land-based culture and food traditions.  As part of this effort, the NMAA along with the other collaborators, including the American Friends Servicve Committee and New Mexico State University, initiated the Northern New Mexico Food and Farm Policy Project and is conducting a Food System Assessment (FSAM) to gain a better understanding of our food system in northern New Mexico.  The purpose of the FSAM is to learn about existing efforts to strengthen local food systems, and to identify areas of common interest across various efforts.  What we learn through the FSAM may serve as the basis for policy recommendations at the local, state, and federal levels.

The Food System Assessment Method includes various approaches to gathering information about local food systems:

·         Interviews or Platicas with community members, usually farmers and ranchers

·         Resolanas with community members on the topic of Food Traditions

·         Community Meetings and Focus Groups

·         Surveys of Farmers/Ranchers, Consumers, and Retailers

·         Food System Mapping:  All information about local food systems will be summarized into food system “maps” with information about trends in agriculture based on qualitative data (interviews, community meetings, etc.) and quantitative data (estimates of production, estimates of expenditures on food). 

The NMAA is currently organizing community meetings do to the following:

·         Share information and perspectives about the challenges facing farmers and ranchers such as passing on heritage to younger generations, economic viability of their operations, etc.

·         Learn about existing efforts in the various communities to strengthen local food systems in the areas of land and water rights, food processing, and local markets. 

·         Contribute information useful to developing a “food system map” of the Mora Valley including the following areas:

Ø       Agricultural assets (land, water, grazing rights, equipment, seed and breeding stock)

Ø       Food system infrastructure (processing, distribution, storage, etc.)

Ø       Potential markets (Retail, direct markets, wholesale, bartering, institutions, etc.)

Ø       Institutions (local government, community organizations, state and federal agencies)

Ø       Estimates of local livestock and crop production

Ø       Estimates of consumer expenditures

·         Provide guidance to the New Mexico Acequia Association in conducting the FSAM and in identifying an appropriate role to play in rebuilding local food systems.