Progress 09/15/00 to 09/30/04

Outputs
In 1998, the New Mexico Chile Task Force was formed to address chile industry problems. This interdisciplinary group, based in New Mexico State University's College of Agriculture and Home Economics, melded the expertise of university researchers and Extension specialists, veteran chile growers and processors, and experts from federal and state agencies and private enterprise in the areas of engineering, plant breeding, cultivation practices, economics and communications to improve the efficiency - and profitability - of the regional chile industry. At the time of the task force's formation, many industry leaders were predicting that the chile industry would succumb to pressure from global markets by 2003, when all duties and quotas on imported chile would be phased out according to the NAFTA timetable. But, in the past five years, task force efforts have prompted efficiency gains and a much brighter outlook. The task force initially identified harvest mechanization as the single most important element in improving the industry's viability. In doing so, it followed the lead of the U.S. cotton industry that made the transition from hand labor to total harvest mechanization from 1947-1970. The result was a viable industry with a smaller but more highly skilled and better-paid work force, improved labor productivity, more acceptable working conditions and higher living standards. In less than five years, efforts spearheaded by the task force have brought the industry close to achieving its initial goal. Bids for a commercially-produced mechanical thinner have been approved and the thinner will be in commercial production for the 2005 growing season, offering labor-cost savings of $50-$75 per acre. Prototype mechanical cleaning equipment that combines mechanical and electronic technologies has been developed and has been tested in 2003 and 2004 with various configurations and improvements. In initial trials, this equipment separated approximately 90% of harvest trash from chile pods. Further testing is underway, as are preliminary talks with commercial manufacturers. This new equipment, combined with existing mechanical harvesting machines, will make widespread mechanical harvest viable and will open even greater opportunities for reducing the cost of harvest. In addition, the task force has identified key management practices to streamline chile production and has disseminated them to growers through publications and the task force Web site. Task force plant breeders released 'NuMex Garnet' in 2003, a paprika cultivar with characteristics that are beneficial for early season mechanical harvest. And, the task force has worked closely with labor agencies and organizations to ensure safe working conditions for remaining industry laborers.

Impacts
Chile is one of the few rotation crops in the southwestern United States that produces a positive cash flow to the area's farmers (tables 1-3). In the 1990s, following the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that cash flow - and the livelihood of many farmers - was severely threatened. Imports of green chile from Mexico through New Mexico ports of entry had increased tenfold between 1992 and 1998 while New Mexico pepper production had decreased, correspondingly, from 53,475 tons annually to 35,398 tons. The decrease in domestic production was prompted largely by vast labor cost differences in the two countries. Labor costs accounted for approximately 51% of net operating expenses in hand-harvested chile operations in New Mexico, where pickers earned minimum wage or more than $40 per day.

Publications

• Lillywhite, J., J.D. Hawkes, and J.Libbin. 2005. Economic Returns to Adoption of Mechanical Thinning: The Case of New Mexico Chile. Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03

Outputs
In 1998, the New Mexico Chile Task Force was formed to address chile industry problems. This interdisciplinary group, based in New Mexico State University's College of Agriculture and Home Economics, melded the expertise of university researchers and Extension specialists, veteran chile growers and processors, and experts from federal and state agencies and private enterprise in the areas of engineering, plant breeding, cultivation practices, economics and communications to improve the efficiency - and profitability -- of the regional chile industry. At the time of the task force's formation, many industry leaders were predicting that the chile industry would succumb to pressure from global markets by 2003, when all duties and quotas on imported chile would be phased out according to the NAFTA timetable. In the past five years, task force efforts have prompted efficiency gains and a much brighter outlook. The task force initially identified harvest mechanization as the single most important element in improving the industry's viability. In doing so, it followed the lead of the U.S. cotton industry that made the transition from hand labor to total harvest mechanization from 1947-1970. The result was a viable industry with a smaller but more highly skilled and better-paid work force, improved labor productivity, more acceptable working conditions and higher living standards. In less than five years, efforts spearheaded by the task force have brought the industry close to achieving its initial goal. A mechanical thinner is slated for commercial production for the 2004 growing season, offering labor-cost savings of $75-$100 per acre. Prototype mechanical cleaning equipment that combines mechanical and electronic technologies has been developed and is being tested. In initial trials this equipment separated approximately 90% of harvest trash from chile pods. Further testing is underway, as are preliminary talks with commercial manufacturers. This new equipment, combined with existing mechanical harvesting machines, will make widespread mechanical harvest viable and will open even greater opportunities for reducing the cost of harvest. In addition, the task force has identified key management practices to streamline chile production and has disseminated them to growers through publications and the task force Web site. Task force plant breeders have released 'NuMex Garnet', a new paprika cultivar with characteristics that are beneficial for early season mechanical harvest. The task force has worked closely with labor agencies and organizations to ensure safe working conditions for remaining industry laborers.

Impacts
Chile is one of the few rotation crops in the southwestern United States that produces a positive cash flow to the area's farmers (tables 1-3). In the 1990s, following the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that cash flow - and the livelihood of many farmers - was severely threatened. Imports of green chile from Mexico through New Mexico ports of entry had increased tenfold between 1992 and 1998 while New Mexico pepper production had decreased, correspondingly, from 53,475 tons annually to 35,398 tons. The decrease in domestic production was prompted largely by vast labor cost differences in the two countries. Labor costs accounted for approximately 51% of net operating expenses in hand-harvested chile operations in New Mexico, where pickers earned minimum wage or more than $40 per day.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02

Outputs
Data from mechanical harvesting trials conducted in 2002 on a commercial scale at Borderland Farms (near Ft. Hancock, TX) were collected for revision of the whole-farm cost and return estimates developed in 2001. The data will be substituted for `engineered' numbers using the trials from a live setting. Revisions to the cost and return estimates are underway and should be finalized well before the 2003 harvest season. The machine and farm owner-operator, Gale Carr, recorded machinery performance data throughout the harvest season, and recorded non-harvest cost and return data for a second consecutive year to further refine the cost and return estimates constructed in 2001. Again in 2002, we collected information regarding the number, timing, and machinery needs of field operations performed for all crops produced, acreage and rotation patterns of all crops produced, field sizes and configurations, inputs used and application rates, and a complete inventory/depreciation schedule of machinery and structures.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/01 to 12/31/01

Outputs
Jerry Hawkes and Jim Libbin traveled to Borderland Farms near Ft. Hancock, TX to discuss the construction of cost and return estimates with Gale Carr for the farm on which the major 2001 chile trial was conducted. A whole-farm cost and return estimate was developed so that an evaluation of mechanical harvesting and variety trials can be made in the context of the whole operation. The primary advantages of this approach rather than a partial budgeting approach are the ability to view chile as part of the overall cropping system, to properly account for and distribute fixed costs of the entire operation and all machinery, and to properly consider the risk implications of investing in mechanical harvesting technology. The information needed to complete the financial feasibility, economic profitability, and risk management analyses was discussed with Mr. Carr. That information was recorded throughout the growing season and will be included in the 2001 analyses. Specifically, we collected information regarding the number, timing, and machinery needs of field operations performed for all crops produced, acreage and rotation patterns of all crops produced, field sizes and configurations, inputs used and application rates, and a complete inventory/depreciation schedule of machinery and structures.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• No publications reported this period