Posted at: 07/10/2009 7:54 PM
By: Katie Ryan, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com

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SE New Mexico seeking drought relief

Farmers say chile crop may be saved by recent rain

Both of New Mexico’s senators say farmers are suffering and drought relief is needed for nearly the entire southeastern part of the state, but rain has been rolling through the area consistently.

Farmers at Graves Farms say they’d gladly take whatever help the feds offer, but say the area is no stranger to drier-than-normal weather.

With monsoon season rolling in, farmers say it looks like they’re finally coming out of the drought that’s parched the area since last October.

Farm Manager Andrew Graves said, "It’s been so dry that grasshoppers are dying. We've had this problem with monitoring of how much water we can use because there's not much water in the valley."

Farmers say river water is the real problem, more of their water is now spoken for downstream in Texas.

The National Weather Service says the area’s seen more than two inches of rainfall in the past month—a little below average—but the monsoon should change things.

Farmers say that too much rain could also be a bad thing. "Whenever your alfalfa gets rained on, it's not as valuable to the animal that's eating it, so you lose money," Graves said.

For one New Mexico favorite, the recent rainfall could be a lifesaver.

"We've been in a little bit of a drought and our chile has been stressing for water, but this rain is really going to help it out,” Graves said. “It's a good timing as far as the chile blooming." The disaster request is still awaiting approval by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.