New federal funding may mean small farms can grow more local food

Small farmers in New Mexico have worked together to grow and distribute more fruits and vegetables within the state, but the Agri-Cultura Cooperative Network has outgrown its distribution and storage center in the South Valley. Federal, state and local dollars will help build a new one.

The South Valley Economic Development Center offers business incubation programs and support for small businesses. The Rio Grande Community Development Corp. operates SVEDC in partnership with Bernalillo County, which owns the facility.

The Agri-Cultura Cooperative Network has been using the center as a food hub since 2009. The network includes 73 small-scale farmers and ranchers scattered through seven pueblos and 13 counties who process their crops at SVEDC. Some of the farmers have hoop houses or small orchards, while others might farm one- to three-acre plots, said Helga Garza, executive director of the cooperative network.

“Our mission has always been to build the capacity of the small-scale farm in their ability to work collectively together to enter larger markets,” Garza said.

Their customers include the Public Education Department, charter schools, senior nutrition sites throughout the state and early childhood centers in Bernalillo County and communities like Pecos and Las Vegas. Presbyterian’s Food as Medicine program and the University of New Mexico Hospital also purchase produce from the co-op.

Their biggest year was 2023.

“We moved, on average, 10,000 pounds a week of New Mexico grown fruits and vegetables, and distributed throughout New Mexico,” Garza said.

South Valley Economic Development Center celebrates expansion funding

The cooperative outgrew the processing facilities four years ago, and the farmers have been working nights and weekends to ensure all the crops get processed, she said.

Planning for the expansion began in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to any plans. The focus was redirected to emergency projects, said Josue Olivares, Rio Grande Community Development Corp. executive director.

The expansion will add almost 4,000 square feet and include more dry storage space, more refrigeration and freezer space, and room for dehydrators.

“But the most important piece is the automated aggregation and processing for crops of the small farms,” Olivares said.

Aggregation is bringing small batches of produce to create a larger batch and sell the food to larger institutions, Olivares said, while processing includes cleaning, chopping, shredding and bagging food.

The total project is estimated at just under $5 million but is still in the design process, so costs may shift, said Olivares.

A groundbreaking is planned for summer, and construction should be complete by the end of 2025.

The project was awarded $850,000 from federal Community Project Funding, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., announced Thursday.

“The products that New Mexicans work so hard to grow from the land, it should be able to come back to our communities right here in the South Valley,” Vasquez said.

The expansion will also be funded with $3.5 million in Bernalillo County American Rescue Plan Act funds and $550,000 from a county bond.

The state Legislature is sending $1.2 million in capital outlay dollars to SVEDC, some of which will go toward the expansion, according to county Economic Development Manager Carolyn Tobias.