Conference aims to attract young farmers to New Mexico agriculture

Young people did not need convincing that New Mexico agriculture matters. The harder question at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque was whether they can actually get into it. The conference drew some of the state’s top agricultural producers for seminars, keynote speakers and site visits to Chispas Farm and Bill King’s Ranch, all aimed at showing a next generation what production agriculture looks like on the ground.

New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte said the point was to connect current producers with future producers. He also noted that most New Mexico farms and ranches are family-owned and operated, which leaves room for younger successors if they can get the training, encouragement and practical exposure needed to step in. That makes the conference more than a networking event. It is part of a long fight to keep family agriculture from thinning out as owners age and succession plans lag.

The stakes are especially clear in Bernalillo County, where Albuquerque and nearby communities remain a key place for agricultural education, markets and policy conversations even as the metro area has grown more urban. For Pueblo communities, small-scale growers and students looking for a foothold, the barrier is not simple curiosity. It is access to land, water, training and startup capital, all of which shape whether an interest in farming becomes a viable career.

That is why the site visits mattered. Chispas Farm and Bill King’s Ranch gave attendees a direct look at working operations, the kind of experience that can turn classroom interest into a concrete path forward. In a state where water limits, land use pressures and labor shortages continue to shape agriculture, those hands-on connections are part of the infrastructure for succession. Without them, even motivated young people can find the door to farming harder to open than the field itself.

The conference reflected a broader effort to build a pipeline, not just host a gathering. Organizers framed agriculture as a career path that can still have a future in New Mexico, especially if the next generation sees real examples of how to begin and who will mentor them along the way.