Hatch Valley farmers lost between 20% and 50% of their green chile crop after drought, extreme heat and late September flooding hammered fields across northern Doña Ana County, according to the New Mexico Chile Association, as reported by Organ Mountain News.

The damage goes well beyond chile. A levee breach Sept. 29 near Rincon sent floodwater from the 134-square-mile Rincon Arroyo watershed across pecan orchards and crop fields, destroying equipment and burying land in thick sediment. Heavy downpours from Hurricane Polo drenched communities already saturated by monsoon rains.

Joe Lack, owner of Lack Farms, was short 150 acres of chile. "It tears your equipment up. You don't get your crop harvested," Lack told Organ Mountain News. "Now you got equipment payments. You got water payments. You got taxes. You got … land payments. All those things are still there."

Don Hackey, a Rincon pecan farmer approaching his 50th year in the business, estimated it took 40 minutes for the arroyo to overflow and inundate his orchards. Eight days later, large puddles still sat between the trees. Black water marks stained the white building housing his machinery, and clay coated the floors.

The hardened sediment blocks oxygen from reaching pecan tree roots, Hackey said. His processing equipment cannot separate the thick clay from a pecan, making harvesting impossible.

"That's what makes me wake up at 3 in the morning," Hackey told Organ Mountain News. "The frustrating thing is we can't do anything in the fields."

Robert Carson, a Rincon farmer, estimated his chile supply dropped 40%. "You've got to have big pockets to survive anymore. It's sad," Carson said.

Hatch Mayor Dennis Torres put it bluntly at a gathering at The Pepper Pot restaurant: "It takes years to recover. You don't get recovery overnight. … I'll speak for myself: I ain't got no 20 years left in my life. I'm ready to give up."

Relief efforts

The Doña Ana County Commission unanimously approved a disaster declaration Oct. 6 following the countywide flooding. Board Chair Manuel Sanchez said the declaration gives the county additional tools and resources to respond to residents' needs.

The state submitted a federal disaster assistance request Oct. 23 that includes Doña Ana County, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported. That request seeks Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance, which would make aid available directly to households. As of Nov. 2, the request remained pending.

New Mexico committed nearly $55 million to flood response over the past month, but that state funding covers public infrastructure and debris removal, not direct payments to residents, according to the Sun-News.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who represents New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District, is pushing Congress to pass his CHILE Act, a bill that would provide $5 billion in direct assistance to specialty crop producers nationwide, the Sun-News reported. The legislation would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use a Specialty Crop Emergency Assistance Framework to distribute aid. Chile, onions and pecans would qualify.

The bill awaited committee consideration as of Oct. 26, and any assistance would depend on congressional approval and USDA implementation, Vasquez's office told the Sun-News. U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

How to get help

Doña Ana County has disaster case managers at two community resource centers:

  • Rincon Community Resource Center, 220 Baker Drive, Rincon. Open Mondays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesdays and Fridays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Vado Community Resource Center, 180 La Fe Ave., Mesquite. Open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Residents can complete a damage assessment form at DonaAna.gov/DamageAssessment or call 211 for assistance Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon.