New Mexico Chile Task Force

News

Food Labeling Workshop Helps Businesses Comply with Federal Laws
Food processors, distributors and inspectors can learn about federal food labeling laws in a hands-on workshop March 21-22 in Las Cruces.

The workshop runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the first day and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. the second day. It will be held on campus in Gerald Thomas Hall, Room. 337. Registration is $99. Seating is limited to 80. Registration at the door will depend on space available.

More about Food Labeling Workshop

Foodgard Training for Food Processors
The training was designed to increase awareness among processors relative to intentional an unintentional food contamination and the potential consequences.

More about Foodgard Training for Food Processor

Chile Conference Focuses on Improved Irrigation Methods Using drip irrigation systems to boost pepper yields highlights the New Mexico Chile Conference on Feb. 1 at the Hilton Las Cruces.

More about Chile Conference Focuses on Improved Irrigation Methods

Researchers Couple Chile Harvester with Improved Field Cleaners
Scientists at New Mexico State University have unveiled the second phase of a mechanical chile cleaner that removes field trash and leaves, leaving only pure peppers for processing. Experts with the New Mexico Chile Task Force believe the upgraded device is another major milestone in mechanizing New Mexico's labor—intensive chile industry.

More about Researchers Couple Chile Harvester with Improved Field Cleaners

Gov. Richardson Meets with Chile Industry Leaders
Gov. Bill Richardson told the state's Chile Task Force this week that he supports a $250,000 legislative request to establish annual funding for the group. He said he would look into streamlining the processing, transportation and labor regulations for the industry.

For More Information

Sect 18-SpinTor approved on Onions to suppress Thrips
The Environmental Protection Agency hereby grants a specific exemption under the provisions of Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended, to the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, for the use of spinosad, formulated as SpinTor 2SC, on onions to control Thysanoptera feeding pests in New Mexico.

This publication is available as a PDF file. To view the PDF file, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

For more information

New Vegetable Specialist Joins NMSU Extension
Stephanie Walker, an experienced chile and onion breeder, has joined New Mexico State University's extension plant sciences department as a vegetable specialist.
For the full story

Red-Hot Ideas: El Paso Pepper Producer
Two years ago, Gale Carr, business manager for his family's Borderland Farms in Fort Hancock, was losing money with each chile crop, and he knew it.
For the full story

2003 Yearly Wrap-up Lunch Meeting
Wednesday, December 10, 2003, 11:30 - 1:00 p.m. at USDA Cotton Ginning Laboratory Third Floor Conference Room (300 College Drive, Las Cruces, NM).
Our December Chile Task Force meeting will be a special lunch meeting attended by state representatives. For planning purposes, we need an accurate count of the number of people who plan to attend, to order lunches for participants.
For more information

Monthly Chile Task Force Meeting: Irrigation Well Management Workshop
November 12, 2003
On November 12, the Chile Task Force will meet at the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center for an Irrigation Well Management Workshop. The workshop will include discussions on construction, equipment maintenance and water quality. The format for the workshop will be Q&A, with a focus on farm well maintenance. A panel of well drillers, agricultural engineers and extension specialists will be on hand to answer questions. The workshop is open to all farmers at no cost.
For more information please contact Rich Phillips: Tele: (505)646-2353 rphillip@nmsu.edu

Test of the Thermal Defoliator on Chile
October 16, 2003
Dr. Paul Funk, of the Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory is developing a non-chemical cotton defoliator that uses hot air for pre-harvest defoliation. Their machine was tested on chile plants at the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center.

Monthly Chile Task Force Meeting: Curry Seed Field Day
October 8, 2003 Our October Chile Task Force meeting was at Curry Seed/ Santa Cruz Chili in Pearce, Arizona. This presented an excellent opportunity for the industry and universities to interact. Research and extension specialists from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas were present for a tour of the Curry Seed Chile Breeding Program, the Seed Processing and Chile Processing facilities. Presentations were made by breeders and researchers from NMSU, Texas A&M University and the University of Arizona.
For October 8, 2003 meeting minutes

Chile Market Expansion Summit
September 25, 2003
A conference, co-sponsored by The New Mexico Chile Task Force, the Economic Development Department and the Department of Agriculture's Marketing Division, explored strategies to expand the region's chile industry into new domestic and international markets. Representatives from the chile production, processing and research sectors interacted with experts in trade, marketing and food technology to create a vision of the future growth of New Mexico chile. Concrete recommendations for strategic initiatives were then presented and discussed by the group as a whole.

Monthly Chile Task Force Meeting
September 10, 2003
Our September meeting featured presentations on a wide range of topics. Farm labor issues were covered by Southern NM Legal Services. Engineering and Mechanical Harvesting were addressed in presentations by Dr. George Abernathy and Dr. Chris Wilson. Later, Dr. Octavio Ramirez spoke on establishing economic thresholds for pest management, and Mr. Scott Figura of TSF International showed a water treatment product to enhance irrigation efficiency. Finally, three pieces of equipment, under development for the Chile Task Force, were put on display and demonstration.