Eugene Pickett, left, and Pam Roy stand in the rotunda Wednesday. Both are awaiting USDA funds for what they say are vital New Mexico agriculture projects. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM)
As soil and water and conservation district employees and enthusiasts packed into the Roundhouse on Wednesday, the words “cuts” and “frozen” could be heard echoing through the rotunda.
Recent spending and staffing cuts at the federal Agriculture Department have left many farmers and ranchers unable to complete projects or get reimbursed for ones they’ve paid for out of pocket. Some of those projects are funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which supports farmers’ efforts to boost harvests, save water or improve their soil quality.
Nearly $27 million from EQIP that was intended for New Mexico farmers is stalled, according to a news release Wednesday from the Thornburg Foundation. The Natural Resources and Conservation Service, which is under the Agriculture Department, manages EQIP programs, and layoffs among an already short-staffed crew have made things move even slower.
For farmers and the people they feed, delays have real consequences, said Eugene Pickett, a board member for Latino Farmers and Ranchers International, who lingered in the rotunda Wednesday afternoon.
“The earth requires cyclical treatment,” he told Source New Mexico. “If you don’t have the resources in place when they’re supposed to be in place, you get behind, and the consumer doesn’t realize it until harvest.”
Pickett is awaiting NRCS funding for technical assistance his organization provides to farmers, assistance he described as vital to help farmers and ranchers navigate a complex array of agencies and grant projects to make agriculture viable in New Mexico.
Pam Roy, executive director at the farmer advocacy nonprofit Farm to Table in Santa Fe, said her organization received 73 applications from farms big and small for “innovation in farming” projects. Her organization needs just $1.1 million from the USDA to fund those initiatives.
“They’re shovel-ready, ready to rock and roll, especially for the growing season, and we are waiting, literally, to hear whether we’re going to have that funding in the bank or not to do that,” she said.
New Mexico has126 NRCS employees, according to the Thornburg Foundation, a sharp decrease after 35 staff members were laid off in February. The NRCS set a target of growing to 190 staff members by the end of the year, according to the news release.
On top of that, the NRCS and the Farm Service Agency have started closing offices in Clovis, Roswell, Gallup and Raton “with no relocation plans for displaced staff or critical paper records, including easement filings,” according to the news release.
If the shoe fits
Mostly when hitting the Roundhouse, our only footwear-related thoughts involve wearing comfortable shoes in which we are unlikely to trip or fall down the stairs.
Some folks, however, are more fashion-minded. We received a tip early this morning from a regular attendee at the Legislature that declared:
“Shoes at the roundhouse are an amazing and little celebrated display.” When asked for examples, our source replied: “blue stilettos, the comfy earth friendly chevron flats, …cowboy boots, snazzy sneakers.”
Feeling both intrigued and a little chastened, we set off in search of snazzy sneakers and luxury loafers. Blue stilettos we did not find. But we did come across T or C Municipal School Board of Education Secretary Rebecca Bartoo, who was sporting gorgeous soft-looking grey cowboy boots with intricate designs (we are including a picture because we are not shoe reporters and don’t know how else to describe them), along with killer jewelry.
Bartoo, who is also the minority analyst for the House Agriculture, Acequias & Water Resources Committee, did not remember where she had acquired her boots, but she was a good sport considering we initially forgot to identify ourselves or explain why we were asking so many questions about her shoes. See or hear something at the Roundhouse you want to share with the wider world? Send it to: info@sourcenm.com
Other Roundhouse runners we came across today:
Bill Watch
Twin bills to set aside $10 million for community based domestic-violence prevention programs sailed through initial committees, but are awaiting adoption into the state budget.
A slate of more than a dozen bills to address health care provider shortages including hearing specialists, doctors, psychiatrists and more are currently awaiting committee hearings.
The Health and Human Services committee advanced a memorial supporting the federal bid to restart and expand a program to pay people harmed by radiation exposure from the U.S. nuclear program Wednesday.
A bill that would require public secondary schools and post-secondary educational institutions to provide free condoms for students passed its first committee Wednesday.
Cleared the floors
Two newly elected House members passed their first pieces of legislation through the chamber, which, according to House hazing practices, requires them to sing a song. Rep. Marianna Anaya (D-Albuquerque) sang “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Rep. William Hall (R-Aztec) sang James Brown’s “I Feel Good.”
Anaya, whose song was the better of the two, introduced House Bill 15 to encourage health care graduates of New Mexico universities to return to the state and work here, including helping them find housing, find a job and get licensed here. Hall’s bill allows Educational Retirement Board pension recipients to change beneficiaries, like if they get remarried and need to change benefits from an ex-spouse to a current one.
Another bill that cleared the House on Wednesday is House Bill 281, which removes cosmetology license requirements for people who provide hair-braiding services. New Mexico is one of only three states that has that requirement, explained sponsor Janelle Anyanonu (D-Albuquerque), and it’s a burdensome regulation for the safe and culturally important service, she said. It passed 61-1, with Angelita Mejia (R-Dexter) the sole “no” vote.
The Senate voted unanimously in favor of an amended version of Senate Bill 88, which would create a $290 million trust fund expected to grow to $2 billion, which would help pay for the state’s Medicaid program. The amendment fixed an incorrect label in the bill.
Senators, without debate, voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 123, which would authorize police officers to work on any of the four existing public bus systems called regional transit districts.
Senate Bill 119 got a 26-15 vote in the Senate. It would allow $25 million in public funds to be invested in local bioscience companies that would invest twice as much as the state.
The Senate voted 37-4 on a substitute version of Senate Bill 235, which would establish policies to improve mathematics education, including screening students for early teaching interventions.
Senators, without debate, voted unanimously in favor of Senate Joint Memorial 2, which asks Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to appoint a task force to study the needs of frontier areas, including government services and infrastructure; and Senate Joint Memorial 1, which would ask the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources and the Economic Development Development Department to jointly study and make recommendations about how to avoid wildfires through forest restoration.