New Mexico farming takes center stage

Massive mushroom farmers in the Albuquerque area said there’s a strong demand for gourmet mushrooms in the state, and they’d be interested in branching off into different shrooms depending on what’s allowed.

A pair of farmers are the subject of our cover story this week.

Matt’s Mushroom Farm and New Mexico Fungi, which are both in Albuquerque, can produce plenty. New Mexico Fungi could grow as much as 180 pounds of mushrooms per week, and Matt’s Mushroom Farm can grow about 100 pounds.

Mushroom farmers are in the news recently because the 2024 New Mexico Legislature passed a resolution asking the New Mexico Department of Health and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center to research the possible use of psilocybin, a psychoactive compound found in some fungi, for therapeutic medical treatment.

Some research indicates the compound could help treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or other conditions.

Whether New Mexico goes down that path is a long ways off. The resolution didn’t allocate any funding for such research, and the memorial only passed one chamber and it doesn’t go to the governor’s desk for a signature.

But the memorial, in some ways, shined a light on mushroom farmers in the state.

I love a good farmer’s market and I’m a native of Nebraska. I have an interest in where our food comes from and who puts it on our tables.

Though we’re more known for persistent drought, dry heat and high deserts, New Mexico’s agricultural economy has a significant economic impact on the state. Additionally, our agrarian producers churn out some pretty interesting facts, according to New Mexico Agriculture and the New Mexico Economic Development Department.

Some, I think, are obvious: New Mexico produces more than 60,000 tons of chile per year, enough to lead the country.

Others, less so: New Mexico is a top 10 state for milk production and a top 5 state for producing cheese.

Additional factoids about the state’s farming industry:

Southwest Cheese in Clovis is the largest cheese producer in North America.

Care for a glass of wine? The first wine grapes in America were planted near Socorro by Spanish missionaries in 1629.

There are nearly 24,000 family farms in New Mexico.

Agriculture creates 150,000 jobs and $3 billion in revenue annually.

There are 1.4 million head of beef and dairy cattle scattered throughout the state.

Farmers also grow onions, alfalfa, cotton, hay and pecans, and New Mexico is often a top-producing state in the latter.

Although it remains to be seen if New Mexico mycologists will be making any twists and turns in the coming years, all signs indicate that farmer’s markets will be lively and stocked with mushrooms and more for years to come.