Growing a better solution

There’s always something growing at Chispas Farm in the South Valley.

Farm manager Casey Holland rotates crops to build healthy soil, uses flowers as pest management and makes fertilizer with chicken manure.

“We’re continually trying to improve the land,” Holland said.

Federal programs should scale up local solutions to help small farms reduce emissions, said U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, who toured the 4-acre operation Friday.

“I knew this farm 20 years ago, and it’s impressive to see the improvements,” the New Mexico Democrat said. “But this is the exception rather than the rule. A challenge we’ve had is how do we produce less greenhouse gases, and how do we make agriculture part of the solution to climate change instead of being part of the problem. The practices here are a great example of that.”

Heinrich is sponsoring the Agriculture Resilience Act, which would set a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the agriculture sector by 2040.

Healthy soil programs, small-scale meat processing and initiatives to reduce food waste in schools are included in the bill.

Chispas Farm tackles sustainability projects with grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and New Mexico Department of Agriculture.

Heinrich and more than 30 U.S. lawmakers are pushing for the American Jobs Plan to include $200 billion over the next 10 years for new and existing USDA programs that would reduce agricultural emissions.

“American farmers, ranchers, and foresters are ready to lead the shift to net-zero emissions, but they need Congress to provide them with the necessary knowledge, tools, and resources to do so,” the lawmakers wrote in a May 27 letter to congressional leadership.

Climate-focused agriculture programs should prioritize funding for tribes, said Sergio Schwartz, who is starting Del Cielo Farm in the South Valley.

“These are the people who brought us all of these regenerative practices to begin with,” Schwartz said. “I was driving through Jemez yesterday, and driving through the mountains, I got really sad seeing all the trees and how drought-stressed they are. But then driving through the pueblo, and seeing all the different farming methods that they were using, it lifted my spirits.”