Q&A: Heinrich talks climate change, agriculture

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., during a multi-day tour through the state, paid a visit Wednesday to New Mexico State University's Agricultural Science Center just outside of Clovis.

Heinrich spoke with The News following the tour.

Q: What are your immediate takeaways from the center tour?

A: That we are just now starting to use agriculture as an additional tool, particularly as a climate tool. For years, we've been focused on energy. But land use and agriculture, horticulture, grazing, all of these things directly relate to the potential to make farmers the people solving many of our climate challenges. We're just starting to scratch the surface on that, but I think New Mexico State is well-positioned as any university to figure that out and put those tools in the hands of our agricultural committee.

Q: What do you see as the biggest issues with climate change for New Mexico agriculture, and New Mexico in general?

A: Water stress. That's the biggest issue. I don't even use the word drought anymore, because we're just in a different climate now where we're more arid and when the water comes we get more than we can handle. That, in many ways, is one of the biggest limiting factors for what we can accomplish in terms of production of crops and carbon sequestration. Learning to manage water better, like we just saw on the center pivot operation, where we're able to not only use less water and use it more productively, but also capture more of the rainfall when it does come. You don't just view the productivity of the groundwater, but also how we can use every inch of rainfall we can to supplement.

Q: What can we expect to see change regarding agriculture under the Biden administration?

A: My hope is as we're able to put together some of these investments in infrastructure, that we see the opportunities in reinvesting in agricultural infrastructure as well - especially in research and development. The more hard science we're doing, the more tools we put in the hands of our farmers and ranchers.

Q: Do you believe bipartisanship is still possible in Washington?

A: Especially post-Jan. 6, it's a challenge. That said, there are still many people who are interested in finding those bipartisan solutions. I don't think because it's more challenging it means you give up. It means you find those people who want to get to yes and work together to find those areas.

Q: We're in an area with low COVID-19 vaccination rates compared to the rest of the state and nation. Is there anything the federal government can do to change that?

A: We can provide more resources and we're happy to do that, but so much of this is about having spokespeople who have local credibility. I would just urge people who do have that trust and that following to create the trust in their neighbors and family and friends to embrace the vaccine. What we're seeing with this Delta variant - for those folks who were vaccinated it's not a big deal, and for those people who weren't it's potentially fatal. It's more important than ever to have leadership around getting vaccinated.

Q: Our military is currently withdrawing forces from Afghanistan, with Air Force officials noting that Cannon Air Force Base's 27th Special Operations Wing would fly the last aircraft out of the country. What should be done with those assets, both in personnel and equipment?

A: We need to make sure we bed them down in the right places and continue to view all of our assets here in New Mexico through the lens of what we are going to need in the coming years. The Special Operations assets are some of the most flexible we have. That's a good investment in the future of warfare, in the sense that we want to embrace those missions we think are going to be in demand in the future. I think those Special Operations assets are incredible from that viewpoint. Getting back to water, that's the thing I think about all the time. When I think about the Air Force footprint here, I'm thinking about military construction projects and water in order to make sure this is a viable asset decades into the future.