New Mexico boasts one of the most diverse agriculture industries in the United States. The top agriculture commodity in New Mexico is dairy. New Mexico has approximately 107 licensed dairy herds, with the largest average herd size (2700) in the nation. New Mexico is currently ranked 9th in the nation for milk production and 4th in the nation for cheese production. (Dairy Producers of New Mexico). The total economic impact from dairy in New Mexico is $2.2 Billion.
The second ranking commodity in New Mexico is cattle! Cattle in New Mexico contribute $1.1 Billion in direct economic output. There are 8,989 ranches with beef cattle ranching as their primary industry, with an average size of 3,242 acres per ranch. Each ranch has an average net income per ranch of $5,628.
Pecans are the third largest agriculture commodity in New Mexico. Unlike other tree nut production that is concentrated in geographical regions, e.g., almonds, pecans are commercially produced in 14 different states (see Figure 1). With 37,763 pecan acres, New Mexico ranks fourth in the country in pecan acreage behind Texas (180,719 acres), Georgia (128,550), and Oklahoma (85,740 acres). In terms of utilized production, New Mexico ranks third in the country with 50,333,000 pounds produced in 2002 behind Georgia’s 71,667,000 pounds and Texas’ 61,667,000 pounds (USDA–NASS, 2002). The increase in ranking in utilized production (relative to its ranking in acreage) is in part due to the fact that New Mexico production consists of improved varieties, which allows more dense plantings and less variability in production cycles.
Onions rank fourth in agriculture production in New Mexico with an economic impact of $128.2 million. There are 120 farms in New Mexico that produce onion for the commercial market. There also are 35 packing sheds that grade, bag, load and ship onions to national markets.
Poultry and Eggs contribute $45 million in direct economic impact to the state's economy. This industry employs as many as 122 people across the state.
To no surprise, chile peppers rank in the top ten for agriculture in New Mexico. followed by corn grain and wheat.
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