Aug. 5—From kangaroos to green chile, some fun and unique New Mexico experiences highlight this week’s Outlook.
When it comes to the chile story, I think it’s going to generate some controversy.
We sent a team to Hatch, where chile harvesting season is in full swing. We visited fields where farm workers toiled away under the hot sun to fulfill demand for the ubiquitous pepper the state is known for.
But the story wasn’t all that positive. The chile pepper industry in New Mexico is facing some major challenges.
Production in New Mexico has declined significantly in recent decades. The value of what New Mexico produces is about half of what it was 20 years ago.
The acreage of chile pepper farms is about a quarter of what it was in the 1990s.
There are several reasons for the trend. It’s hard to find workers for the laborious job. Some of the work is being mechanized but the machines can bruise the peppers.
Drought is forcing farmers to use more drought-resistant chiles.
Additionally, the CEO of Best in the West, a chile processing and brand company, told us the quality of New Mexico’s chile has gone down over time as producers try to grow chile with a longer shelf life.
Also, chile experts told us that much of Hatch’s chile is actually processed outside of the state and even the country in some cases.
The latter surprised me, and I would bet that we’ll be hearing from readers about that news item.
Also this week we have some good news about the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo.
The zoo opened a new exhibit, the Australian Shores, and it’s just the first phase of Australian exhibits planned for the zoo.
The new exhibit is home to little penguins that are about the size of a water bottle and eight species of Australian ducks. There is also a Lorikeet habitat, and the zoo plans to offer a chance for guests to pay a small fee and get to enter the habitat and interact with the colorful birds.
In the future, the zoo has plans to expand the Australian exhibits to included kangaroos, wombats and Tasmanian devils, among other animals from the Land Down Under.
I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Henry Doorly Zoo is a source of pride for the community. The zoo often ranks highly among other American zoos and is probably one of the only year-round attractions Nebraska has to offer.
New Mexico, on the other hand, is a state with plenty of reasons to visit. Tourism and outdoor recreation are significant economic engines for the state.
And the BioPark Zoo is a great way for visiting families to spend and afternoon. It’s important for the city to continue to invest in one of the state’s most visited locations.
I would recommend the zoo looks at getting some koalas.
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Publish date : 2024-08-05 08:02:00
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