August 5, 2025 • 37 mins
Secretary Jeff Witte takes us behind the curtain of New Mexico agriculture, revealing how a reluctant political appointee became the state's longest-serving Secretary of Agriculture. With warmth and candor, he shares the fascinating journey that began when his college dean urged him to enter a field he initially resisted, ultimately discovering his passion for agricultural policy and public service.
The conversation unveils the surprising reach of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture - from ensuring gas pumps dispense the correct amount of fuel to certifying grocery scales and inspecting dairies. "We're one agency that touches every person every day," Secretary Witte explains, highlighting how his department safeguards the food supply chain from field to table while promoting New Mexico's unique agricultural products globally.
Food safety emerges as America's agricultural crown jewel, with Secretary Witte reporting that international visitors consistently marvel at our safety standards. This framework of trust allows for unprecedented food choice and accessibility - a privilege many Americans take for granted. Meanwhile, his department works diligently to expand export opportunities, now reaching 55 countries worldwide while simultaneously strengthening local food systems.
The heart of the conversation reveals the moral center of New Mexico agriculture: family farmers and ranchers who serve as pillars of rural communities. Secretary Witte passionately describes these producers as not just food providers but community leaders who volunteer, coach teams, attend local government meetings, and nurture the next generation through 4-H and FFA programs.
Perhaps most movingly, Secretary Witte addresses the mental health challenges facing agricultural producers who carry "the weight of feeding the world" while typically receiving just one paycheck annually. His mission to support these producers drives his continued service, ensuring that New Mexico's agricultural heritage thrives while adapting to modern challenges.
Ready to taste authentic New Mexico beef? Visit nmbeef.com to discover local producers and bring the flavors Secretary Witte calls "heaven" - especially when topped with green chile - to your own table.
Dion's is has a new menu item! Try their Green Chile Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza today.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome back to another episode of Behind the
Burger.
I am Carol Ann Romo, theexecutive director for the New
Mexico Beef Council, and with meis Secretary Jeff Witte, our
secretary of ag for New Mexico.
Will you introduce yourself andmaybe start with your
background and we can talk abouthow you got where you are and
(00:24):
your love for agriculture?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Oh sure.
So I'm Jeff Witte and I doserve as the Secretary of
Agriculture for the state of NewMexico, just finished 14 years,
started my 15th year as asecretary and you know people
ask me all the time how did Iget here?
I don't know how I got here.
You know it's been quite ajourney, but it's been a great
one.
(00:46):
When I finished my college atNew Mexico State University, way
back in the days severaldecades ago now, the dean of the
college asked me to go talk tothe Farm Bureau about being
their legislative director,government affairs director, and
(01:07):
I told him, as I told theexecutive VP of the Farm Bureau
at the time I don't likepolitics and I didn't really
like politicians, or at least Ididn't think I did.
And after four months theyconvinced me to take on that
role and it was a deal where I'dget them through the
legislative session.
If they didn't like what I did,they could tell me to leave.
(01:28):
If I didn't like doing the work, I could just leave, and no
harm, no foul.
What I found out was politicsare what you see on TV.
When you get down to it,working with legislators side by
side, everybody wants to dogood and I really got to where I
enjoyed that policy and sittingdown, writing laws and working
(01:52):
with.
You know the legends of thetime Steve Reynolds and a lot of
the JX McSherry some of theformer legislators that were in
office at the time really gotthe bug of trying to do good for
the state of New Mexico and forthe ag industry In that there
was a short period of time whenGovernor Carruthers at the time
(02:12):
asked me to finish out a term onthe Public Service Commission
and that's the commission thatregulates all the electric and
gas and utilities basically.
So I did that.
I was appointed as a publicservice commissioner and I was
(02:33):
the youngest commissioner everappointed or to serve in that
agency at the time and I thinkstill is.
But what that really showed mewas that being a decision maker
was really cool instead oftrying to be an influencer, and
so I always kept that in theback of my mind.
I was like, wow, you know.
So there was a little bit offun in doing making decisions
(02:54):
and that impacted a lot ofpeople.
That's a pretty heavyresponsibility.
The term ended, went back to theFarm Bureau and then in 1994,
the assistant secretary, deputysecretary of the Department of
Agriculture came open and theFarm Bureau folks encouraged me
(03:15):
to apply for that, and severalothers encouraged me to apply
for that.
Anyway, long story short, Iended up at the Department of
Agriculture as a deputysecretary and it's been a
journey ever since.
And then 2011, I stepped in.
I was selected by the regentsto be the state secretary of
agriculture and I can tell youthat if you want to be a cabinet
(03:36):
secretary, you want to be me.
It's the.
You work with the greatestpeople you know in the state.
You work for the.
You know with the greatest.
I mean, how much better does itget than providing the food for
everybody?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
And taking care of those policies.
So that's kind of in a veryshort term how I got to where I
am today.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, yeah, from a thinking.
Isn't that how life works?
You think you're never going todo something, and then that's
the wrong.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I went to college to be a banker with the farm credit
system.
That's all I was focused on,and I actually had a job offer
to go to work for the farmcredit system.
At the same time.
That was one of my bachelor's.
At the same time, theuniversity had given me an
assistantship to get my master'sdegree and I was sitting there
(04:24):
with those two offers on my desk.
I had a desk as a studentemployee at the AgEcon
department and Dr Lowell Catlettwalked in and he said what are
you doing?
I said well, I'm weighing thesetwo offers.
I got a job offer from FarmCredit and he goes you would be
a terrible banker, go to gradschool.
So I did.
(04:45):
I went to grad school and Ihaven't looked back since.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, well, worked out well, worked out well.
Well, maybe talk to me moreabout the Department of
Agriculture and what you guys,what your goals are and what you
guys do, because obviously Iknow, but maybe a listener
doesn't.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, no.
So the Department ofAgriculture in New Mexico is.
We're one agency that touchesevery person every day.
You talk about the weights andmeasures programs.
We're checking all the gasstations and making sure you get
, you know, the right octane andthe right volume for what
you're paying for.
We're in all the grocery storesmaking sure the volume and the
(05:21):
scales and the priceverification is working.
We check those every year,every facility every year, and
then we do more on complaintbasis too.
We regulate pesticides, feed,seed fertilizer and making sure
that everything on the pesticideside is applied appropriately
per label and that things arewithin the right tolerances.
(05:44):
In these other areas,fertilizer is a really unique
one because under the state law,if a consumer is not getting
what's on the label, then thepenalty actually can go to the
consumer if we can work throughall the details on that.
So what that means is,typically your fertilizer will
(06:06):
be nitrogen, phosphorus andpotassium and it's labeled at a
certain amount and we test thatin our laboratories to make sure
you're actually getting what'son the label and if it's short,
then we have a penalty matrixthat we can kick in.
We're also in all the dairiesin the state of New Mexico.
New Mexico is a large dairystate.
We're also in all the dairiesin the state of New Mexico.
New Mexico is a large dairystate.
(06:26):
We're in top 10 all the time indairy production, milk
production, cheese production.
We're in all the cheese plantsmaking sure the milk quality is
correct and sanitation iscorrect and the cheese that is
operating within the guidelinesof FDA operating within the
(06:49):
guidelines of FDA.
So that's on the regulatoryside.
We also are big in the policyarena.
I've got a division that dealswith ag policy and also with the
soil and water conservationdistricts, healthy soil programs
and noxious weeds.
And we have the Land ofEnchantment Legacy Fund.
Now that the governor and thelegislature passed a couple
years ago, that's bringing thisyear $3.4 million into the
department that we're issuinggrants across the state to
(07:11):
benefit the soil, and it goes on.
We've got a marketing anddevelopment division where we do
market state ag products notonly in New Mexico but around
the nation and in fact aroundthe world.
Several years ago our teamopened the market in China for
pecans.
Today we're working very hardin the India market to send our
(07:34):
pecans to India.
But one year well, this year Iasked the team to review all the
places New Mexico products go,and we're now sending our
products to 55 differentcountries around the world.
So it's not only do New Mexiansdesire our products, the whole
world desires New Mexicoproducts, and that's really kind
(07:58):
of a neat thing.
We've got the VeterinaryDiagnostic Lab in Albuquerque.
That's like the OMI for animals, and they work with the
veterinary community across thestate to determine animal
disease issues, animal healthissues, find out why an animal
might have died and that kind ofthing, so that we can better
protect not only the livestockindustry but the pet industry as
(08:22):
well.
So we touch a lot of stuff allthe time and it's really a
fascinating agency.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Absolutely.
It sounds like no day is thesame.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No, when I wake up in the morning, I never know what
it's going to be, and that'swhat I love about being at the
Department of Agriculture.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Oh, man, and what a great thing you guys do.
I know we talk a lot about foodsafety when we're talking to
students or groups.
We always try and encouragepeople that you can have trust
in the food system because ofagencies like you guys that are
working so hard to keepregulations and do research and
do all these things that it'ssuch an important part of the
(09:02):
agriculture industry that I wantpeople to have confidence in
the food system.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Confidence.
You know, as I travel the worldworking with trying to promote
our products and when we'remeeting with importers in other
countries, the number one thingthey admire about the US is our
food safety program.
When we have inbound trademissions the folks that come in
from other countries.
At one time we had a very smallsegment of that on the food
(09:30):
safety site.
Today it's a large part of thatvisit because other countries
they admire what we do.
We have the safest food supplyin the world.
Everybody recognizes that.
Everybody wants our food.
In New Mexico we also are incharge at the department in the
produce safety arena for FDA andwhat we call the Food Safety
(09:52):
Modernization Act.
So we're on the farms doinginspections on the produce,
making sure that the farmers aredoing and helping the farmers.
It's not just all aboutregulatory, it's compliance
assistance.
Doing and helping the farmers.
It's not just all aboutregulatory, it's compliance
assistance.
We would rather help a producerkeep in compliance than have to
go back in and do a recalllater.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
And so a lot of our work is education-based.
Yeah, yeah Again.
I'm so grateful to live in theStates and have the safest food
supply.
What a great thing we can begrateful for.
And then it gives us toobecause we have a safe food
system, we have the ability forfood choice too, right.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Oh my gosh, you know as you travel around, we can
have any food we want, anytimewe want.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
And you know, the United States has a very broad
production system and we're veryfortunate in this country.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
And I was going to say too kind of a plug for what
you guys do.
Your Taste the Traditionwebsite has a list of New Mexico
products.
If someone's looking for NewMexico products, and then your
team helped us with our NewMexico beef directory and so on
nmbeefcom we have, there's a tabthat says like buy beef or buy
local beef or nmbeef, and youcan look through a directory
(11:10):
that your team helped us with,because if you choose to buy
local and then the other way tosupport a farmer or rancher is
just buy it at the grocery store.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Well, buy it at the grocery store.
Encourage your grocery storesto carry the local produce and
the local food, the local beef.
New Mexico has long been knownas a state that produces really
good stuff and we ship it out ofstate for further value added
and then we bring it back.
We have really emphasized inthe last several years,
especially post-COVID, toenhance and grow that capacity
(11:42):
to value add in New Mexico.
We have about tripled thenumber of farmers and ranchers
who direct market to theconsumer in the last five years.
That is an amazing opportunityfor the consumer to get local
food all the time and ourfarmers and ranchers are both
growing to meet that demand.
(12:03):
It's something the Taste ofTradition, grown with Tradition,
program encourages, because wewanted to be able to identify
those local products.
And not only the raw products,but the finished goods, the
salsas and the other foodproducts that we enjoy every day
.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Yeah, I think you guys have done a great job with
that.
And again, I know the NewMexico Beef website.
We have almost 80 ranchers orlocally owned businesses that
sell beef to a consumer Withonly 2 million people in our
state.
That's a crazy ratio comparedto other states and anything, so
(12:43):
I'm grateful for that.
And again, we love providingthat resource.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Well, I think the consumer really likes our New
Mexico Beef and I'm really happywhere the New Mexico Beef
Council is going and what youguys have done.
You know I'm proud of the BeefCouncil for many reasons.
You know, not only do I get toappoint the directors, but we in
our department works very closewith you all in your marketing
programs and it's a greatrelationship.
(13:09):
Absolutely, and thankful forthat, because sometimes your
team knows way more than me, andI'm grateful you know I like to
say when we're at theDepartment of Agriculture I'm
the dumbest guy in the room,because we hire really smart,
capable people.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Oh my gosh, the best, the best.
I have so much admiration foryour team, so what gave you your
love for agriculture?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Oh, you know, I grew up on a ranch.
My granddad homesteaded it in1921.
We came back.
My dad came back in the late70s, I guess in the early 70s,
maybe, I don't know.
Time flies and we're having fun.
But just being, you know,growing up in that atmosphere
(13:55):
and hands-on, and then seeingall of the things that are
involved in agriculture that alot of people just don't know
about and they take for grantedthat that beef just showed up or
the chili just showed up,seeing the people that are
involved in agriculture isreally what it's all about.
(14:16):
And then providing that foodthat everybody enjoys.
And you know, people talk aboutthe way of life.
Everybody's got a way of life.
I love the wide open spaces andthe ability to just, you know,
get your hands dirty and dothose kind of things.
Now you might say, how do youdo that?
At the Department ofAgriculture, my passion is to
(14:38):
make sure others have thatopportunity.
And you know we're an old stateand what I mean by that is our
producers are the second oldestin the nation on the ground
doing their thing in agriculture.
We're in a period of transition.
Someday those folks are goingto retire.
We have to make sure that thatnext generation has the
(14:58):
opportunity to provide that foodthat we're all going to want
and enjoy.
That's the passion of theDepartment of Agriculture is
really working to make surethere's that opportunity in the
future.
We're not going to be a nationthat food just shows up.
It's got to be producedsomeplace and the world
(15:21):
understands that.
We understand that as a nationand it takes these agricultural
people to make it happen.
And it's a lot of fun when I goto school systems that are
serving New Mexico food productsand you see the enjoyment in
the kids and actually when I,when I you know, I was at
Bernalillo Public Schools onetime and their food service
cafeteria manager was telling methat when they serve New Mexico
(15:44):
food products their food wasteis down 40%.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
The kids enjoy the fresh and the good local food.
The kids enjoy the fresh andthe good local food.
Those are the things thatreally just keep me going and
make this job the best job inthe state really.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Oh man, absolutely.
Well, I'm grateful that youguys are working on so many
things and I think it might evenbe a good minute to plug the
AgriFuture programs for us, forpeople.
Minute to plug the AgriFutureprograms for us, for people.
If you're interested in kind ofnext generation, you are that
next generation and you want tobe the future of ag.
They have a great program.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
We started the AgriFuture program I don't know
10 or 12 years ago now and itwas a program designed for those
in the space of 20 to 40 yearsof age.
What we found was that about athird of the participants were
over 40.
And it was folks that had beenin other jobs and industries and
they were coming back to theirroots, coming back to their
(16:41):
family land operations maybe,and they're all looking for that
next opportunity in productionagriculture.
And it's all about productionagriculture.
It's growing the food productsand the marketing of those food
products, and when I talk aboutfood it's including beef, and
sometimes people lose that inthe translation.
(17:03):
They think of food as just thevegetables and those kinds of
things.
But it's all encompassing.
And New Mexico, we are a smallland agricultural state and what
I mean by that is about 67% ofour farms are less than 500
acres.
And I was having a conversationwith former Secretary Tom
(17:24):
Vilsack and I told him thatstatistics he goes.
My God, how do they compete?
I said these guys are the bestthat there is in the United
States because they can make itwork.
But it takes those uniquemarketing opportunities, the
growing opportunities, to makethat happen.
And that's what AgriFuture isall about.
It's attracting that nextgeneration into those
(17:45):
opportunities.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Oh yeah, and I think New Mexico farmers and ranchers
are very innovative and are veryefficient, you know it boggles
everybody's mind.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
when I'm traveling around the United States and I
talk about you know we get 12 to14 inches of rain on a good
year, and in other statesthey'll tell me we got that last
week.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
And you take our land and our producers and they make
it work.
They are by far the best.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I can support that, maybe alittle biased, but I also
support what do you think?
So we kind of talked about NewMexico's landscape, so maybe
I'll ask what's the mostrewarding part of being in the
agriculture industry?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
You know, I'll just tell you that from my
perspective it's working withthe people and I spend a lot of
time with the 4-H and FFAprograms in what I call the next
generation of leaders, and Itell them they're not only the
next generation of leaders,they're leading today and when
(18:57):
you see the bright eyes in thesekids and their thought
processes, they're pure andthey're very dynamic and they're
open-minded about their futureand that impacts all of us.
Seeing the enjoyment on people'sface when I go to Washington DC
and we're roasting chili, theenjoyment on people's face when
I go to Washington DC and we'reroasting chili and you find a
displaced New Mexican who smellsthe aroma and they come running
(19:18):
to you tears in their eyes,missing that bit of home.
New Mexico is a very uniquecultural and agricultural spot
in the world and we have acuisine unmatched by anybody and
when people leave they miss itand they don't realize how much
they miss it until we show upwith our chili roast and you
(19:42):
know it's just.
Food makes people happy and oneof the things that we on the
other side of that is we workreally hard to make sure that
those who don't have enough havethe opportunity to get some,
and working with the food banksand the food depots and others
around the state in all theirprograms.
It's really important that wehave that opportunity so that
(20:03):
everybody has the chance to gettheir belly full.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Oh man, yeah, food is an ultimate connector, and gosh
New Mexico has such a uniqueflavor profile and I talk about
it all the time that I think NewMexico is a foodies paradise.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
It is the best.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Yeah, and we have so many restaurants that are
locally owned and generationaland they stay.
Even though we have such asmall population, they stay.
Well, we say at our house thatif a restaurant survives in New
Mexico, it's because it's good,it's good.
Because there's not enoughpeople to keep it.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
if it was not, yeah, you know, and a lot of folks
don't realize that is, that NewMexico is a very small
population state.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Very.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
There are cities, many, many cities, that are
bigger than our entire state asa population, and we're very
fortunate, I think, to have thenumber of good restaurants and
the good businesses that we havein the state because of our
limited population, and that'sboth good and bad when you talk
about population.
But it's also what makes NewMexico special and unique is
(21:03):
that our wide open spaces andopportunities recreate in those
spaces as well.
But you talk about cuisine andNew Mexico's got it, louisiana
has it.
I once took a professor fromthe University of Minnesota to
supper at a very localrestaurant in Albuquerque and
(21:23):
then we were on a return visitup to Minneapolis and his first
words were I can't take you toany place that's good, local,
because we just have food.
We don't have anything like youguys have in New Mexico.
I thought that was a really bigcompliment to our folks in the
state.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Absolutely, absolutely, and I think it's.
I always say New Mexico isAmerica's best kept secret, but
then we brag on it so much it'snot much of a secret anymore.
So so, yeah, yeah, we'll.
We'll see what.
What changes in the futurebecause, uh, we know, we know
it's wonderful, other people aregoing to find out.
Um, what is?
What is something that you'reexcited about that you're
(22:03):
working on or your team'sworking on coming up?
Speaker 2 (22:05):
You know there's there's a lot of things that
that are coming up in the future.
One of the things I mentioned alittle bit earlier is the
opportunities for internationaltrade.
We grow a lot of pecans in thisstate and basically around the
world.
Pecans are known as thehealthiest nut that there is.
Maybe the walnut folks or thealmond folks, pistachio folks
(22:30):
will give us a littlecompetition every now and then.
You know it's like which isbetter northern Chile or
southern Chile?
I just like Chile.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Yeah, as long as it's New Mexico.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
As long as it's New Mexican, chile, we don't want
any of that stuff from.
You know the other side of thestate line, but when you talk
about the opportunity, how andcreate wealth in the state by
exporting products and addingvalue to the producers here is a
(23:00):
big deal, and so we're reallyworking hard on that.
That we have and we keep openthose supply chains and the
opportunities for our localproducers to reach the consumer
in New Mexico is is another, andit's not an overnight process.
It's one of those processesthat takes several years and and
(23:23):
getting both the supply sideright but the demand side right
and and the timing you know.
The other day I was at the foodmeeting in Albuquerque, the
first food conference, and thepublic education department said
we served 55 million meals lastyear in public ed through the
(23:44):
school systems, and my commentback to that was couldn't you
imagine the impact that if thosemeals just had one or two New
Mexico products on them?
Those are opportunities thathave been there that we haven't
just had the opportunity tocapture.
And now we've got, you know, ameat facility in Roswell that
(24:07):
has changed their entireproduction line, a value-added
rate and get healthy food to thekids that need it every day.
So those are just some of thethings that we're pursuing.
(24:33):
Soil and dealing with theenvironmental stuff is really
critical In a dry state in thelegislature past that Land of
Enchantment Legacy Fund andreally making sure that we
deploy those resourcesappropriately to help mitigate
some of the dust storms and takeout noxious weeds.
We're going to have a huge weedproblem in the fire country
(24:54):
where we've had hot fires, andso having my staff get geared up
to address those as they startcropping up is going to be a big
deal.
So a lot of things I'm happyabout and excited about.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Absolutely.
What a great thing to have.
You know too many Can't justsay one.
What a good thing.
What's your favorite part ofthe beef industry, or maybe
something that you think peopledon't know about raising beef in
New Mexico?
Speaker 2 (25:24):
My favorite part of the beef industry is the end
product.
That's a great favorite.
I'm a big fan of hamburgers,ribeye steaks and prime rib.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Prime rib is probably the sleeper product out there
because in my opinion it's oneof the easiest things to cook
and smoke on a grill and get itready and you almost can't mess
it up.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Yeah, and I was shocked because it's the first
time I made it, which was, youknow, probably a decade ago.
But I was scared, you know,because it's an expensive,
really valuable product and it'sso simple.
There's like three steps saltpepper product, and it's so
simple, there's like three stepssalt pepper, slow roast for
three hours at like 125.
Exactly, and then reverse searat like 500 for 15 minutes and
you're done and enjoy, oh andlet it rest.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Let it rest.
Yeah, you got to put that.
Sorry, I interrupted.
No you got to put that 20minutes of rest on there because
people don't understand howimportant that part of the
process is.
Yeah, but it's and it's so goodand you know nothing brings
people together like a tablefull of good food.
And prime rib and ribeye steaksand hamburgers are like the,
and when you add green chili tothe hamburgers, it's you know,
(26:32):
it's heaven.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
It's over yep.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
You know.
But the thing about cattleranching and raising cattle that
you know we talk about a lotwithin our circles but a lot of
people don't understand it.
It's a multifaceted entity.
You're not only taking care ofthe cattle, but you're taking
care of the landscape, you'retaking care of the wildlife.
There's a lot of intrinsicthings going on out there that
people take for granted, thatjust ranchers just do, and then
(26:56):
it's part of the community.
When you drive across thisstate and I encourage people
when you're driving fromAlbuquerque to Roswell, you pass
through a lot of open range andyou see the livestock out there
.
What else could there be?
And it's those folks that arereally taking care and raising
the food products that we allenjoy and we should not take
(27:19):
that for granted we all enjoyand we should not take that for
granted, absolutely, absolutely,I think.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
One thing we just had a advertising campaign with
some billboards and one of thethings, one of the focus was
welcome to beef country, newMexico is beef country, new
Mexico is beef country.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
And the other part about that is is about 98% of
our folks, and I don't even knowthe 2%, where that falls, but
98% it's all family farmers andfamily ranchers.
These are people who are partof your community every day.
They go to the school boardmeetings, they go to the county
commission meetings, they go andsupport the schools and the
(27:57):
sports and the FFA and the 4-Hactivities.
That's what they do and that'stheir life and that's, you know,
the best part about being inNew Mexico, and not only in
rural New Mexico, but even insuburban New Mexico.
There's a lot of greatagricultural activities going on
and we just have to make surewe don't take that for granted.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Absolutely, absolutely, I think.
Ranchers and agriculturalistsin New Mexico and I'm sure it
could be repeated across thecountry and the world, but they
are pillars of their community.
Absolutely, they're the firstto volunteer, they're so busy
because they're coaching a teamand they're, you know, doing
just so many things andvolunteering and I just think
(28:38):
that that's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Paul Harvey hit it right on the nose with his you
know, and God created therancher.
And you know, just to show youhow old I was, I was at the FFA
convention when he gave thatspeech in Kansas City and you
know it hit home that day.
It was an amazing thing toattend and when we heard it
(29:01):
again on the Super Bowlcommercial it brought back a lot
of good memories.
But it really is a greatmessage.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Absolutely.
I get goosebumps thinking of itand if you haven't listened to
it, it is so Paul Harvey and youcan look up.
So God Made a Farmer, god Madea Rancher, and he's talking
about he needed someone to carefor the land and needed someone
that would be there, you know,in the middle of the night, and
it's oh gosh.
It's just the most wonderfulexample of exactly, it's the
best.
Yep, exactly, and you know, Ithink he refers to them as
(29:30):
farmers.
But a lot of times we sayagriculturalist or producer or
rancher, now too.
But at the heart of it, it'sthat person that cares for
agriculture and grows your food,grows our food, grows the food.
Yep, is there anything elseyou'd like to add about the beef
industry or NMDA or anythinglike that that we kind of
(29:51):
haven't asked?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah, that's a big question.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
That's a big question .
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
You know, I think we've hit on it a little bit.
New Mexico is a big beef state.
When you think about we're astate of almost 78 million acres
.
44 million of that is inagricultural production and
probably only about 600,000 ofthat is in basically livestock
production.
These communities around thestate could not exist without
(30:29):
the rancher and the farmer.
The farming and ranchingeconomy is a pillar of almost
every community and every countyin this state.
There's, you know, outside ofLos Alamos, Bernalillo, maybe,
Dona Ana.
Everything else relies on someform of agriculture to support
that community.
I remember back in the day whenthis was 30 years ago or maybe
(30:52):
35 years ago, when a lot of thedairy started moving into the
state and into the Roswell area.
Roswell had just lost their AirForce base.
They really concentrated onwhat next, and dairy was a big
part of that and it reallyrevitalized that Chavis County
area and it was agriculture.
(31:17):
Agriculture is a stabilizingbase in every community and it's
really something that we'reproud of and that we work at the
Department of Agriculture everyday to ensure that the future
has that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
So, well said, I feel like I know the answer to this
and you've maybe said it, butwhy do you do what you do?
Why do you keep puttingyourself out there for producers
and promoting agriculture inNew Mexico?
What makes you keep going?
Speaker 2 (31:41):
You know, when I go to a FFA convention or a 4-H
convention, when I do theAgriFuture conference and I
listen to those young people andI would tell you that people in
my positions don't typicallylisten a lot.
I listen to those young peopleand I hear their dreams
(32:01):
typically listen a lot.
I listen to those young peopleand I hear their dreams and I
hear their, what they view thefuture is and I still want to be
a part of that.
I want to help shape that forthose, that next generation,
those kids, those new leadersthat are coming into existence
all across the state of NewMexico.
But I also want to have thatopportunity for those ranchers
(32:23):
who are at the end of theirworking life and want to have
that opportunity to transition.
We have to be there for them aswell and we have to make sure
that they have that opportunityto pass it on to the next
generation.
You know, we have to make surethat people have the tools they
need in their toolbox to reallylook at the future.
(32:47):
A lot of I help with the farmcredit system, ag America.
We did a video on mental healthand people don't realize the
stress that's in the agriculturecommunity.
These folks have the weight offeeding the world on their
shoulders.
In a state like New Mexico,they also have the weight of
(33:08):
past generations on theirshoulders and no one wants to
mess that up, and that puts alot of pressure on our
agricultural folks.
So what keeps me going everyday is to make sure they have
that opportunity to not have somuch stress and have the right
tools to operate in the future.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
And that's such a noble cause.
And, yeah, I think, the weightof the world, and then so many
outside factors that they can'tcontrol, with weather and
climate, and just so many thingsthat absolutely I think the
mental health of our producersis paramount and it's not always
talked about.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
It's not and when we think about it, our agricultural
folks typically get onepaycheck a year.
People in town or with otherjobs will get maybe 24, 26
paychecks a year, get maybe 24,26 paychecks a year and when
you're working an entire yearfor one payday and it can all be
lost with a hailstorm, with alivestock disease issue or any
(34:12):
other catastrophic event,wildfires.
That's a big burden that ourproducers face and we've got to
be there to help support themand make sure we do what we can
so that those things don'thappen.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And one of my favorite thingsis kind of telling the story of
the producer, and that's whatthe goal of the podcast is is
tell the story so that we cansend love and support to the
people that grow our food.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Absolutely, and these are important and it's
important to create thoseopportunities, and I want to
thank the Beef Council.
Marketing beef on a generalbasis is something that the
producers around the UnitedStates have never done a lot
until the Chekhov program cameinto existence, and this has
(35:00):
given them an opportunity toreally showcase not only the
great taste and flavor andeverything that comes with beef,
but also the health benefits aswell, and so it takes all of us
and all of these programs tokeep it in front of the consumer
and keep all these folks doingwhat they do best.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Absolutely.
I'm honored to you know, followthe cause and work for the New
Mexico Beef Council and it doestake all of us Okay.
So one final question we kindof already talked about but most
important question yourfavorite way to eat beef, if you
could?
Pick one what's your favoriteway to eat beef With my hands?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
eat beef If you can pick one.
What's your favorite way to eatbeef With my hands?
You know my favorite.
I've got like three favorites.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
My go-to.
If I was on you know, they cameto me and said this is your
last meal.
What's it going to be?
It would be a green chilicheeseburger.
I just love the fluffy biggreen chili cheeseburgers.
And cooked you know?
Medium, maybe medium-light,there's nothing better.
But if I, you know, then I goto the ribeye a good about 142
(36:14):
degrees cooked.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Very specific.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Very perfect in their temperature.
And then that prime rib issomething you enjoy with the
family and getting your friendstogether and that kind of thing
you know, around our table it'sbeef, beef all the time.
And we just growing up on aranch.
This was what we did.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Right, can't help it.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
So you enjoy that good prime beef.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Perfect.
Well, thank you for enjoyingBeef at your Table and we thank
you for the work you do for theagriculture industry and
representing producers.
And then thank you for sayingyes to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
My honor.
You know this is great.
Thank you for doing it.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Awesome.
Well, thank you and we'll seeyou next time.
Behind the Burger is a podcastproduced by the New Mexico Beef
Council with the goal of tellingthe stories of the cattlemen
and cattlewomen of the NewMexico beef industry.
Thank you for joining us fortoday's episode.
If you'd like more information,please visit nmbeefcom.
Whether it be a burger, a steakor another beef dish, we hope
(37:18):
you're enjoying beef at yournext meal.
Welcome back to another episode of Behind the
Burger.
I am Carol Ann Romo, theexecutive director for the New
Mexico Beef Council, and with meis Secretary Jeff Witte, our
secretary of ag for New Mexico.
Will you introduce yourself andmaybe start with your
background and we can talk abouthow you got where you are and
(00:24):
your love for agriculture?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Oh sure.
So I'm Jeff Witte and I doserve as the Secretary of
Agriculture for the state of NewMexico, just finished 14 years,
started my 15th year as asecretary and you know people
ask me all the time how did Iget here?
I don't know how I got here.
You know it's been quite ajourney, but it's been a great
one.
(00:46):
When I finished my college atNew Mexico State University, way
back in the days severaldecades ago now, the dean of the
college asked me to go talk tothe Farm Bureau about being
their legislative director,government affairs director, and
(01:07):
I told him, as I told theexecutive VP of the Farm Bureau
at the time I don't likepolitics and I didn't really
like politicians, or at least Ididn't think I did.
And after four months theyconvinced me to take on that
role and it was a deal where I'dget them through the
legislative session.
If they didn't like what I did,they could tell me to leave.
(01:28):
If I didn't like doing the work, I could just leave, and no
harm, no foul.
What I found out was politicsare what you see on TV.
When you get down to it,working with legislators side by
side, everybody wants to dogood and I really got to where I
enjoyed that policy and sittingdown, writing laws and working
(01:52):
with.
You know the legends of thetime Steve Reynolds and a lot of
the JX McSherry some of theformer legislators that were in
office at the time really gotthe bug of trying to do good for
the state of New Mexico and forthe ag industry In that there
was a short period of time whenGovernor Carruthers at the time
(02:12):
asked me to finish out a term onthe Public Service Commission
and that's the commission thatregulates all the electric and
gas and utilities basically.
So I did that.
I was appointed as a publicservice commissioner and I was
(02:33):
the youngest commissioner everappointed or to serve in that
agency at the time and I thinkstill is.
But what that really showed mewas that being a decision maker
was really cool instead oftrying to be an influencer, and
so I always kept that in theback of my mind.
I was like, wow, you know.
So there was a little bit offun in doing making decisions
(02:54):
and that impacted a lot ofpeople.
That's a pretty heavyresponsibility.
The term ended, went back to theFarm Bureau and then in 1994,
the assistant secretary, deputysecretary of the Department of
Agriculture came open and theFarm Bureau folks encouraged me
(03:15):
to apply for that, and severalothers encouraged me to apply
for that.
Anyway, long story short, Iended up at the Department of
Agriculture as a deputysecretary and it's been a
journey ever since.
And then 2011, I stepped in.
I was selected by the regentsto be the state secretary of
agriculture and I can tell youthat if you want to be a cabinet
(03:36):
secretary, you want to be me.
It's the.
You work with the greatestpeople you know in the state.
You work for the.
You know with the greatest.
I mean, how much better does itget than providing the food for
everybody?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
And taking care of those policies.
So that's kind of in a veryshort term how I got to where I
am today.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, yeah, from a thinking.
Isn't that how life works?
You think you're never going todo something, and then that's
the wrong.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I went to college to be a banker with the farm credit
system.
That's all I was focused on,and I actually had a job offer
to go to work for the farmcredit system.
At the same time.
That was one of my bachelor's.
At the same time, theuniversity had given me an
assistantship to get my master'sdegree and I was sitting there
(04:24):
with those two offers on my desk.
I had a desk as a studentemployee at the AgEcon
department and Dr Lowell Catlettwalked in and he said what are
you doing?
I said well, I'm weighing thesetwo offers.
I got a job offer from FarmCredit and he goes you would be
a terrible banker, go to gradschool.
So I did.
(04:45):
I went to grad school and Ihaven't looked back since.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, well, worked out well, worked out well.
Well, maybe talk to me moreabout the Department of
Agriculture and what you guys,what your goals are and what you
guys do, because obviously Iknow, but maybe a listener
doesn't.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, no.
So the Department ofAgriculture in New Mexico is.
We're one agency that touchesevery person every day.
You talk about the weights andmeasures programs.
We're checking all the gasstations and making sure you get
, you know, the right octane andthe right volume for what
you're paying for.
We're in all the grocery storesmaking sure the volume and the
(05:21):
scales and the priceverification is working.
We check those every year,every facility every year, and
then we do more on complaintbasis too.
We regulate pesticides, feed,seed fertilizer and making sure
that everything on the pesticideside is applied appropriately
per label and that things arewithin the right tolerances.
(05:44):
In these other areas,fertilizer is a really unique
one because under the state law,if a consumer is not getting
what's on the label, then thepenalty actually can go to the
consumer if we can work throughall the details on that.
So what that means is,typically your fertilizer will
(06:06):
be nitrogen, phosphorus andpotassium and it's labeled at a
certain amount and we test thatin our laboratories to make sure
you're actually getting what'son the label and if it's short,
then we have a penalty matrixthat we can kick in.
We're also in all the dairiesin the state of New Mexico.
New Mexico is a large dairystate.
We're also in all the dairiesin the state of New Mexico.
New Mexico is a large dairystate.
(06:26):
We're in top 10 all the time indairy production, milk
production, cheese production.
We're in all the cheese plantsmaking sure the milk quality is
correct and sanitation iscorrect and the cheese that is
operating within the guidelinesof FDA operating within the
(06:49):
guidelines of FDA.
So that's on the regulatoryside.
We also are big in the policyarena.
I've got a division that dealswith ag policy and also with the
soil and water conservationdistricts, healthy soil programs
and noxious weeds.
And we have the Land ofEnchantment Legacy Fund.
Now that the governor and thelegislature passed a couple
years ago, that's bringing thisyear $3.4 million into the
department that we're issuinggrants across the state to
(07:11):
benefit the soil, and it goes on.
We've got a marketing anddevelopment division where we do
market state ag products notonly in New Mexico but around
the nation and in fact aroundthe world.
Several years ago our teamopened the market in China for
pecans.
Today we're working very hardin the India market to send our
(07:34):
pecans to India.
But one year well, this year Iasked the team to review all the
places New Mexico products go,and we're now sending our
products to 55 differentcountries around the world.
So it's not only do New Mexiansdesire our products, the whole
world desires New Mexicoproducts, and that's really kind
(07:58):
of a neat thing.
We've got the VeterinaryDiagnostic Lab in Albuquerque.
That's like the OMI for animals, and they work with the
veterinary community across thestate to determine animal
disease issues, animal healthissues, find out why an animal
might have died and that kind ofthing, so that we can better
protect not only the livestockindustry but the pet industry as
(08:22):
well.
So we touch a lot of stuff allthe time and it's really a
fascinating agency.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Absolutely.
It sounds like no day is thesame.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
No, when I wake up in the morning, I never know what
it's going to be, and that'swhat I love about being at the
Department of Agriculture.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Oh, man, and what a great thing you guys do.
I know we talk a lot about foodsafety when we're talking to
students or groups.
We always try and encouragepeople that you can have trust
in the food system because ofagencies like you guys that are
working so hard to keepregulations and do research and
do all these things that it'ssuch an important part of the
(09:02):
agriculture industry that I wantpeople to have confidence in
the food system.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Confidence.
You know, as I travel the worldworking with trying to promote
our products and when we'remeeting with importers in other
countries, the number one thingthey admire about the US is our
food safety program.
When we have inbound trademissions the folks that come in
from other countries.
At one time we had a very smallsegment of that on the food
(09:30):
safety site.
Today it's a large part of thatvisit because other countries
they admire what we do.
We have the safest food supplyin the world.
Everybody recognizes that.
Everybody wants our food.
In New Mexico we also are incharge at the department in the
produce safety arena for FDA andwhat we call the Food Safety
(09:52):
Modernization Act.
So we're on the farms doinginspections on the produce,
making sure that the farmers aredoing and helping the farmers.
It's not just all aboutregulatory, it's compliance
assistance.
Doing and helping the farmers.
It's not just all aboutregulatory, it's compliance
assistance.
We would rather help a producerkeep in compliance than have to
go back in and do a recalllater.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
And so a lot of our work is education-based.
Yeah, yeah Again.
I'm so grateful to live in theStates and have the safest food
supply.
What a great thing we can begrateful for.
And then it gives us toobecause we have a safe food
system, we have the ability forfood choice too, right.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Oh my gosh, you know as you travel around, we can
have any food we want, anytimewe want.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
And you know, the United States has a very broad
production system and we're veryfortunate in this country.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
And I was going to say too kind of a plug for what
you guys do.
Your Taste the Traditionwebsite has a list of New Mexico
products.
If someone's looking for NewMexico products, and then your
team helped us with our NewMexico beef directory and so on
nmbeefcom we have, there's a tabthat says like buy beef or buy
local beef or nmbeef, and youcan look through a directory
(11:10):
that your team helped us with,because if you choose to buy
local and then the other way tosupport a farmer or rancher is
just buy it at the grocery store.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Well, buy it at the grocery store.
Encourage your grocery storesto carry the local produce and
the local food, the local beef.
New Mexico has long been knownas a state that produces really
good stuff and we ship it out ofstate for further value added
and then we bring it back.
We have really emphasized inthe last several years,
especially post-COVID, toenhance and grow that capacity
(11:42):
to value add in New Mexico.
We have about tripled thenumber of farmers and ranchers
who direct market to theconsumer in the last five years.
That is an amazing opportunityfor the consumer to get local
food all the time and ourfarmers and ranchers are both
growing to meet that demand.
(12:03):
It's something the Taste ofTradition, grown with Tradition,
program encourages, because wewanted to be able to identify
those local products.
And not only the raw products,but the finished goods, the
salsas and the other foodproducts that we enjoy every day
.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Yeah, I think you guys have done a great job with
that.
And again, I know the NewMexico Beef website.
We have almost 80 ranchers orlocally owned businesses that
sell beef to a consumer Withonly 2 million people in our
state.
That's a crazy ratio comparedto other states and anything, so
(12:43):
I'm grateful for that.
And again, we love providingthat resource.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Well, I think the consumer really likes our New
Mexico Beef and I'm really happywhere the New Mexico Beef
Council is going and what youguys have done.
You know I'm proud of the BeefCouncil for many reasons.
You know, not only do I get toappoint the directors, but we in
our department works very closewith you all in your marketing
programs and it's a greatrelationship.
(13:09):
Absolutely, and thankful forthat, because sometimes your
team knows way more than me, andI'm grateful you know I like to
say when we're at theDepartment of Agriculture I'm
the dumbest guy in the room,because we hire really smart,
capable people.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Oh my gosh, the best, the best.
I have so much admiration foryour team, so what gave you your
love for agriculture?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Oh, you know, I grew up on a ranch.
My granddad homesteaded it in1921.
We came back.
My dad came back in the late70s, I guess in the early 70s,
maybe, I don't know.
Time flies and we're having fun.
But just being, you know,growing up in that atmosphere
(13:55):
and hands-on, and then seeingall of the things that are
involved in agriculture that alot of people just don't know
about and they take for grantedthat that beef just showed up or
the chili just showed up,seeing the people that are
involved in agriculture isreally what it's all about.
(14:16):
And then providing that foodthat everybody enjoys.
And you know, people talk aboutthe way of life.
Everybody's got a way of life.
I love the wide open spaces andthe ability to just, you know,
get your hands dirty and dothose kind of things.
Now you might say, how do youdo that?
At the Department ofAgriculture, my passion is to
(14:38):
make sure others have thatopportunity.
And you know we're an old stateand what I mean by that is our
producers are the second oldestin the nation on the ground
doing their thing in agriculture.
We're in a period of transition.
Someday those folks are goingto retire.
We have to make sure that thatnext generation has the
(14:58):
opportunity to provide that foodthat we're all going to want
and enjoy.
That's the passion of theDepartment of Agriculture is
really working to make surethere's that opportunity in the
future.
We're not going to be a nationthat food just shows up.
It's got to be producedsomeplace and the world
(15:21):
understands that.
We understand that as a nationand it takes these agricultural
people to make it happen.
And it's a lot of fun when I goto school systems that are
serving New Mexico food productsand you see the enjoyment in
the kids and actually when I,when I you know, I was at
Bernalillo Public Schools onetime and their food service
cafeteria manager was telling methat when they serve New Mexico
(15:44):
food products their food wasteis down 40%.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
The kids enjoy the fresh and the good local food.
The kids enjoy the fresh andthe good local food.
Those are the things thatreally just keep me going and
make this job the best job inthe state really.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Oh man, absolutely.
Well, I'm grateful that youguys are working on so many
things and I think it might evenbe a good minute to plug the
AgriFuture programs for us, forpeople.
Minute to plug the AgriFutureprograms for us, for people.
If you're interested in kind ofnext generation, you are that
next generation and you want tobe the future of ag.
They have a great program.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
We started the AgriFuture program I don't know
10 or 12 years ago now and itwas a program designed for those
in the space of 20 to 40 yearsof age.
What we found was that about athird of the participants were
over 40.
And it was folks that had beenin other jobs and industries and
they were coming back to theirroots, coming back to their
(16:41):
family land operations maybe,and they're all looking for that
next opportunity in productionagriculture.
And it's all about productionagriculture.
It's growing the food productsand the marketing of those food
products, and when I talk aboutfood it's including beef, and
sometimes people lose that inthe translation.
(17:03):
They think of food as just thevegetables and those kinds of
things.
But it's all encompassing.
And New Mexico, we are a smallland agricultural state and what
I mean by that is about 67% ofour farms are less than 500
acres.
And I was having a conversationwith former Secretary Tom
(17:24):
Vilsack and I told him thatstatistics he goes.
My God, how do they compete?
I said these guys are the bestthat there is in the United
States because they can make itwork.
But it takes those uniquemarketing opportunities, the
growing opportunities, to makethat happen.
And that's what AgriFuture isall about.
It's attracting that nextgeneration into those
(17:45):
opportunities.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Oh yeah, and I think New Mexico farmers and ranchers
are very innovative and are veryefficient, you know it boggles
everybody's mind.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
when I'm traveling around the United States and I
talk about you know we get 12 to14 inches of rain on a good
year, and in other statesthey'll tell me we got that last
week.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
And you take our land and our producers and they make
it work.
They are by far the best.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I can support that, maybe alittle biased, but I also
support what do you think?
So we kind of talked about NewMexico's landscape, so maybe
I'll ask what's the mostrewarding part of being in the
agriculture industry?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
You know, I'll just tell you that from my
perspective it's working withthe people and I spend a lot of
time with the 4-H and FFAprograms in what I call the next
generation of leaders, and Itell them they're not only the
next generation of leaders,they're leading today and when
(18:57):
you see the bright eyes in thesekids and their thought
processes, they're pure andthey're very dynamic and they're
open-minded about their futureand that impacts all of us.
Seeing the enjoyment on people'sface when I go to Washington DC
and we're roasting chili, theenjoyment on people's face when
I go to Washington DC and we'reroasting chili and you find a
displaced New Mexican who smellsthe aroma and they come running
(19:18):
to you tears in their eyes,missing that bit of home.
New Mexico is a very uniquecultural and agricultural spot
in the world and we have acuisine unmatched by anybody and
when people leave they miss itand they don't realize how much
they miss it until we show upwith our chili roast and you
(19:42):
know it's just.
Food makes people happy and oneof the things that we on the
other side of that is we workreally hard to make sure that
those who don't have enough havethe opportunity to get some,
and working with the food banksand the food depots and others
around the state in all theirprograms.
It's really important that wehave that opportunity so that
(20:03):
everybody has the chance to gettheir belly full.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Oh man, yeah, food is an ultimate connector, and gosh
New Mexico has such a uniqueflavor profile and I talk about
it all the time that I think NewMexico is a foodies paradise.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
It is the best.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Yeah, and we have so many restaurants that are
locally owned and generationaland they stay.
Even though we have such asmall population, they stay.
Well, we say at our house thatif a restaurant survives in New
Mexico, it's because it's good,it's good.
Because there's not enoughpeople to keep it.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
if it was not, yeah, you know, and a lot of folks
don't realize that is, that NewMexico is a very small
population state.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Very.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
There are cities, many, many cities, that are
bigger than our entire state asa population, and we're very
fortunate, I think, to have thenumber of good restaurants and
the good businesses that we havein the state because of our
limited population, and that'sboth good and bad when you talk
about population.
But it's also what makes NewMexico special and unique is
(21:03):
that our wide open spaces andopportunities recreate in those
spaces as well.
But you talk about cuisine andNew Mexico's got it, louisiana
has it.
I once took a professor fromthe University of Minnesota to
supper at a very localrestaurant in Albuquerque and
(21:23):
then we were on a return visitup to Minneapolis and his first
words were I can't take you toany place that's good, local,
because we just have food.
We don't have anything like youguys have in New Mexico.
I thought that was a really bigcompliment to our folks in the
state.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Absolutely, absolutely, and I think it's.
I always say New Mexico isAmerica's best kept secret, but
then we brag on it so much it'snot much of a secret anymore.
So so, yeah, yeah, we'll.
We'll see what.
What changes in the futurebecause, uh, we know, we know
it's wonderful, other people aregoing to find out.
Um, what is?
What is something that you'reexcited about that you're
(22:03):
working on or your team'sworking on coming up?
Speaker 2 (22:05):
You know there's there's a lot of things that
that are coming up in the future.
One of the things I mentioned alittle bit earlier is the
opportunities for internationaltrade.
We grow a lot of pecans in thisstate and basically around the
world.
Pecans are known as thehealthiest nut that there is.
Maybe the walnut folks or thealmond folks, pistachio folks
(22:30):
will give us a littlecompetition every now and then.
You know it's like which isbetter northern Chile or
southern Chile?
I just like Chile.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Yeah, as long as it's New Mexico.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
As long as it's New Mexican, chile, we don't want
any of that stuff from.
You know the other side of thestate line, but when you talk
about the opportunity, how andcreate wealth in the state by
exporting products and addingvalue to the producers here is a
(23:00):
big deal, and so we're reallyworking hard on that.
That we have and we keep openthose supply chains and the
opportunities for our localproducers to reach the consumer
in New Mexico is is another, andit's not an overnight process.
It's one of those processesthat takes several years and and
(23:23):
getting both the supply sideright but the demand side right
and and the timing you know.
The other day I was at the foodmeeting in Albuquerque, the
first food conference, and thepublic education department said
we served 55 million meals lastyear in public ed through the
(23:44):
school systems, and my commentback to that was couldn't you
imagine the impact that if thosemeals just had one or two New
Mexico products on them?
Those are opportunities thathave been there that we haven't
just had the opportunity tocapture.
And now we've got, you know, ameat facility in Roswell that
(24:07):
has changed their entireproduction line, a value-added
rate and get healthy food to thekids that need it every day.
So those are just some of thethings that we're pursuing.
(24:33):
Soil and dealing with theenvironmental stuff is really
critical In a dry state in thelegislature past that Land of
Enchantment Legacy Fund andreally making sure that we
deploy those resourcesappropriately to help mitigate
some of the dust storms and takeout noxious weeds.
We're going to have a huge weedproblem in the fire country
(24:54):
where we've had hot fires, andso having my staff get geared up
to address those as they startcropping up is going to be a big
deal.
So a lot of things I'm happyabout and excited about.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Absolutely.
What a great thing to have.
You know too many Can't justsay one.
What a good thing.
What's your favorite part ofthe beef industry, or maybe
something that you think peopledon't know about raising beef in
New Mexico?
Speaker 2 (25:24):
My favorite part of the beef industry is the end
product.
That's a great favorite.
I'm a big fan of hamburgers,ribeye steaks and prime rib.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Prime rib is probably the sleeper product out there
because in my opinion it's oneof the easiest things to cook
and smoke on a grill and get itready and you almost can't mess
it up.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Yeah, and I was shocked because it's the first
time I made it, which was, youknow, probably a decade ago.
But I was scared, you know,because it's an expensive,
really valuable product and it'sso simple.
There's like three steps saltpepper product, and it's so
simple, there's like three stepssalt pepper, slow roast for
three hours at like 125.
Exactly, and then reverse searat like 500 for 15 minutes and
you're done and enjoy, oh andlet it rest.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Let it rest.
Yeah, you got to put that.
Sorry, I interrupted.
No you got to put that 20minutes of rest on there because
people don't understand howimportant that part of the
process is.
Yeah, but it's and it's so goodand you know nothing brings
people together like a tablefull of good food.
And prime rib and ribeye steaksand hamburgers are like the,
and when you add green chili tothe hamburgers, it's you know,
(26:32):
it's heaven.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
It's over yep.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
You know.
But the thing about cattleranching and raising cattle that
you know we talk about a lotwithin our circles but a lot of
people don't understand it.
It's a multifaceted entity.
You're not only taking care ofthe cattle, but you're taking
care of the landscape, you'retaking care of the wildlife.
There's a lot of intrinsicthings going on out there that
people take for granted, thatjust ranchers just do, and then
(26:56):
it's part of the community.
When you drive across thisstate and I encourage people
when you're driving fromAlbuquerque to Roswell, you pass
through a lot of open range andyou see the livestock out there
.
What else could there be?
And it's those folks that arereally taking care and raising
the food products that we allenjoy and we should not take
(27:19):
that for granted we all enjoyand we should not take that for
granted, absolutely, absolutely,I think.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
One thing we just had a advertising campaign with
some billboards and one of thethings, one of the focus was
welcome to beef country, newMexico is beef country, new
Mexico is beef country.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
And the other part about that is is about 98% of
our folks, and I don't even knowthe 2%, where that falls, but
98% it's all family farmers andfamily ranchers.
These are people who are partof your community every day.
They go to the school boardmeetings, they go to the county
commission meetings, they go andsupport the schools and the
(27:57):
sports and the FFA and the 4-Hactivities.
That's what they do and that'stheir life and that's, you know,
the best part about being inNew Mexico, and not only in
rural New Mexico, but even insuburban New Mexico.
There's a lot of greatagricultural activities going on
and we just have to make surewe don't take that for granted.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Absolutely, absolutely, I think.
Ranchers and agriculturalistsin New Mexico and I'm sure it
could be repeated across thecountry and the world, but they
are pillars of their community.
Absolutely, they're the firstto volunteer, they're so busy
because they're coaching a teamand they're, you know, doing
just so many things andvolunteering and I just think
(28:38):
that that's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Paul Harvey hit it right on the nose with his you
know, and God created therancher.
And you know, just to show youhow old I was, I was at the FFA
convention when he gave thatspeech in Kansas City and you
know it hit home that day.
It was an amazing thing toattend and when we heard it
(29:01):
again on the Super Bowlcommercial it brought back a lot
of good memories.
But it really is a greatmessage.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Absolutely.
I get goosebumps thinking of itand if you haven't listened to
it, it is so Paul Harvey and youcan look up.
So God Made a Farmer, god Madea Rancher, and he's talking
about he needed someone to carefor the land and needed someone
that would be there, you know,in the middle of the night, and
it's oh gosh.
It's just the most wonderfulexample of exactly, it's the
best.
Yep, exactly, and you know, Ithink he refers to them as
(29:30):
farmers.
But a lot of times we sayagriculturalist or producer or
rancher, now too.
But at the heart of it, it'sthat person that cares for
agriculture and grows your food,grows our food, grows the food.
Yep, is there anything elseyou'd like to add about the beef
industry or NMDA or anythinglike that that we kind of
(29:51):
haven't asked?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah, that's a big question.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
That's a big question .
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
You know, I think we've hit on it a little bit.
New Mexico is a big beef state.
When you think about we're astate of almost 78 million acres
.
44 million of that is inagricultural production and
probably only about 600,000 ofthat is in basically livestock
production.
These communities around thestate could not exist without
(30:29):
the rancher and the farmer.
The farming and ranchingeconomy is a pillar of almost
every community and every countyin this state.
There's, you know, outside ofLos Alamos, Bernalillo, maybe,
Dona Ana.
Everything else relies on someform of agriculture to support
that community.
I remember back in the day whenthis was 30 years ago or maybe
(30:52):
35 years ago, when a lot of thedairy started moving into the
state and into the Roswell area.
Roswell had just lost their AirForce base.
They really concentrated onwhat next, and dairy was a big
part of that and it reallyrevitalized that Chavis County
area and it was agriculture.
(31:17):
Agriculture is a stabilizingbase in every community and it's
really something that we'reproud of and that we work at the
Department of Agriculture everyday to ensure that the future
has that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
So, well said, I feel like I know the answer to this
and you've maybe said it, butwhy do you do what you do?
Why do you keep puttingyourself out there for producers
and promoting agriculture inNew Mexico?
What makes you keep going?
Speaker 2 (31:41):
You know, when I go to a FFA convention or a 4-H
convention, when I do theAgriFuture conference and I
listen to those young people andI would tell you that people in
my positions don't typicallylisten a lot.
I listen to those young peopleand I hear their dreams
(32:01):
typically listen a lot.
I listen to those young peopleand I hear their dreams and I
hear their, what they view thefuture is and I still want to be
a part of that.
I want to help shape that forthose, that next generation,
those kids, those new leadersthat are coming into existence
all across the state of NewMexico.
But I also want to have thatopportunity for those ranchers
(32:23):
who are at the end of theirworking life and want to have
that opportunity to transition.
We have to be there for them aswell and we have to make sure
that they have that opportunityto pass it on to the next
generation.
You know, we have to make surethat people have the tools they
need in their toolbox to reallylook at the future.
(32:47):
A lot of I help with the farmcredit system, ag America.
We did a video on mental healthand people don't realize the
stress that's in the agriculturecommunity.
These folks have the weight offeeding the world on their
shoulders.
In a state like New Mexico,they also have the weight of
(33:08):
past generations on theirshoulders and no one wants to
mess that up, and that puts alot of pressure on our
agricultural folks.
So what keeps me going everyday is to make sure they have
that opportunity to not have somuch stress and have the right
tools to operate in the future.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
And that's such a noble cause.
And, yeah, I think, the weightof the world, and then so many
outside factors that they can'tcontrol, with weather and
climate, and just so many thingsthat absolutely I think the
mental health of our producersis paramount and it's not always
talked about.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
It's not and when we think about it, our agricultural
folks typically get onepaycheck a year.
People in town or with otherjobs will get maybe 24, 26
paychecks a year, get maybe 24,26 paychecks a year and when
you're working an entire yearfor one payday and it can all be
lost with a hailstorm, with alivestock disease issue or any
(34:12):
other catastrophic event,wildfires.
That's a big burden that ourproducers face and we've got to
be there to help support themand make sure we do what we can
so that those things don'thappen.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And one of my favorite thingsis kind of telling the story of
the producer, and that's whatthe goal of the podcast is is
tell the story so that we cansend love and support to the
people that grow our food.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Absolutely, and these are important and it's
important to create thoseopportunities, and I want to
thank the Beef Council.
Marketing beef on a generalbasis is something that the
producers around the UnitedStates have never done a lot
until the Chekhov program cameinto existence, and this has
(35:00):
given them an opportunity toreally showcase not only the
great taste and flavor andeverything that comes with beef,
but also the health benefits aswell, and so it takes all of us
and all of these programs tokeep it in front of the consumer
and keep all these folks doingwhat they do best.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Absolutely.
I'm honored to you know, followthe cause and work for the New
Mexico Beef Council and it doestake all of us Okay.
So one final question we kindof already talked about but most
important question yourfavorite way to eat beef, if you
could?
Pick one what's your favoriteway to eat beef With my hands?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
eat beef If you can pick one.
What's your favorite way to eatbeef With my hands?
You know my favorite.
I've got like three favorites.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
My go-to.
If I was on you know, they cameto me and said this is your
last meal.
What's it going to be?
It would be a green chilicheeseburger.
I just love the fluffy biggreen chili cheeseburgers.
And cooked you know?
Medium, maybe medium-light,there's nothing better.
But if I, you know, then I goto the ribeye a good about 142
(36:14):
degrees cooked.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Very specific.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Very perfect in their temperature.
And then that prime rib issomething you enjoy with the
family and getting your friendstogether and that kind of thing
you know, around our table it'sbeef, beef all the time.
And we just growing up on aranch.
This was what we did.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Right, can't help it.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
So you enjoy that good prime beef.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Perfect.
Well, thank you for enjoyingBeef at your Table and we thank
you for the work you do for theagriculture industry and
representing producers.
And then thank you for sayingyes to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
My honor.
You know this is great.
Thank you for doing it.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Awesome.
Well, thank you and we'll seeyou next time.
Behind the Burger is a podcastproduced by the New Mexico Beef
Council with the goal of tellingthe stories of the cattlemen
and cattlewomen of the NewMexico beef industry.
Thank you for joining us fortoday's episode.
If you'd like more information,please visit nmbeefcom.
Whether it be a burger, a steakor another beef dish, we hope
(37:18):
you're enjoying beef at yournext meal.
Host
Carollann Romo
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