Rep. Leger Fernandez discusses Farm Bill with Clovis farmers

CLOVIS, N.M. — Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez met with farmers and ranchers in Clovis Thursday about some of the challenges they face.

“One thing without a doubt, the past two years has been drought, we’ve dealt with a lot of drought, a lot of dryness, you know, we don’t seem to get the rains as we used to,” said Mike Cone, a farmer and rancher.

The Farm Bill is coming up for renewal.

Eastern New Mexico has the biggest production of agriculture in our state. Leger Fernandez says the Farm Bill should have been passed a year ago but those efforts have slowed down.

That concerns farmers if they continue to have issues with drought.

“The security of the Farm Bill means a lot to us. Our business is very labor-intensive and capital-intensive. We spend lots of money and we have to have some way to make those payments if we don’t make a crop,” said Rick Ledbetter, the owner of a farm ranch operation.

If not passed, the bill will also affect people who use SNAP benefits.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that we keep the nutrition programs, because so many New Mexicans rely on those nutrition programs,” Fernandez said.

She hopes talking to farmers and getting to the root of the problem will help get the bill over the finish line.