Inventors and investors recently came to southern New Mexico to try to do what many farmers believe can't be done: Mechanically harvest the green chile crop.
Green chile harvesting and de-stemming is now done entirely by hand.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the people behind a chile harvesting machine have wrapped up their first trial of the device.
Chile industry experts say the state's future hinges upon a move to mechanization, as uncertainties in the labor supply, pressure from competing countries and states and an ongoing river water shortage all add to the riskiness of growing the crop, dissuading growers from farming it.
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Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News.
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