Experts suspect that green and red chile acreage in New Mexico may have shrunk again this year in the Hatch and Mesilla Valley regions. Farmers in Dona Ana County are thinking twice about committing to growing because they are having a rocky time competing with prices from foreign producers, who face fewer regulations and have a large supply of cheap labor.
Additionally, a scarcity of Rio Grande irrigation water this year and last year in the county boosted farmers' expenses, as they have to pay fuel costs to pump water from underground.
The federal government's totals for New Mexico chile acreage won't be ready until next spring, but farmers and experts say fewer farmers may be growing this year.
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Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.