Are Pecan Growers A Threat To New Mexico Farmers?

The stretch of the Rio Grande that flows between Las Cruces and the Texas New Mexico border irrigates a lot of huge pecan orchards. Some wonder if it's worth it.

Pecans are BIG business and the orchards in Dona Ana county, many along highway 28 between Old Mesilla and El Paso, cover thousands and thousands of acres.

They're also drinking up tens of thousands of gallons of water in a dry area made even dryer by drought and less water being released from the Elephant Butte reservoir.

Pecans are tasty, people love them and they're bringing in some major cash but pecan trees are also super thirsty and the amount of water these orchards use is staggering.

READ MORE: Elephant Butte Water Levels Are Frighteningly Low

A single mature tree — which can produce 50 or more pounds of nuts in a season — requires around 30,000 gallons of water per year. In southern New Mexico, over 50,000 acres are currently in production. New Mexico pecan farmers have become the state’s largest single agricultural water user, slurping up an estimated 93 billion gallons per year — enough to supply a city of around 3 million —according to a 2023 report by Food and Water Watch. - hcn.org

That's a f***-ton of water and some locals say the whole scenario is unfair.

What's The Problem?

Many feel that big agriculture is calling the shots ... last year, pecans brought in $167 million dollars, becoming the biggest food crop in NM ... reaping all the rewards and buying up all the land. All  while smaller farms get less water and/or squeezed out completely.

Much of the pecan crop is exported, machines do the harvesting and few workers are needed. Which means the orchards are sucking up all the water and farm owners are making all the money with very little of it benefiting the local economy. All for what Las Cruces attorney and activist Israel Chávez calls a "non-native, luxury crop".

Local pecan farmers are experimenting with ways to use water more effectively and are taking a stab at growing other crops, like pistachios, that can be just as profitable but require less water.

That's great but folks are still wondering if losing all that water and land so that a few big ag types can get richer is really the right thing to do.