Some local farmers want to help immigrants start their own farming or ranching businesses to meet the demand for local produce.

Members of the National Immigrant Farming Initiative and Santa Cruz Farm in Española will hold a meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday at Santa Cruz Farm in an effort to determine what services or resources the potential new farmers need.

"Though New Mexico youth continue to carry on the tradition of farming, we still have a gap between production and demand in New Mexico that immigrant farmers may be able to help us fill," said Serafina Youngdahl Lombardi, New Mexico coordinator for the National Immigrant Farming Initiative.

After World War II, many of the soldiers who came back to New Mexico did not return to farming, creating a huge job shift away from agriculture, Youngdahl Lombardi said.

Yet, the demand exists. Santa Cruz Farm, for example, provides some fruits and vegetables to Santa Fe Public Schools.

"There's a market for these products, and there aren't enough (farmers) right now," Youngdahl Lombardi said.

The goal of Saturday's meeting is to help people access resources and information, specifically members of the immigrant community, because it "is historically underserved and uninformed about opportunities that might be available to them, especially if they affiliate with an organization and can use it as a vehicle to collectively apply for funds," Youngdahl Lombardi said.

Organizers expect about
30 people to attend Saturday's meeting. A few weeks ago, the National Immigrant Farming Initiative held similar meetings in Anthony and Albuquerque, drawing more than 50 people.

The vast majority of those who have attended the meetings have grown up farming or ranching in Mexico, and several of them are agronomists by profession, Youngdahl Lombardi said.

Tim Vos, executive director of the Santa Fe Farmers Market, said many people involved with the market are in their 50s and that younger people aren't always interested in continuing with the tradition.

But people are becoming more aware of what they eat and of the importance of supporting locally grown products, Vos said. About a dozen Santa Fe Farmers Market members are direct suppliers to area businesses and restaurants.

Contact Sandra Baltazar Martínez at 986-3062 or smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.