Oyster mushrooms grown by Exotic Edibles of Edgewood, NM. They will be speaking about mushroom cultivation at our December '09 Ag Collaborative meeting. Photo courtesy of their website.

When you think of the word farm, it's doubtful that the image of a damp dim place lacking in photosynthesis comes to mind but it should, as mushrooms are a very important specialty crop in today’s market. For example, the 2008-09 U.S. mushroom crop of 817 million pounds was valued at over $950 million dollars. That's no small potatoes (or fungi).

Although the majority of mushrooms produced each year come from very large growing operations, there is a great opportunity for farmers to get into small scale mushroom production. For current farmers who want to diversify or for growers with limited land access, mushrooms are a unique specialty crop that can expand your current market potential.   Mushroom cultivation is also a fun endeavor for hobby growers or as an educational experiment with kids.

The apples are falling off the trees and you still have a bag of tomatoes left from that summer garden. Or, perhaps you’re seeing big bargains on berries at the store and would have a hand in the jam you spread on your toast each morning. What to do? Can it!

Just think of all the pricy gourmet food items that you could make and share with friends: red pepper jam, tomato chipotle salsa, chutney, or apple pie filling. The Agriculture Collaborative of the Mid-Region Council of Governments enjoyed a visit from State Fair Canning Judge and Albuquerque Journal Food columnist Patricia Aaron. Sometimes called the Martha Stewart of New Mexico, Patricia’s advice is wise: “Cooking is an art and canning is a science. Follow the directions, don’t take shortcuts, and you’ll have a safe and delicious product to enjoy all winter long.”

While the focus was canning, Patricia emphasized that there are actually three methods traditionally used for food preservation: drying and smoking (the oldest form), freezing, and canning. However, in order to keep molds and bacteria at bay, it is important to follow current methods for safe preservation. Patricia emphasized that if your canning book is dated older than 1994, you’ll want to consult the guidelines produced by New Mexico State University.

 Will we be growing citrus fruit in central New Mexico?

Global warming, climate change, climate variability, whatever you call it, it all means one thing--the climate and the environment are being altered due to anthropogenic (human-caused) forces.   So what does this mean for New Mexico farmers?  Here in the southwest we should prepare ourselves for longer, warmer and dryer growing conditions.  This is what the MRCOG Agriculture Collaborative heard on an already blazing hot day this July.

This article was originally featured on Duke City Fix. 

As the weather warms, we start itchin' to get outside and spend time on big green farms.  So we gathered up our farmy friends and headed over to ARCA Organics and Heidi's Raspberry Farm in Corrales.

Post rain, the smell in the air was earthy and lovely.  Big cottonwoods dripped and birds chattered.