Wow the past 18 months have sure flown by. What an amazing group of people to experience New Mexico Agriculture with. Our last seminar together took us to Northwest New Mexico. It has been a while since I was up in that area, and I am always taken aback by the beautiful scenery while up in the four corners area. Our adventure started out visiting the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI), it was great to finally visit here. Classmates Dineh and JD both work here, and we have had many great conversions about this operation during our time together. To be able to see the vastness of that operation was great to see in person. The hospitality we were shown was just great.
We traveled from there to the San Juan Soil and Water Conservation District office to meet with Gary Hathorn. Talk about someone who cares about the community, retired to come back to a full time position, trying to stay on top of all the happens in San Juan County. The day ended at the Growing Forward Farm that is part of San Juan County Extension. What a nice operation to show others on a small scale all of the undertakings of agriculture from watering systems to the different stages of compost. Our seminar wrapped up at PESCO (Petroleum Equipment Service Company), where we received an outstanding tour of the operation. It added to the reality of the size of operation and all the detail needed to complete their jobs. The day wrapped up visiting with Dr. Kevin Lombard at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center. We were given a tour of the center and the research projects that were going on. It was nice to see the interaction not only with NAPI, but the other states and crops that are being tried all over the country.
Are next stop? Graduation!! I am grateful to have spent the time together with this group of individuals. We come from different backgrounds, hold different roles in the agricultural industry, but share a common passion for agriculture. Advise to the incoming class, take full advantage of the opportunities in front of you that are presented through this program.
