Time is running out for much of the agricultural land and land-based traditions of Northern New Mexico. A development-driven economy is pushing local landowners off traditional land holdings with some of the most productive agricultural acreage being swallowed by subdivisions and second homes.

In Taos County, only about 8 percent of its total land mass of almost 1.5 million acres is considered high quality farmland, and only 3 percent is irrigated, which makes it all the more valuable — and most at risk, because it's where people want to build.

Since 1988, the Taos Land Trust has been helping landowners resist the tide of development and rising land values by acquiring development rights to all or a portion of their land through the creation of a Deed of Conservation Easement.

The community most affected are those low-income farmers and ranchers trying to make a living off their land.

"Land-rich and cash-poor, they have little choice but to sell," says TLT Executive Director Ernie Atencio. "Putting their land into a conservation easement makes all the difference." They can stay on the land, maintain a profitable farm or ranching operation and still retain ownership.

The connection to traditional farming and ranching with an ancient local irrigation system is critical to food security and survival. De la Tierra a la Cosecha (From Earth to Harvest), a coalition of the Taos Land Trust, Taos Valley Acequia Association and Taos County Economic Development Corp., was formed to address all levels of sustainable local food production by providing assistance to improve agricultural feasibility. "This collaboration allows us to bring tools to landowners that we might otherwise not have access to," Atencio says.

Beefing up the bottom line

Rancher Judy Lujan of Taos Pueblo used to take her livestock as far away as Moriarty to be slaughtered and processed. "With all that travel, my bottom line was cut in half," she says. TCEDC came up with a solution to this common dilemma: "Bring the slaughterhouse to the ranchers."

Their latest project, the Mobile Matanza: a rolling livestock butchering unit bringing the butcher to the ranchers and meat to expanding local markets. Modeled after the San Juan Island Green Farmers Co-op in Washington state, New Mexico's mobile butchering unit is one of several operating in the U.S.

Although there is a fee, it's something the ranchers can afford. The unit travels to farms and ranches providing quality livestock slaughtering and processing — all supervised by a USDA inspector. The meat is stored in a refrigerated compartment of the unit and transported to its cut-and-wrap facility, where the meat will age until it's ready to cut. The meat is then portioned, wrapped and labeled "ready for market and consumption."

Erminio Martinez raises 45 head of cattle and some sheep at his ranch in Arroyo Seco. "Using the unit is convenient, economical — and I get a better price for my product." He adds that the service is very beneficial for Taos County, which is in dire need of economic development.

TCEDC also offers free courses tailored to the needs of low- to middle-income farmers and ranchers that focus on the business end of their operation. The USDA-funded NxLevel (a training network to support and strengthen small businesses and promote economic development) program "Tilling the Soil of Opportunity" covers topics such as developing a business plan, financial management, marketing and building an organization by setting goals and strategies.

"People have preconceived notions about business," says Amalio Madueno, who conducts the courses. "When they get exposed to a comprehensive entrepreneurship development curriculum like ours, it really opens their eyes."

Lujan — who wants to increase her herd and expand her operation to include poultry and pork — just completed the course in December, and highly recommends it.

Martinez's family history on the land goes back 300 to 400 years, and he is in the process of putting some of it into a conservation easement. He is spreading the gospel about easements and supporting sustainable farming and ranching operations.

"So few people at Taos Pueblo farm or ranch," said Lujan, who raises her cattle on a vast acreage of the Pueblo. "We're trying to get things back to the way they were, and my nephew has been going around talking to people." With so much agricultural land, the Pueblo is in the best position to support these operations.

Currently, land trusts across the country are getting involved in the local food movement. For so long they were concerned more about aesthetics, Atencio said, but now they see the connection between land and culture, local agriculture and food security.