Pecan harvest off to slow start

LAS CRUCES — New Mexico's pecan harvest is starting, but growers who have heavier crops say more cold weather is needed to gather the nuts.

Thanksgiving is typically thought of as the start date for the Doña Ana County pecan harvest.

Cold temperatures help dry out leaves and pecan husks and pull the husks away from the nut, paving the way for harvest equipment to more easily shake the pecans from the trees.

Pecan grower Enrique Lucero of Radium Springs says some freezes have dried the leaves in his 25-acre orchard, but his harvest hasn't started yet.

He says some smaller plots have begun harvesting.

The U.S. Agriculture Department says New Mexico is expected to produce about 45 million pounds of pecans this year, which is called an "off year" due to a natural production pattern called an alternate bearing cycle.

Injured officer shoots suspect

LAS CRUCES — A Las Cruces police officer and a 22-year-old man have been injured after the man ran over the officer, who then shot and wounded him, Las Cruces police said.

Las Cruces police said in a news release that the officer, who was not identified, tried to stop the motorist for a traffic violation early Saturday.

Police say the driver refused to stop. He then led the officer on a chase through several city blocks.

The pursuit ended when the pickup driver ran over the officer, who suffered multiple injuries.

The officer then fired at the man, who also was not identified, wounding him at least twice, police said. The man was taken by helicopter to an El Paso hospital.

Las Cruces Police and a multi-agency task force are investigating.

Egg producer defaults on loan

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Native American Bank of Denver is calling a $1.2 million loan on a private Navajo egg producer.

Navajo Nation Controller Mark Grant and Budget and Finance Committee Chairman LoRenzo Bates say the stalled Diné Poultry Products Incorporated is 55 days delinquent on the loan, so the bank called the collateral.

The Budget and Finance Committee had approved $3 million from a Navajo Dam escrow account to be used as collateral for the project in Nageezi and Huerfano chapters.

Grant says the Navajo Dam escrow account will be reduced by $1.2 million as a result of the loan default.

The company proposed to produce eggs for distribution in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and parts of California.

Bates says the company never pursued the project the way it should have.