Dream: Every New Mexico citizen and elected official knows, and every school teaches which agro-ecoregion they live within. They know its weather, soils, sources of water, five agro-ecoregional crops and the best dates for planting and harvesting. They learn the specific constraints on crops, and a few cultivars custom-designed for an eco-regional and ecofriendly agriculture.
Dream: A public that is more in tune with seasonal harvests, celebrates them, preferentially buys from their agro-ecoregion, and relies less on imports.
Dream: Farm legislation and policy are custom designed, not to the abstract political State, but to each agro-ecoregion, making sure they are all treated equitably.
Six milestones would describe success:
- Teaching agro-ecoregions in schools and colleges;
- Branding New Mexico crops/meats with agro-ecoregion labels;
- Creating agro-ecoregional research/extension services to help farmers adapt to climate change;
- Finding new agro-ecoregional crops;
- Legislation based on agro-ecoregions;
- Development of food centers for each agro-ecoregion.