New Mexico Livestock

NM's Cash Cows

Overview

Dairy and dairy products bring the highest food-related cash receipts into New Mexico (40% of all receipts). After dairy, the New Mexico beef industry brings in the highest cash receipts. Beef and dairy depend on New Mexico’s third largest agrarian pursuit — all types of hay, especially alfalfa, corn silage, sorghum, green chop and grain corn.

Cattle and dairy raisers participate in three starkly different value chains: local, domestic and export. Creamland Dairies (owned by Dean Foods) produces yogurt, cheese, ice cream, fluid milk, condensed milk, sour cream, whipping cream and other products, selling locally (about $50 million, mostly in New Mexico) and outside the state. Otherwise, the local New Mexico dairy industry barely exists, with only one grass-fed or organic dairy and fewer than ten small organic product manufacturers.

Over the next ten years, the dreams of each track of the livestock industry cannot harmonize to “one size fits all.” Europe has recognized this reality for some time and has a two-path value chain — one for the domestic market and one for export. The value chains differ, for instance, in how inspectors track beef cattle from production through slaughter, packing and distribution. They have different rules (performance standards) because international trade has a greater risk of spreading diseases like Mad cow or foot-and-mouth. Export demands require different shipping conditions. When tri-track rules for local, domestic and export are well designed, they can spur    within-chain innovation, investment and efficiencies that cannot be achieved with a single set of health, ID tracking, slaughtering and processing rules.

The barrier to local scale up has allegedly been cost, though some Midwest studies indicate that given equal access to government payments, small dairies can compete with CAFOs. The commodity milk industry benefits from federal Milk Marketing orders (a price support program), direct payments to producers, and the Dairy Export incentive program (essentially a subsidy for nonfat dry milk, butterfat and certain cheeses).

The most accessible market niche is “New Mexico 100% grass-finished beef.” The cattle are “matured on grass” which means the minimum number of grazing days must be at least 120 days with each agro-ecoregion’s “personality” making the grazing season’s dates variable. (Over-wintering can be a difficulty for grass-fed cow-calf operations.) Though not strictly organic and with occasional problems of tenderness and taste, grass-finished beef is drug-free, grown from local cattle and has higher nutrient values.

Map: Ranches, Dairy and Livestock


Download Ranches, Dairy and Livestock Map

Feedlots By City & County

Albuquerque (6)BernalilloArid Lowlands
Aztec (2)San JuanColorado Plateau
Bard (1)San JuanColorado Plateau
Bloomfield (1)San JuanColorado Plateau
Cannon Afb (3)CurryHigh Plains
Capitan (1)LincolnCental Plains
Carlsbad (1)EddyArid Lowlands
Causey (1)RooseveltHigh Plains
Clayton (4)UnionHigh Plains
Clovis (5)CurryHigh Plains
Deming (1)LunaArid Lowlands
Dexter (3)ChavezArid Lowlands
El Rito (2)Rio ArribaSouthern Rockies
Elida (4)RooseveltHigh Plains
Encino (2)TorranceCental Plains
Faywood (1)GrantTransitional Mountains and Plateaus
Folsom (1)UnionHigh Plains
Fort Sumner (3)De BacaCental Plains
Gallina (1)Rio ArribaSouthern Rockies
Glenwood (1)CatronTransitional Mountains and Plateaus
Grenville (1)UnionHigh Plains
Hagerman (1)ChavezArid Lowlands
Hanover (1)GrantTransitional Mountains and Plateaus
Hillsboro (1)SierraArid Lowlands
Hobbs (2)LeaHigh Plains
Jarales (1)ValenciaArid Lowlands
La Luz (1)OteroArid Lowlands
La Plata (1)San JuanColorado Plateau
Lamy (1)Santa FeSouthern Rockies
Lordsburg (1)HidalgoArid Lowlands
Lovington (1)LeaHigh Plains
Magdalena (1)SocorroArid Lowlands
Maxwell (1)ColfaxSouthern Rockies
Mayhill (1)OteroArid Lowlands
Mc Alister (1)QuayHigh Plains
Milnesand (1)RooseveltHigh Plains
Nara Visa (1)QuayHigh Plains
Picacho (1)LincolnCental Plains
Portales (4)RooseveltHigh Plains
Raton (1)ColfaxSouthern Rockies
Regina (1)SandovalSouthern Rockies
Roswell (2)ChavezArid Lowlands
Silver City (1)GrantTransitional Mountains and Plateaus
Springer (2)ColfaxSouthern Rockies
Tatum (1)LeaHigh Plains
Texico (4)CurryHigh Plains
Tierra Amarilla (1)Rio ArribaSouthern Rockies
Vaughn (1)GuadalupeCental Plains
Velarde (1)Rio ArribaSouthern Rockies
WatrousMora CountyCentral Plains
WillardTorrance CountyCentral Plains
WinstonSierra CountyArid Lowlands
Wagon MoundMora CountyCentral Plains
YoungsvilleRio ArribaSouthern Rockies

Meat Firms

Company NameAddressCounty
Blanca Casa39 Eliza Rd, Santa Fe 87508Santa Fe
Boca Foods Co817 N Grimes St, Hobbs 88240Lea
Cal-Maine Foods IncPO Box 2166, Albuquerque 87103Bernalillo
Chorizo Comercio De Chalita3296 Coors Blvd Nw Ste B, Albuquerque 87120Bernalillo
Chubby Chicken910 NE Aztec Blvd, Aztec 87410San Juan
Cordova’s Processing Plant128 Tafoya Rd, Belen 87002Valencia
Dairyland Packing Inc3845 Cedarvale Rd, Roswell 88203Chaves
Frontier Custom Processing42707 US 70, Portales 88130Roosevelt
Garrett’s Brown Bag Jerky6961 Taylor Ranch Rd NW D, Albuquerque 87120Bernalillo
J & D Foods Inc120 Trumbull Ave SE, Albuquerque 87102Bernalillo
Joseph Quintana39 Aliza Rd, Santa Fe 87505Santa Fe
Kenneth NoskerHC 66 Box 32, San Patricio 99348Lincoln
M G M Game & Custom Processing4728 4th St NW, Albuquerque 87107Bernalillo
Mathews Custom Meat Processing19484 Highway 314, Belen 87002Valencia
Meat Plant Holding LLC3845 Cedarvale Rd, Roswell 88203Chaves
Mild To Wild Jerky8135 Oakdale Pl NW, Albuquerque 87120Bernalillo
New Mexico By Products4124 Broadway Blvd SE A, Albuquerque 87105Bernalillo
Ol Meat Shop1089 NM Hwy 516, Aztec 87410San Juan
Old Santa Fe Trail Enterprises7500 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque 87108Bernalillo
Red Rock Beef Jerky602 W Highway 66, Gallup 87301McKinley
Ridgerun Enterprises LLCHc 66 Box 40, Wagon Mound 87752Mora
Shelleys Smoke Shop210 N White Sands Blvd, Alamogordo 88310Otero
Shop-N-Go2212 W Lea St, Carlsbad 88220Eddy
Sunset Foods Inc3072 State Highway 47, Los Lunas 87031Valencia
Tom’s Turkey Legs1015 Glade Ln Trlr 1, Farmington 87401San Juan
Town & Country Custom Meat6368 S Hgwy 55, Mountainair 87036Torrance
Tyson Foods Inc5901 McNutt Rd, Santa Teresa 88008Dona Ana
Tyson Foods IncPO Box 12910, El Paso 79913El Paso
Valley Proteins IncPO Box 358, Bernalillo 87004Sandoval
Zenitram Industries IncPO Box 52, El Rito 87530Rio Arriba

Processing Establishments

PHONENO.PLANT NAME  LOCATIONREP.
873-1901102RIO GRANDE BEEF JERKY2720 Isleta Blvd SW, Albuquerque 87105ANTHONY LUERAS
884-2160104BLAKE’S COMMISSARY3205 Richmond NE, Albuquerque 87106RON CHANSLOR
632-3537105L & G BURRITO20 CR 5478, NMB 3055, Farmington 87401GILBERT GOMEZ
863-5155106RED ROCK JERKY602 W. 66TH Hwy, Gallup 87301CURTIS COX
454-0037110EL RIAL TO CATERING141 Bridge St, Las Vegas 87701RALPH GARCIA
323-1183112EAGLE ROCK FOOD CO.8228 Menaul NE, Albuquerque 87107MIKE PEREA
524-2751113MAC’S MEATS, INC.1761 W. Hadley, Las Cruces 88005AL GUERRERO
866-0177117SUNSET FOODS3072 Hwy 47, Los Lunas 87301FRANK ARELLANO
842-5579121SABROSO FOODS, INC.1019 Sunset SW, Albuquerque 87105ROSEMARY SANCHEZ
836-0611122AL’S QUALITY MEATS5601 Bluewater NW, Albuquerque 87105AL BACA
262-0240123JERKY BY ART1701 San Pedro NE, Albuquerque 87110ART SANDOVAL
863- 3690125ERLINDA’S TAMALE SHOP624 N. 3rd, Gallup 87301ALICE SALAZ
873-0623127VILLALOBOS MEXICAN FOOD DIST429 Isleta SW, Albuquerque 87105RAMON VILLALOBOS
869-2400129SOUTHWEST GRILL INC.275 Bosque Farms Bl., Bosque Farms 87068ROBERT LOVATO
887-3646130LAKESIDE MEATS206 S. Main, Carlsbad 88220BOB DUGAS
863- 3380133PRONTO FINA MEATS2424 E. Hwy 66, Gallup 87301JAMES SEAY
438-9655134CASA BLANCA CARNE SECA39 Eliza Rd, Santa Fe 87505JOSEPH QUINTANA
836-0112138NM BEEF JERKY10403 Central NW, Albuquerque 87105FRANK CHAVEZ
243-5584139MUJERES EN ACCION1701 Broadway SE, Albuquerque 87102ALICIA GRANADOS
455-3100140PABLO’S JERKYRT 11, Box 21O-V, Santa Fe 87501PABLO GONZALES
376-2214142CIMARRON REAL MOUNTAIN JERKY136 Euclid St, Cimarron 87714DUANE SHELL
255-5370143TULLY’S MEAT MARKET1425 San Mateo NE, Albuquerque 87110JOHN CAMUGLIA