Eddy Co. flooding worries continue as crops rot

Farms in southern New Mexico are still under water after recent massive flooding and that has farmers worried their popular crops could be wiped out. After weeks of rain, some farms in Eddy County saw nearly 26 inches of rain. Woods Houghton, with Eddy County, said the pinto bean crops in their area have been wiped out. Houghton said the county’s largest crop, which is cotton, is looking like its headed that way too. Now farmers are having to wait for the water to recede before they know for sure which crops can be saved and which are going to be a total loss. Hougton said Eddy County is the seventh largest agricultural county in New Mexico. Their fields produce cotton, pumpkins, pinto beans and even chile. With a good portion of farms there are still under water the majority of crops in the county could be jeopardy. “Our chile crop doesn’t look too good either,” Hougton said. Houghton said their chile is sold across the state. He said while a lot of the state has already picked, roasted and sold bags of its green chile, the Pecos Valley was just getting started...more