Chile Harvest Begins

The chile harvest has begun as grocery stores in Las Cruces are starting to roll out roasters in preparation for green chile sales.  This year's crop is being sold at roadside stands in the Hatch area.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture report says that last week the New Mexico chile harvest was 11 percent complete.

Retailers and canneries this year are subject to a new law that prevents falsely advertising that chile is New Mexico-grown, if it's from elsewhere.

Katie Goetz, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, says inspectors have already found some violators and will be on the lookout as the season continues.

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Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.