ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s congressional delegation says some farmers and ranchers have been shortchanged on federal disaster aid.
They also say Hispanic farmers who rely on traditional acequias to irrigate their crops have been told they’re ineligible for assistance.
The delegation is asking the U.S. Agriculture Department to monitor management of the disaster aid program in New Mexico given the concerns. They say the Farm Service Agency in New Mexico has been telling farmers and ranchers that drought is not an eligible cause of loss on irrigated lands despite most of the state experiencing either severe or extreme drought.