Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small and U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., paid a visit on Jan. 4 to New Mexico State University agriculture and food research facilities for presentations on how federal research grants are being put to use. Vasquez said the work going on at the Las Cruces campus represents “the next generation of farming and ranching and food safety production. … All 33 counties in New Mexico have an NMSU extension office to help food producers develop the latest technologies, apply for federal grants, help the conservation of their waters and grassland, but the research starts here.” Vasquez sits on the House Committee on Agriculture, as did Torres Small when she served in Congress. She was confirmed to her post at the USDA last July.
