Food summit focuses on highlighting local food

Planting produce began as a hobby six years ago for Baldemar Ortegon. To his surprise, he said, it turned out to be a talent.

Now, growing 15 different types of spicy peppers, Ortegon said his ultimate goal as a producer is to make the best salsa.

But he’s always been hesitant to put his precious produce into Clovis’ soil.

“I’m not from New Mexico. I’m from an area where water and soil are abundant. So here I was told that things don’t grow due to the red sand and compact soil. … I have everything in pots. I was too afraid to put anything into the ground,” Ortegon said.

That all changed when the Clovis man attended the Eastern New Mexico Local Food Summit at Clovis Community College on Wednesday.

After learning about soil health and how to introduce healthy microorganisms into compacted soil from Tucumcari producer Andrew Swapp, Ortegon said it gave him hope to start planting his seeds in the ground.

“And now that I’ve seen things planted into the ground and listened to all these farmers, I can finally go like ‘Oh, it’s possible. It’s definitely doable,’” Ortegon said.

Ogallala Commons Regional Coordinator Berlin Arellano said the focus of the food summit was “to highlight local food.”

“Offering support to local producers, showing different programs that are available in those areas for them and it really helps in getting more people involved in local food. Whether it’s appreciating it, knowing where to get it or wanting to get more involved,” Arellano said.

Arellano said anyone can benefit from the annual events regardless of experience level. She said this is a space where even the most experienced producers come to learn new techniques or connections.

In the all-day event the attendees were invited to do field tours at MTA Farms in Clovis and the Veggie Shack in Portales. Ortegon said it was “a blast” seeing all the different green houses and fields local farmers had put together.

The event was then followed by a series of guest speakers whose topics ranged from nutrients to financial planning.

Arellano said locally grown food is vital to the community.

“Farming means growing medicine and I think it’s important that we nourish ourselves with the right medicine that we need,” Arellano said.