The Drought-Smart Indigenous Ag workshop involved 45 participants made up of farmers, ranchers and staff from Santa Ana Pueblo and the surrounding areas.By Emily Case-Buskirk, NDMC Communications Specialist
The National Drought Mitigation Center facilitated the Drought-Smart Indigenous Ag Workshop at the Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico on May 9. NDMC planning coordinator Cody Knutson and social scientist Kelsey Varisco led the workshop.
The event involved 45 participants made up of farmers, ranchers and staff from Santa Ana Pueblo and the surrounding areas. They attended sessions to assess soil water retention, learn how to read soil test lab results, improve their soil health and engage with opportunities to fund soil health projects.
Speakers representing the Santa Ana Pueblo Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Services, Intertribal Agriculture Council and New Mexico Department of Agriculture also shared their expertise.
The meeting allowed farmers to ask questions and share specific concerns about their operations, Varisco said. Moving forward, facilitators plan to help farmers connect with New Mexico State University Extension to discuss individual soil test results and specific ways to improve their soil health.
“Based on the soil test discussion, it seems like people want some very individualized support to understand their results and to know what to do next,” she said.
Top: U.S. Drought Monitor stats and map for New Mexico on May 16, 2024. Below: Time series showing the percent area in U.S. Drought Monitor categories for New Mexico from Sept. 1, 2017 to May 16, 2024.
New Mexico, which is currently 97.51% in abnormal dryness or drought, has seen some form of abnormal dryness or drought consistently in the state since Sept. 26, 2017. Drought receded from July 2022 through July 2023 and grew until December 2023. While drought coverage has been declining since then, the state is currently 74.17% in moderate drought or worse.
Varisco said the workshop also provided other valuable takeaways for participants.
“I think they learned what resources are available to them locally and general principles for soil health,” she said. “They learned the importance of improving their soil's water holding capacity. They learned about some low-cost practices and tools that they could use to monitor their soil health moving forward.”
Other strategies discussed in the workshop included creating conservation plans and applying for Healthy Soils funding opportunities provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and New Mexico Department of Agriculture.
The project, which will continue through March 2025, is part of a series of outreach programs planned as part of the Climate Smart Indigenous Agriculture Project. The collaborative effort includes the NDMC, Santa Ana Pueblo, USDA Southwest Climate Hub, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute and the Intertribal Agricultural Council.
The effort is funded by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.