Economic Impact of Agriculture in the Southern Albuquerque, New Mexico Metropolitan Area

1Respectively, Former Graduate Research Assistant and Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business (MSC 3169, PO Box 30003, Las Cruces, NM 88003; 575-646-3215; [email protected]), New Mexico State University. SUMMARY The economic impact of agricultural production in the southern Albuquerque, NM, metropolitan area was estimated using the IMpact Analysis for PLANning (IMPLAN) model, with a geographic focus on Bernalillo and Valencia Counties. Hay and dairy production dominate agricultural economic activity in the two counties, while the formal economic contribution of high-value fruit and vegetable crop production is very low. Many of the small irrigated farms in the region are not engaged in commercial-scale or income-oriented agriculture and are not included in databases used for economic impact analysis. Relative to the larger regional economy, agricultural output and employment in the study region are small, although estimated multipliers indicate that increased agricultural production would positively contribute to overall economic activity.