New Mexico Farm & Ranch: Farm & Livestock Bureau History, Coverage and Staff
Profile updated November 2026
New Mexico Farm & Ranch is the official publication of the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau, the state's Farm Bureau, which uses the word livestock in its name to reflect how much of New Mexico agriculture runs on cattle and range. Published from the bureau's Las Cruces office, it brings members policy news, insurance and program updates, and stories about farm and ranch families.
| Publisher | New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau (NMF&LB) |
|---|---|
| Bureau founded | 1917, in the Mesilla Valley |
| Frequency | Seasonal issues (spring, summer, fall, winter); earlier a monthly newsletter |
| Members | About 19,000 statewide, as of the bureau's centennial |
| Address | 2220 N. Telshor Blvd., Las Cruces, New Mexico 88011 |
| Communications Manager | Cheryl Butterfield |
| Official website | NMF&LB on Issuu |
History of New Mexico Farm & Ranch
The New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau traces its start to 1917, when about 300 farmers and ranchers in the Mesilla Valley met to tackle soil conservation, irrigation and crop production. It grew out of the Dona Ana County Farm & Livestock Bureau and, like other Progressive Era farm groups, worked closely with extension agents on new research and built crop marketing opportunities. The American Farm Bureau Federation formed two years later, in 1919.
The bureau marked its centennial with an exhibit, 100 Years Strong, at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces from November 2017 to September 2018. It describes itself as the voice of agriculture in the state.
Its member publication has changed shape over the years. Issues posted online from 2014 through 2018 appear as monthly editions of New Mexico Farm & Ranch, while issues since 2023 appear as larger seasonal editions.
New Mexico Farm & Ranch Today
The Fall 2025 edition shows the current mix: columns from president Larry Reagan on the AFBF Ag Innovation Challenge and county annual meetings, a 2025 wrap-up from CEO Benjamin Segovia, AFBF news on the federal government shutdown, the proposed rescission of the 2024 BLM grazing rule and turkey supplies, delegate information for the November annual meeting, and member insurance news.
The same issue covered Chevron's added support for New Mexico Agriculture in the Classroom, Read an Ag Book Week results, the Women's Leadership Program and new staff profiles.
What New Mexico Farm & Ranch Is Publishing Now
Policy and public lands
Grazing rules, water, private property rights and federal land management, which matter to a state where many ranchers run cattle on public land.
Grassroots policy
County annual meetings, delegate allocations and the resolutions process that sets the bureau's positions each November.
Programs and members
Ag in the Classroom, Young Farmers & Ranchers, Women's Leadership, Farm Family of the Year and member insurance benefits.
New Mexico Farm & Ranch Editors and Staff
The Fall 2025 masthead lists officers and staff including:
- Cheryl Butterfield - Communications Manager
- Larry Reagan - President
- Benjamin Segovia - Chief Executive Officer
- Britney Lardner - Marketing and Events Manager
- Traci Curry - Director, NM Agriculture in the Classroom
- Katie Adams - Director of County and Leadership Development
Who Reads New Mexico Farm & Ranch
Readers are Farm & Livestock Bureau members, from Mesilla Valley pecan and chile growers to eastern plains dairies and ranchers across the high desert. A New Mexico Cattle Growers presentation to the Legislature, citing USDA NASS data, puts the state's agricultural value at about $3.34 billion, with livestock worth $2.33 billion of that. Milk and cattle lead the state's cash commodities, followed by pecans, hay, onions and chile.
The same presentation notes that 97 percent of New Mexico's farms and ranches are family owned, and that the state carried about 1.39 million cattle in 2021. Those families are the magazine's audience.
New Mexico Farm & Ranch readers argue about red versus green chile with more passion than any grazing rule, and they know a dust storm can rearrange a whole calendar. For a lighter read between columns, farm.FM offers farm satire and farm humor with a sun-baked Southwest grin, plus ranch humor for the public-lands crowd. Its farm jokes travel well from Clovis to the pecan orchards of Dona Ana County.
For context, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site and the home of Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Its contributors each keep an archive, and this one is a good sampler of ranch humor and farm jokes.
New Mexico Farm & Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- NM Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum: 100 years of NMF&LB - the bureau's 1917 founding.
- Issuu: Fall 2025 New Mexico Farm & Ranch - the latest issue online.
- New Mexico Legislature: Agriculture as economic generators - state farm value and commodities from NASS data.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - New Mexico crop and livestock statistics.
- USDA ERS: Animal product cash receipts - cattle and dairy economics.
New Mexico Farm & Ranch FAQ
Who publishes New Mexico Farm & Ranch?
The New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau, from its office in Las Cruces.
When was the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau founded?
In 1917, by farmers and ranchers in the Mesilla Valley.
How often does New Mexico Farm & Ranch come out?
Recent issues are seasonal editions; earlier issues were monthly.
Who handles communications for the magazine?
Cheryl Butterfield is the bureau's communications manager.
More than a century after the Mesilla Valley meeting, New Mexico Farm & Ranch still carries the bureau's news to farms and ranches across the state.