HOUSE MEMORIAL 5

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2008

INTRODUCED BY

Antonio Lujan

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING JANUARY 31, 2008 AS "FARM WORKERS' DAY" AT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

     WHEREAS, agriculture's contribution to New Mexico's heritage and economic health is well known; and

     WHEREAS, in 2005 the farm and ranch community had product sales totaling two billion six hundred million dollars ($2,600,000,000); and

     WHEREAS, major farm production in New Mexico includes cattle, sheep and wool, dairies and dairy products, alfalfa and other hays, wheat, sorghum, cotton, chile, pecans, lettuce, corn and onions; and

     WHEREAS, the production of many of these products would not be possible without the approximately twelve thousand farm and ranch workers in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, farm and ranch workers in New Mexico have been tending crops and livestock for more than ninety years, when large-scale agriculture began in this state; and

     WHEREAS, during this time, farm and ranch workers have been the backbone of much of the farming and ranching industry; and

     WHEREAS, farm and ranch workers labor in one of the most dangerous occupations in the nation, and each year one hundred twenty thousand agricultural workers throughout the country suffer disabling injuries from work-related accidents; and

     WHEREAS, many farm and ranch workers receive little recognition for their work; and

     WHEREAS, all New Mexicans benefit from the labor of farm and ranch workers;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that January 31, 2008 be declared "Farm Workers' Day" at the house of representatives to honor the hardworking people whose role in New Mexico's economy is of great importance to all residents of the state.

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