Agricultural labor shortages preventing timely crop harvesting and threatening farm viability

New Mexico chile farmers face critical labor shortages that prevent them from harvesting crops at peak ripeness, directly impacting yield quality and farm profitability. Current solutions (relying on seasonal workers, manual recruitment) are insufficient to meet demand, forcing farmers to leave crops unharvested or accept lower prices. This problem is compounded by simultaneous drought conditions, creating a dual crisis that threatens the economic survival of farming operations.