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| Fire and Ice... |
June 19, 2002 |
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Dear Friends,
A black and white photograph on the wall at Bueno Foods shows four of the Baca brothers home from the war in their service uniforms, hats tipped to the side in that jaunty way a first sergeant would have corrected. Next to it are other photos showing the first grocery store the Baca brothers started where they sold tamales using their grandmother’s recipe.
They’re hiring for the green chile season at Bueno Foods this week. And they are continuing to grow jobs for New Mexicans. More than half of what Bueno Foods produces is sent outside of New Mexico as more Americans discover how wonderful southwestern food is.
New Mexico is a strong agricultural state. Most folks don’t know that we are the 8th largest dairy producer in the nation now, and probably the fastest growing and most efficient, too. Our chile, pecans, cotton, peanuts, lamb, wool, alfalfa, and other products--from nursery products to beef--are a big part of our economy. It’s good to see more food processors thriving so that we create jobs and add value to the food we produce.
Heather visits Creamland Dairy and says, "Life`s short; eat ice cream for lunch!"
I went to Creamland last Friday where over 200 people go to work every day. Seven tanker trucks arrive at their north valley milk plant every weekday where they process it into the milk and cheese for our grocery stores.
And the ice cream plant down on Coal makes their own ice cream as well as those 31 flavors for Baskin Robbins in buckets to die for. About 10% of the ice cream shipped from Creamland is exported to Mexico. Of course, if you visit the factory, you have to try some of the product. Life’s short; have ice cream for lunch!
I like seeing what businesses are doing in Albuquerque and where we are growing jobs. Bueno and Creamland are two New Mexico companies that are providing good products at a fair price and growing good businesses. It was good to see.
Wish you were here,
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