By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – For Jimmy Wagner, farming is more than a livelihood. It’s a family tradition that stretches back five generations in New Mexico’s Rio Grande Valley. Wagner grew up working the fields alongside his father and now carries on that legacy through Big Jim Farms, a family-run farm in Albuquerque’s North Valley. What started in 2017 as a green chile U-Pick has expanded to include flower fields, a pumpkin patch, workshops and other seasonal activities. Through it all, Wagner hopes to connect visitors with the land while preserving New Mexico’s agricultural traditions for future generations.
1. Your family has farmed in the Rio Grande Valley for generations. What has kept you connected to farming, and what does carrying on that family tradition mean to you?
Farming is part of who I am. My family has been farming in this valley for five generations, and I grew up in the fields alongside my dad and my family. When I look at this land, I don’t just see fields. I see my family, our history and generations of hard work.
Farming has also taught me how therapeutic it can be to work with your hands, grow something, create something and be connected to the land. There is something grounding about planting a seed, caring for it and eventually being able to feed yourself and others from it.
Carrying on our family tradition also means protecting the agricultural land and water that make farming possible here. As our valley continues to grow and change, we are losing farmland and, with it, knowledge that once passed naturally from generation to generation.
I want people to value local agriculture and understand why protecting our land and water matters. I hope this farm is still here generations from now, growing food, bringing people together and keeping a piece of New Mexico’s agricultural history alive.
2. Big Jim Farms has grown from a green chile U-Pick into a variety of seasonal experiences. Why was it important to connect visitors with the farm and their food?
When we started Big Jim Farms, we quickly realized people were looking for more than somewhere to buy produce. They wanted to experience the farm, learn something and feel connected to where their food comes from.
Today, so many people don’t know how their food is grown or even how to grow something themselves. I think there is a sense of independence and confidence that comes from knowing how to grow food, harvest it, preserve it and create something with your own hands.
That’s a big reason our classes and experiences have become so important to us. Whether someone is learning how to make a traditional New Mexico chile ristra, make salsa, arrange flowers or harvest their own chile, we hope they leave knowing something they can teach someone else.
Traditions only survive when they’re shared. I don’t want skills like ristra making or knowledge about growing chile to disappear. If we can teach one person who then teaches their children, friends or grandchildren, we’re helping keep a small piece of New Mexico culture alive.
3. Fall is a busy time at Big Jim Farms, from green chile season to the pumpkin patch and Harvest Festival. What do you enjoy most about seeing families experience the farm, and what do you hope they take away from a visit?
What I love most is seeing the farm become a place where people connect – with the land, with their families and with each other. There is something therapeutic about being outside, walking through a field, picking flowers, harvesting your own food or simply slowing down for a while.
We’ve also watched a community grow around the farm. Families return year after year, children come back a little taller, and traditions start forming. That means a lot to me because this land holds so many of my own family’s memories, and now it holds memories for other families too.
I hope people leave with more than a pumpkin, flowers or a sack of chile. I hope they learned something. I hope they understand their food a little better and recognize the value of local farmers, farmland and water.
Most of all, I hope they leave feeling connected – to New Mexico, to agriculture and to each other. If we can create those connections while passing along knowledge and traditions to another generation, then I feel like we’re doing something that really matters.
Big Jim Farms (3521 Rio Grande Blvd.) is located in Albuquerque’s North Valley. Visitors can explore the pumpkin patch through October, with free admission and pumpkins priced by size. For hours, events and more information, visit the Big Jim Farms website at bigjimfarms.com.
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