ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - This winter has been a mixed bag for New Mexico farmers and ranchers as temperatures and precipitation have been sporadic.
Regional officials with the U.S. Agriculture Department say while there have been wide swings from one end of the state to the other, individual counties also have seen their share of disparate conditions.
Ranchers in some areas have reported that cold temperatures coupled with low body weights in mother cows following the dry summer created calving difficulties.
Hay supplies also are running low in some places due to an increased need for supplemental feeding.
February’s weather pattern left an abundance of precipitation in the northwestern part of the state. Officials say that tapered off toward the southeastern corner, where many spots received less than 5 percent of normal moisture.
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