Freedom New Mexico
A Portales family has been named “Farm Family of the Year” by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.
Rick and Evelyn Ledbetter produced chile, cotton, alfalfa and corn silage, according to a news release from the ag department.
Rick Ledbetter grew up on a farm in eastern New Mexico, and took out a $30,000 crop loan when he was a senior in high school to produce his own crops.
The Ledbetters have two children. Their son Spencer is a junior at New Mexico State University, and their daughter Alex is a junior at Portales High School.
“The hassles of farming are worth the reward of being able to raise my family in the country with a solid work ethic,” Ledbetter said in the news release. “I don’t want my children to have to do manual labor to make a living, but they certainly know how to do it.”
