Every time you shop at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market you support local farmers. It’s a decision that matters – we get the freshest and best quality food while helping Northern New Mexico farms stay healthy and strong. Bevin Carnes of the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute introduces us to the folks at Santa Cruz Farm – honored in 2016 by the Institute as a Farmer All-Star – and shares their story of resilience, commitment, and tenacity in the face of unrelenting challenges.   

At the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market, Santa Cruz Farm & Greenhouses LLC is known for its juicy blackberries, hefty watermelons, and an abundance of produce that belies its 4.5-acre footprint. These days, customers are likely to find the friendly face of Nery Martinez at market each week, but the land he farms has been in his uncle Don Bustos’ family for nearly 400 years. 

Don has little doubt about the farm’s future: the acequias will continue to flow and the land will remain in agriculture. Nery has taken over much of the farm’s day-to-day operations, becoming a steward of the land and carrying generations of Northern New Mexico farming knowledge forward. 

Meet the People Behind Santa Cruz Farm 

Bevin Carnes: Don, your family has farmed this land for almost 400 years. What does that history mean to you? 

Don Bustos: I’m walking in the same pathways our ancestors walked. Taking the same steps, seeing what they saw—the acequias running, the wildlife, the vegetation and all of nature at its best. I think, “We sure are blessed.” 

B.C.: Nery, you came to farming very differently. What do you remember about starting out? 

Nery Martinez: When I first came to the farm, I didn’t know anything about farming. I couldn’t tell what was planted and what were weeds. I was walking in the greenhouse saying, “Where’s the lettuce?” while I was stepping on it. 

Now I’m a farmer, and I don’t regret it. Farming for me is more than growing produce. I think it kind of saved me from being a different person. 

B.C.: Don, when did you begin to see Nery as someone who could carry the farm forward? And Nery, what did that trust mean to you?  

Don: As we get older, we think about who will carry on the tradition and agricultural practices. Nery has a knack for working with plants and the land in a harmonious way. Instead of fighting it or extracting what’s there, he enjoys it and appreciates what we have, and he’s able to manage the farm so it’s financially viable. 

Nery: Don has been more than an uncle to me. I spent more time with Don than with my own dad. When I was given the opportunity to plant Don’s land, I was so thankful that I said a little prayer to everyone who had farmed it before me.  

B.C.: Nery, how has becoming a farmer changed your life?  

Nery: Before I started farming, I had two jobs and a newborn I barely got to see. When I left in the morning he was sleeping, and when I came back he was sleeping, and I thought, “How am I going to enjoy my kid?” Farming has allowed me to enjoy what I do and spend time with my kids. 

B.C.: You have two sons now. What do you hope they learn from growing up around the farm?  

Nery: It would be great if my kids wanted to be farmers someday. But most of all, I want them to appreciate what Mother Earth will give them if they take care of it. 

My kids tell me I grow the best carrots ever. They say, “Can you show me how to plant carrots? I want to grow the same ones that you do.”  

I want my kids to learn that if you know how plants and animals grow, you can understand more about life—how to be humble and understand people’s needs. I think I’m planting that seed in my kids. What I want to pass to them, I’m already living by example. 

B.C.: Don, given what this land means to you, what do you hope will be here 50 or 100 years from now?  

Don: I don’t hope. I know it’s going to stay in agriculture. It might not look the same as it does today. Over the centuries, things change. But the acequias will still be alive and working their magic in the landscape. We’ll be able to feed ourselves and our community for future generations. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down, but it’s not going to die. 

B.C.: Don, you’ve mentioned the importance of seed stewardship. What does preserving seeds across generations mean to you? 

Don: We’re part of the seed and it’s ingrained into our DNA and our cell structure. Whatever we do, the seed reflects back onto ourselves. The better we take care of it and nurture it, the healthier our bodies and minds will be. 

B.C.: Nery, what do you hope to carry forward from what Don has passed on to you?  

Nery: The seed Don planted in me is growing and putting more seeds out there. It comes not just from him, but from all the generations behind him. Everything he told me and showed me is going to be passed on to other people. His knowledge seed is in me and it’s going to keep going. 

Read our last Faces of the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market profile on Malandro Farm.

Story by Bevin Carnes, Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute
Photography by Gabriella Marks

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