Local Legend: Tom Delehanty reflects on 30 years of farming Socorro

When the Socorro Farmers Market celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, longtime farmer and veteran Tom Delehanty can still picture the early days.

“In 1995, I started talking with Jack Valentine from the extension office about opening a market on the plaza,” Delehanty said. “We went to city council, and they gave us the okay. It was me, Arnold and Christina Mazotti, and Bob Payne. That was it, the four of us. The next year more people got involved, and that’s how it started.”

Delehanty, 75, grew up in Wisconsin as a sixth-generation farmer and moved to New Mexico in 1994.

“I came to do a pasture poultry operation,” he said. “New Mexico allows small farmers to produce up to 20,000 chickens a year and sell them directly. That opportunity, and the organic certification that was available here, is what drew me.”

His farm, Pollo Real, went on to become the first certified organic poultry operation in the United States in 1996.

“I was selling to Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Albertsons—nobody else was doing that at the time,” he said. “But the real heart of it was always the farmers market.”

For Delehanty, the principle has never changed.

“If you’re going to produce stuff, it’s more important than ever that you direct market yourself,” he said. “It’s about keeping money circulating in the community. That’s what makes it sustainable.”

Today, he is turning his focus to traditional Oaxacan crops—corn, squash, and beans—that can thrive in New Mexico’s dryland conditions.

“No matter if the water gets cut off here, that dryland stuff will keep growing,” he said. “My intent is to produce my own masa and those heritage crops for the market.”

Delehanty is also looking ahead with a new venture: cannabis. A Vietnam veteran, he has long been outspoken about what he calls the failed drug war and sees New Mexico’s licensing system as an opening for small farmers.

“With a license here, you can grow up to 200 plants, process your own products, even run your own dispensary,” he said. “It’s no different than I did with poultry—you do it all, nobody in the middle.”

He plans to open The Fifth Dimension dispensary in the Spring, alongside 5th St., his event rental space that was previously the DAV center at 200 5th St. in Socorro. “It’s about building something sustainable,” he said. “Just like farming, it comes down to passion, soil, and community.”

After 30 years, the farmers market remains a testament to that vision—neighbors gathering, food and ideas exchanged, and a future rooted in the land. It operates on Saturdays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon from July through November on the plaza. After November, the winter market is held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 1002 Ake Ave from 10 a.m to 12 p.m. on Saturdays.