Socorro County farmers awarded 2025 For Farmers Movement grants

Two small agricultural producers in Socorro County have been selected for 2025 grants from the For Farmers Movement, a national grassroots organization that supports small and mid‑sized farms through direct, needs‑based funding.

The program, which awards grants annually to farmers across the United States, focuses on practical tools and equipment that improve day-to-day operations. The organization emphasizes farmer-defined needs rather than funder-driven priorities.

This year’s local recipients include Dunhill Ranch, located outside Magdalena, and Tony Estes, a gourmet and medicinal mushroom grower based in Socorro.

Jessica Aberly and Pete Ditmars, first‑generation ranchers, operate Dunhill Ranch about 10 miles outside Magdalena. They raise grass‑fed and grass‑finished lamb and beef with no grains, hormones or antibiotics. Their animals live free‑range on high‑desert pasture, protected by livestock guardian dogs and moved by trained border collies.

The couple said the grant will fund a mobile chest freezer, a purchase they describe as transformative for their operation. The freezer will allow them to store more product during deliveries and reduce the number of long trips to their butcher, each costing roughly $200 in fuel and time.

“Being able to have more storage capacity is going to reduce the number of trips we have to take,” Ditmars said. “That lets us serve our customers much more effectively because the less time we spend driving, the more time we spend interacting with the community.”

Aberly said the freezer will help keep overhead low, allowing them to maintain affordable prices for customers in Magdalena, Socorro and Albuquerque. The ranch, which operates without salaries, is intentionally small‑scale and focused on land health, sustainable stocking levels and humane treatment of animals.

“We’re small by design,” Aberly said. “Our goal is to be sustainable, and our customers appreciate that we care so much about the animals and the land.”

Locally Grown Mushrooms

Estes received a $1,000 grant to purchase a laminar flow hood, a piece of equipment essential for sterile cultivation of specialty and medicinal mushrooms.

Estes, a Navy veteran, began mushroom farming after moving to New Mexico. He has been selling gourmet and medicinal varieties, including oyster, lion’s mane, reishi and others, at the Socorro Farmers Market for about three years. He said the new equipment will allow him to expand into more finicky species such as turkey tail and cordyceps while reducing contamination risk.

“It’ll help certain expansion that’s being planned for the end of January,” Estes said. 

The flow hood will also support his ongoing studies in agricultural business and economics, which he is pursuing to strengthen the financial side of his operation.

Estes was nominated for the grant by fellow farmer Jan Keenly, who had previously received support from the organization.

The For Farmers Movement describes its mission as supporting farmers “in ways that are helpful to actual operations,” prioritizing practical tools over high-visibility projects. The group also runs a public “wish list” program, allowing community members to purchase needed items directly for farmers.

Aberly praised the organization’s approach, calling it rare among funders.

“Usually funders have some sort of policy agenda,” she said. “Here, the organization works to support the needs of small farmers and ranchers as those needs are defined by the farmer or rancher themselves.”