After my grandfather died, however, the ranch he worked left the family. Near Delicias, our traveling trio found a virtual oasis. Except for minor differences and the fact that the area was four times the size, we might have thought we were at home in the Mesilla Valley. We saw miles and miles of fields with pecan trees, alfalfa, cotton, vegetables, corn, grain sorghum, and other crops. A huge dairy complex, complete with an on-farm processing plant located just outside Delicias, dwarfs even the largest dairy farms in New Mexico.
Agriculture is big business here.
Through my previous travels, I knew that the business elite of Delicias were barons of agriculture. The region was an important agricultural center as early as the mid-1700s. Later, it became the primary marketplace for merchants to the north. The section of the Camino Real from here north became known as the Chihuahua Trail. The great ranches and irrigated farms of Mexico were forerunners of large-scale agriculture in New Mexico.