These addition climate parameters include solar radiation, humidity, and wind speed and direction. Knowledge about the climate through out the state and the water use of both agriculture and native vegetation is the bases for making water conservation and management decisions. Water conservation can only occur when knowledge about the impact of different irrigation managements decisions are understood as those decision affect the hydrologic balance. Climate data is the driving variable for hydrologic and irrigation management models that are available from the New Mexico Climate Center. Economic development occurs in those areas where climate conditions are suitable to attract both personal and minimize energy cost.
Many people move to New Mexico for the ideal climate.
The position was authorized but not funded by the state legislature. Climate station equipment was installed at all agriculture research stations and other strategic locations throughout the state. Monitoring of wind speed, wind direction , temperature, solar radiation and humidity were initiated. This network represented one of the first state climate monitoring networks in the United States. In 1989 the state of New Mexico went into a financial crises and budgets were cut at New Mexico State University and the Department of Agriculture.