Farmer
thrives by diversifying
Raul Romo
is the picture of success for a Mexican farmer.
He owns
100 acres near Santa Rita, grows corn and agabe, has a
75-cow Red Angus cow-calf herd bought from Nebraska,
grows peaches, operates a shrimp farm near the Pacific
Ocean, and has a local water bottling plant.
He said
Ayotlan County has good water and good soil. He figures
his corn yields are about the same as those in Iowa. He
grows white corn for tortillas and yellow corn for
livestock feed.
He was
able to accumulate his wealth first by working for 10
years as a janitor for United Airlines in Chicago. It
allowed him to buy his father’s farm and
diversify operations. Although he is prosperous by
Ayotlan standards, he would be considered a
middle-income Iowan.
He said
there is limited farm support in Mexico, but it is
nothing compared to the US farm bill.
“Before
2000, the government stole all our money, they did not
give us aid,” Romo said. “The only people
making money were connected to the
government.”
He is a
big fan of Mexican President Vicente Fox. He said
national reserves have tripled under Fox’s
tenure.
Fox leaves
office next year. It is a toss-up between Fox’s
PAN Party and PRI, which ran Mexico for 70 years, as to
who will win. A populist mayor of Mexico City is also
running strong with the left-wing PRD party.
