The opening of the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in 1998 will be the realization of a dream that was first articulated more than 15 years ago by William P. "Bill" Stephens, secretary-director of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.

Encouraged by Gerald Thomas, then president of NMSU, this dream was shared with hundreds of people over the years who contributed in ways great and small to keeping and enlarging their vision of what this museum could become.

They recognized that New Mexico has a unique history of settlement based upon agriculture, which extends backward in time some 3,000 years. They also saw that significant collections of personal papers, historic photographs, private collections of Western memorabilia and significant artifacts were leaving the state to go into museums and archives across the West. By this process, these items were becoming inaccessible to the public here in New Mexico and increasingly difficult for New Mexican scholars to study.

The creation of a new museum would enable the state to preserve these historic resources here and would provide an opportunity to share the evidence of our agricultural development with our own citizens, as well as the many visitors who come to our state each year.

The name of this new museum, the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, bears some consideration. It was not called the Agricultural History Museum or the Agricultural Technology Museum. The word "heritage" implies a richness in the mission beyond history and technology.

The museum will focus on the effects of both historic events and the application of changing technology over time on the lifestyles and the productivity of the diverse peoples who have come to New Mexico to practice agriculture.

Heritage includes all the elements of history, family, shared experience and generational succession. It is the story of New Mexico's people--the way they have always made their living from the land, raised their children and fed the world. It's a noble story, and, as Bill Stephens said, we've built this museum "so the future may know."

Because it is the 400th anniversary of Don Juan de Oñate's colonizing expedition into New Mexico, 1998 is an auspicious year to be opening this museum. The Oñate expedition included Franciscan friars and a military escort in keeping with Spain's global vision of its empire. But unlike previous expeditions across this landscape, Oñate brought settlers, people who expected to make new homes here and who brought with them the seed grains, nursery stock and domestic animals of Spain.

The establishment of their new town, San Gabriel del Yunque Oweege, was proclaimed on July 11, 1598, at the confluence of the Rio Chama and Rio Grande, across the big river from present-day San Juan Pueblo. The assistance provided by the Pueblo people of the Rio Arriba contributed to the success of the venture and set into motion a series of interactions that continue to define New Mexico to the present day.

The fusion of Pueblo farming traditions, developed over 2,500 years with Spanish species and technology introduced from Europe, led to the evolution of ranch life as we know it. This includes land-holding and water-use patterns still in existence and the incredible diversity of produce that makes up New Mexico's agricultural output and goes into our diet today.

The museum will be the most comprehensive agricultural museum in the country when it is complete in three to five years. The goal is to leave visitors with a better understanding of where their food and fiber comes from historically, culturally and commercially, and to let them feel a connection to the life-style we in agriculture cherish. We hope you'll come visit the museum and give us your suggestions on how we can do this important job better.