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Mesilla Valley Organics of Mesquite is one of five companies awarded business start-up grants in the first round of funding announcements coming from the New Mexico Economic Development (NMED) Department.
NMED Secretary Alicia J. Keyes announced the grants, saying they “recognize and assist early stage companies developing a unique product or service, with strong growth potential. Eligible companies must be working within one of five target industry sectors: aerospace, biosciences, cybersecurity, intelligent manufacturing or sustainable and green energy.”
Mesilla Valley Organics submitted one of 25 grant applications that were considered for funding. The other four were AgilVax, a biopharmecuetical company in Albuquerque, Armonica Technologies, a genetic sequencing firm in Albuquerque, iBeam Materials of Santa Fe, which is creating bright, thin, flexible and cost-efficient device screens and Petricor, a Clovis-based large-scale printer manufacturer.
Mesilla Valley Organics seeks to capture five percent of New Mexico’s emerging market for hemp startup plants by genetically engineering a plant strain that will thrive in southern New Mexico’s unique climate.
Testing by the company has yielded plants 10 feet tall, with 10 percent CBD content, and yields of up to nine pounds of flower, using regenerative agriculture practices and selective breeding techniques, rather than laboratory manipulations.
The Technology Research Collaborative (TRC) board reviewed the 25 applications and chose five that best represented the purpose of the grant. Start-up grants are typically $10,000, although the TRC can grant different amounts based a company’s need and growth potential.
"We have restructured the TRC so it has the expertise to evaluate and make decisions about companies that have the potential to break out, succeed in the marketplace and create high-paying jobs," Keyes said.
For more information, visit www.gonm.biz/OST and click “S&T Business Startup Grants” or contact Myrriah Tomar at 505.827.0222 or email Myrriah.Tomar@state.nm.us.
This story was adapted from a press release.
