From paralyzing to actionable futures: Facilitating farmer participation in water conservation through a multiscalar horizoning work approach

Abstract

In the Mesilla and Rincon Valleys of southern New Mexico, prolonged drought, climate change, increased competition for water, and an ongoing lawsuit with Texas over groundwater pumping create precarity in regard to long-term water resources for agricultural production. As the sector that uses the most water in New Mexico, agricultural participation in water conservation is critical. Using ethnographic data, along with the key concepts of horizons of the future and scale, I examine barriers to addressing water-scarce futures in the present. Ultimately, I argue that adding a multiscalar approach to the established framework of “horizoning work” can generate collaborative water conservation efforts with localized, temporally limited scopes to facilitate farmer participation in efforts to address water-scarce futures.