The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University is seeking support from General Obligation Bond D this coming November. The GO Bond would provide $25 million for  campus renovations without increasing property taxes.

According to the ACES GO Bond booklet, the money would be used to renovate and modernize the Food Science, Security and Safety Facility, the Biomedical Research Center and the Animal Nutrition and Feed Manufacturing Facility.

The renovated Food Science, Security and Safety Facility, if approved, would allow the College of ACES to facilitate the needs of the community and the state in areas such as food processing, dairy science and beer and wine-making. New laboratories would also be created for food chemistry, fermentation technology and meat and food science, among others.

The Biomedical Research Center will provide facilities for students and researches from throughout NMSU. According to the booklet, three colleges and seven departments will benefit from the research center. These facilities could also be used to research issues related to the border including mosquito-borne viruses, cancer and obesity.

Additionally, the Animal Nutrition and Feed Manufacturing Facility is estimated to generate nearly $11 billion and 1,3000 new jobs, according to the ACES website, and more than 80 percent of courses in Animal and Range Sciences will benefit.

Taxes would not be increased with the passing of the bill because Bond D would replace GO bonds that were passed in 2008 that have been retired after a ten-year term, according to the New Mexico Higher Education Bond D website. The website also states that if the bond is not passed, taxes wouldn’t necessarily go down.

GO Bond would not only provide money for NMSU, it would also provide funds for universities and schools around the state. A total of $136 million would be used to enhance education in New Mexico.

Dean of ACES, Rolando Flores, Ph.D., said he supports the GO bond because agriculture is a fundamental part of the economy in New Mexico. He said NMSU loses students to other universities, particularly in Texas, because of the lack of proper facilities for students.

“These facilities would allow us to do training, specific training for value-added operations in the state,” Floros said.

He said this bond would be an investment in education for the university.

“This will enhance the training in agriculture and related fields because agriculture, traditionally we used to look at it from farm gate to the table,” Floros said. “Well we are looking now as agriculture is going from the farm gate to the cell walls in your intestine. It affects your health.”

Floros said the university needs to be ready for the future in agriculture. He said there will be less people working in the fields, more requirements for food safety and less water, so he is expecting challenges for agriculture in New Mexico.

“We have to train the students the best way we can,” Floros said. “We have very good instructors, top of the notch instructors, here in New Mexico, so it’s only fair that we facilitate their work by having the proper facilities for them.”

Floros said this bond could be a game-changer for agriculture in New Mexico. He said it would do more than just provide facilities for teaching.

“We are looking at this as something that is going to create value-added, which is very much needed in the state,” Floros said.

The dean said that he hopes following the passage of the bond, Las Cruces will become a national hub for food safety and security. He said the integration with food will be useful for biomedical studies.

“It will enhance, not only the college of agriculture but other colleges at NMSU,” Floros said.

Voters will be able to cast their vote on GO Bond D in the upcoming November midterm elections