The yeasty mix in Clovis and Portales is creating a vigorous economy

New Mexico Business Journal, June, 1995 by Joy Waldron

"In Portales we've gained since 1990 about 2,000 people. We were 10,690 in 1990 census and more than 12,000 now. We've been relatively stable. The Cannon expansion was a shot in the arm."

The dairy economy is the fastest-growing change, he says. "About three years ago the community got together, and some 80 individuals raised $300,000 to buy 477 acres of land in our industrial park, and we gave it to Mid-America out of Springfield, Missouri, to build a milk-processing facility. It uses 2 million pounds of milk a day, takes two-thirds of the water out of it, and trucks it out. There are 31 dairies in our county, over 25,000 cows-more cows than there are people. Cabool Truck Lines has 100 trucks that take milk all over the country. Next will come the drying phase that makes powdered milk, to be completed in November of this year. Mid-America Dairymen, Inc. is the second largest milk cooperative in the nation. Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) is the first. There are 55 trucks that are hauling for AMPI - we've supported them by building parking lots. Curry has seven dairies, we have 31 in our county. We're trying to get other milk-processing facilities here, like cheese plants, places where they can sell their product."

Importance of Radio

KSEL Radio helps the communication link between farmers and ranchers. Sandy Bergman, president of Bergman Broadcasting Co. and president and general manager of KSEL in Portales, says her station is "the only place that does intensive farm reporting except for Amarillo."

KSEL reaches an audience from Ft. Sumner, New Mexico, to Friona, Texas, halfway between Clovis and Amarillo. The hour-long agriculture morning news report from Monday to Friday covers "pretty much anything that affects rural life," says farm reporter Price Allan.

"Basically these sleepy little towns are coming alive," Dallan Sanders says happily. "We have lots of good things happening in Portales. We're on a quest to become a world-class community. And we consider ourselves one with Clovis. We have better communication than we have ever had between the two communities."

RELATED ARTICLE: THE NEW MEXICO Private 100 Clovis-Portales Div.

A number of Private 100 companies flourish in the Clovis-Portales region. One of the largest, Teague Strebeck Motors, Portales, is part of a five-unit business complex owned and managed by Sid Strebeck.

The Private 100, an annual listing sponsored by Arthur Andersen, LLP, Sunwest Bank and the New Mexico Business Journal, includes the top privately held corporations in New Mexico. Teague Strebeck was ranked No. 18 for 1994 in terms of total gross revenues. Allsup's Convenience Stores, based in Clovis, was No. 3.

"Some of our figures include all the Strebeck dealerships," Sid Strebeck says, "we have four in Clovis and Tucumcari. We have about 130 employees in Clovis-Portales, and the payroll is about $2.5 million per year. Gross sales for this area - not counting Tucumcari - would be about $47 million in 1994 in Clovis-Portales. So we're one of the larger business.