LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The chile wars are heating up, and Hatch Valley farmers are banding together to protect the heritage of a homegrown, must-have food.
The Hatch Chile Association is actively pursuing an action with the United States Patent and Trademark office, said Duane Gillis, president of the board and a fourth-generation Hatch chile farmer. The case, originally filed in 2012, also includes the company El Encanto.
The local growers would like to see the farmers in the Hatch Valley be approved as a group to gain rights to a certification mark, which would essentially require marketers to certify that chile labeled as Hatch is grown within the Hatch Valley.
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