Plants vs Zombies: New Mexico Producer Licenses Reaches All Time Low
New Mexico’s once-booming cultivation landscape is in retreat. The latest plant count data shows the sharpest contraction since adult-use legalization, with long-standing operators closing, merging, or selling off assets as national firms move in to scoop up distressed properties and equipment for pennies on the dollar.
Southwest Greenhouse, one of the state’s largest producers, has cut nearly two-thirds of its canopy since March 2025—falling from roughly 40,000 plants to just 15,526 in October. Across the state, total plant counts have dropped from 669,000 plants across 650 grows in May 2025 to 497,000 across 419 grows in October, marking a 25% decline in only five months. That’s the lowest participation rate since the early rollout of New Mexico’s adult-use program.
The contraction isn’t just about plant numbers—it’s about ownership. HVST Foundation, one of New Mexico’s oldest legacy producers, was recently acquired by True Roots (Potato Road LLC). Both Southwest Greenhouse and HVST were among the last of the state’s early independent cultivators, their transitions signaling the end of an era. Sources within the industry suggest at least one multi-state operator from Oregon has quietly begun acquiring land once tied to illegal grow operations on native land, further cementing the outside influence reshaping the state’s production base.
Meanwhile, projected wholesale value continues to fall in step with the shrinking canopy. In May 2025, New Mexico’s crop was valued at roughly $736 million; by October, it had dropped to $547 million, a 25% decline. With A-grade pricing slipping amid oversupply and aging inventory, many mid-tier producers are finding the math impossible to justify.
What’s emerging is a consolidation wave that looks less like market correction and more like survival of the biggest. For those still planting, the game has changed—efficiency and endurance now matter more than expansion. The next phase of New Mexico’s market won’t be about who can grow the most, but who can hold on longest.
