-How would you like it if you lost your jobs, your
home and communities just because of an animal no one’s even heard
of? Is that what America’s really about?” Tammy Jo asked every five
minutes, every day, until she was unplugged. She is a member of the
life-sized robotic ranching family that enthralled visitors at the
recent New Mexico state fair. The robots are the latest warriors
for the Old West, designed by the New Mexico Department of
Agriculture. Tammy Jo, Tommy Joe, Ma, Pa, Grandpa, and even Bubba
the Bull were programmed to talk about ranchers being unfairly
criticized, grazing fees, public lands and the Endangered Species
Act as they sat around a breakfast table in cowboy hats. The
androids, which cost taxpayers $30,000 of a $150,000 appropriation
to improve agricultural exhibits, were a hit with fair-goers, says
Edward Avalos, marketing specialist for the state department of
agriculture. The reaction was not as positive from members of the
Green Party, whose booth sat yards away, reports the Albuquerque
Journal. “The Department of Agriculture shouldn’t be in the
business of funding the beef industry. When are we going to get
$150,000 for our point of view?” asked Terry White of the
Albuquerque Green Party. A spokesman for Gov. Bruce King said there
was no reason to worry about the ranchers’ biased rhetoric because
“the opinions expressed by the robot family are their own and not
necessarily the opinions of the state of New Mexico.” The New
Mexico Department of Agriculture can be reached at 505/988-6605.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Home on the electric range.
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