This was all once farm land, then someone started developing. USDA still holds title to some of the parcels that later became residences, including ours. Got a good interest rate as a result.
This part of NM used to be good for "dry land" farming, meaning crops like pinto beans or cotton that can make do with rainfall. Then the rainfall weakened long-term, so the farmers sold out. The Rio Grande watershed still furnishes enough irrigation water for alfalfa, which supplies the dairy and feed cattlemen. (My house is well away and up from the river valley.)
Decades ago I lived near Dairy Valley CA, near Riverside. At that time the dairymen were selling out to developers, which was driven by population increase, not drought. The dairymen got subsidies to move to the next county. Then that became valuable, so they got help moving to ... Central New Mexico, where I now live! And here we be.