News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The snowpack is sparse, which means a dry summer despite recent rains.
Sisters’ soggy spring may be getting tiresome for some local folks, but it’s good news for farmers who are facing a low-water year. It’s also good for Squaw Creek, which has better flows south of town than it would if the rain hadn’t fallen so steadily.
“Things have definitely improved,” said deputy Deschutes County Watermaster Jeremy Giffin. “What this has done more than anything is reduce irrigation demand.”
With water falling from the skies, farmers have little need to irrigate right now. According to Giffin, that’s a big plus in some irrigation districts that can store up rain water.
“It doesn’t help as much in Squaw Creek (Three Sisters Irrigation District) because they don’t have any storage,” Giffin said.
Irrigation district manager Marc Thalacker confirmed that the rain won’t have much long-term impact — but he’s not complaining.
“Our demand is way down because of the rain, so I’m happy for the farmers,” he said.
“Because of the rain, there’s a very good chance that people are going to be able to sneak their way to first cut (of hay),” he said.
Even one cutting of hay looked doubtful for many smaller farmers at the beginning of the season. The outlook for later in the season is still very poor.
Thalacker said that snowpack is measuring around 60 inches, way below an average year and well below what is needed to provide all the water needed by farmers.
Thalacker said he expects to deliver anywhere from 20 percent down to 10 percent of the amount of water for which users have rights.
“We’re hurt,” he acknowledged. “Come July 1, we’re going to be pretty much out of water.”
Larger operations have the option of using supplemental wells to pump water for their crops. They’ll likely get their customary second or third cutting of hay. However, their production costs will increase with their pumping.
Others are just waiting the dry year out.
“Some have idled back acreage; some have chosen not to farm at all this summer,” Thalacker said. “But the big guys are going for it.”
And they’re all happy to see the rain keep falling.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)