Friday, August 26, 2022
CapitalPress.com 3
Drought taking toll on yields, livestock numbers
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
More than 60% of the West,
Southwest and Central Plains is in
severe drought or worse, reducing
crop yields and livestock herds.
A third survey by the American
Farm Bureau Federation to assess
the impacts of drought in 17 states
in the western half of the U.S. illus-
trates the continued toll of the unre-
lenting drought.
In the crop sector, 74% of
respondents rated a reduction in
harvest yields due to drought as
prevalent or higher in their area, and
42% rated the intention to switch
planned crops for the growing sea-
son as prevalent or higher, accord-
ing to the Farm Bureau survey.
Some 37% reported tilling under
crops because of drought, and 33%
reported destroying and removing
orchard trees and other multiyear
crops as prevalent or higher. The
latter percentage jumped to 50% in
California and 40% in Arizona.
“Producers who experienced
significant water usage curtail-
ments last year may have been able
to hold on, but ongoing extreme
conditions have compelled some
of them to make the tough decision
to till under or destroy multiyear
crops this time around,” said Daniel
Munch, author of the report.
Respondents expected average
crop yields to be down 38% this
year, with the biggest drop expected
in Texas, down 68%.
“The overwhelming majority
of fruits, tree nuts and vegetables
are sourced from drought-stricken
states where farmers are feeling
forced to fallow land and destroy
orchards — which will likely result
in American consumers paying
more for these goods and either par-
tially relying on foreign supplies or
shrinking the diversity of items they
buy at the store,” he said.
On the livestock side, 90% of
producers reported an increase in
local feed costs as prevalent or
higher in their area.
“As the region provides over
70% of the nation’s hay, wide-
spread low-quality or insufficient
forage means farmers and ranchers
must look elsewhere for a smaller
supply of feed at exorbitant prices,
and often located a long distance
from the farm or ranch,” he said.
Two-thirds of respondents
reported selling off portions of their
herd or flock, with average herd
sizes expected to be down 36% in
the surveyed region. The largest
expected herd decline was reported
in Texas, where it was down 50%.
“Scarce and lower-quality for-
age also impacts feed conversion
ratios necessary to reach desired
market weights. Cattle inventories
have continued to decline, with the
number of heifers capable of pro-
ducing next year’s calf crop drop-
ping due to increased feedlot place-
ments,” he said.
In many western states, where
the federal government owns the
majority of land, drought has dimin-
ished the usable forage, with 57%
of respondents reporting impaired
use of public lands as prevalent or
higher and 71% reporting remov-
ing animals from rangeland due to
insufficient forage as prevalent or
higher.
“Ranchers reliant on these lands
have few or no alternative options
to purchasing food elsewhere and
may lose out on funds paid for graz-
ing permits,” he said.
Of the 67% of respondents
who reported reducing herd sizes
in 2021, nearly 50% were further
reducing their herd or flock this
year.
Klamath district complies with water shutoff after feds threaten funding
Managers bemoan
‘frustrating’ year in
Klamath Project
Gene Souza, to continue
operations despite the order,
arguing that Reclamation had
not provided a legal justifica-
tion for shutting down earlier
than expected.
That prompted a letter
later that day from Alan Heck,
acting area manager for the
bureau, warning that unless
KID reversed course, it would
disqualify all lands served by
the district from receiving $20
million in emergency drought
George Plaven/Capital Press File
funding.
Such an action would not Water flows from Upper Klamath Lake into the A Canal,
only impact KID, but also part of the Klamath Project. The canal will now be shut
the Pine Grove Improvement down.
District, Enterprise Irriga-
tion District, Sunnyside Irri- firm. Earlier this year, KID Species Act, the agency must
gation District, Malin Irri- members voted by an 83% also uphold protections for
gation District, Shasta View margin to pursue water deliv- several species of fish, includ-
Irrigation District, Klam- eries, knowing it would likely ing shortnose and Lost River
ath Basin Improvement Dis- complicate their drought suckers in Upper Klamath
trict and Van Brimmer Ditch funding.
Lake and coho salmon in the
Company — along with land
“When the federal govern- lower Klamath River.
for almost 100 individuals ment dragged in our neigh-
Reclamation initially allo-
who receive water via KID bors that have done every- cated 50,000 acre-feet of
thing they’ve been asked to water for irrigators begin-
infrastructure.
The KID board held an do ... they’re bullying them ning April 15, just 15% of full
emergency meeting Aug. 23 in forcing us to make deci- demand.
However, officials stated
where it was decided to close sions,” Souza said. “That’s
the A Canal. Souza described not how the federal govern- that if inflows to Upper Klam-
ath Lake exceeded expecta-
Reclamation’s
actions ment is supposed to act.”
A spokesperson for Recla- tions, they would set aside
as “coercion” and “bully
mation could not immediately 50% of the additional water
tactics.”
for irrigators.
“(Our board’s) desire to be reached for comment.
That is exactly what hap-
do what’s right for our com-
munity put us in a really bad
Adaptive management pened. May and June brought
spot,” Souza said. “There was
From the beginning, Rec- slightly above-average pre-
lamation vowed it would take cipitation to the Klamath
no good decision.”
Had aid only been threat- an adaptive approach to proj- Falls area, according to the
ened for KID, Souza said the ect operations in 2022.
National Weather Service. By
district was prepared to hold
Under the Endangered Aug. 1, Reclamation stated
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.
— After initially indicating it
would defy the federal gov-
ernment’s order to shut off
water to the Klamath Project,
the Klamath Irrigation Dis-
trict has closed the A Canal
under duress from officials
threatening to withhold mil-
lions of dollars of drought
assistance.
The U.S. Bureau of Rec-
lamation manages the proj-
ect, which includes KID
and serves 170,000 acres of
farmland straddling the Ore-
gon-California border.
Only a limited allocation
of water was allowed for irri-
gators from Upper Klam-
ath Lake this year because of
extreme drought.
On Aug. 19, Reclamation
stated the project was out of
water and ordered districts
to immediately halt diver-
sions. All remaining water
in Upper Klamath Lake was
needed to satisfy require-
ments for endangered salmon
and sucker fish, according to
the agency.
The KID Board of Direc-
tors met Aug. 22 and autho-
rized the district’s manager,
the project water supply had
increased to 82,253 acre-feet
while maintaining a mini-
mum lake elevation for suck-
ers to access critical habitat.
However, irrigation dis-
tricts criticized the bureau
for sending mixed messages
about how much water may
be available, making it diffi-
cult for farmers to plan.
Brad Kirby, manager of
the Tulelake Irrigation Dis-
trict in Tulelake, Calif., said
shutting off water now could
spell disaster for some crops.
“For some crops like
alfalfa, we are looking at
severely reduced produc-
tion,” said Kirby. “But for
row crops like potatoes and
onions, there is essentially no
production unless you have
water through the end of the
irrigation season.”
Moving the goalposts
Paul Simmons, executive
director of the Klamath Water
Users Association, estimated
that about one-third of the
Project will have received
zero water this year, and the
rest will have received “very
limited” water.
As for the Aug. 19 water
shutoff, Simmons accused
Reclamation of making its
decision based on politics,
rather than science.
The ESA requires Recla-
mation to consult with two
other federal agencies, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice and National Marine
Fisheries Service, to estab-
lish guidelines for protecting
endangered fish. The result-
ing Biological Opinions, or
BiOps, form the basis for
how much water fish and
irrigators get every year.
A current BiOp for the
suckers establishes an “abso-
lute minimum” water eleva-
tion of 4,138 feet above sea
level in Upper Klamath Lake
for young fish to access crit-
ical habitat and hide from
predators.
As a safeguard against
over-drafting,
Reclama-
tion set a buffer of 4,138.15
feet above sea level, which
it later increased to 4,138.62
feet. Simmons said that
amounts to nearly 45,000
acre-feet of water put off
limits to irrigators.
Simmons also said the
end-of-year lake eleva-
tion targeted by Reclama-
tion is “far above any level
ever claimed to be neces-
sary for endangered sucker
species.”
The Klamath Tribes
sued the federal govern-
ment in May, claiming any
water diverted from Upper
Klamath Lake for irrigation
in 2022 threatens the sur-
vival of suckers during the
drought.
The fish, known as
C’waam and Koptu, are cen-
tral to the tribes’ history and
culture.
Ranchers join forces to rescue
cattle from Idaho wildfire
port we’ve had, and peo-
ple volunteering to help,”
he said. “And hopefully this
just doesn’t get worse.”
Simplot Land & Live-
stock also has 450-500 cows
on the allotment, which the
Forest Service administers.
Tom Basabe, the compa-
ny’s president, said ranch-
ers are working to move
cows regardless of who
owns them.
“Neighbors have cows
with us and ours are with
them,” he said. “We’ll get
animals out of the way, and
when it’s all said and done
sort everything up.”
“We’ll lose some in
something
like
this,”
Basabe said. “You hope it’s
not too many. But we’ll lose
some.”
He, his son and his father
have about 500 cow-calf
pairs on a grazing allot-
ment. Fire growth in any
direction could threaten
them.
They euthanized one
burned animal Aug. 22 and
another earlier.
“The south side of the
fire is where it’s most dan-
gerous now,” Wolfe said.
Containment was lowest
on that side and winds were
pushing against it.
The ranchers plan to push
animals to safer ground.
Wolfe said a total of about
2,100 cow-calf pairs graze
the allotment. Most are north
of the fire, “but if we get a
bad wind change, that could
affect all the cattle.”
“We appreciate the sup-
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Ranchers in Idaho’s west
central mountains are work-
ing together to move thou-
sands of cattle out of harm’s
way as a wildfire threatens
them.
Lightning started the
Four Corners Fire late Aug.
13. It is burning west of Cas-
cade Reservoir. The fire was
8,208 acres and 11% con-
tained early Aug. 23.
“It’s right in the middle
of us, taking in our whole
range area up there,” rancher
Marlin Wolfe said. “We are
mainly just trying to move
cows that could be in dan-
ger, which is kind of hard
because they are on all four
sides of it.”
Hazelnut Growers Bargaining Association
Annual Meeting
st
August 31 , 2022 @ West Salem Roth’s
RSVP by August 15 th
• ➢ 8:30 a.m. Coffee & Refreshments
• ➢ 9:00 a.m. Meeting
Looking to grow?
Let’s get started.
Every new producer has to start somewhere. And it’s
far from easy. We help give young, beginning and small
farmers and ranchers a leg up with special financing
options, educational opportunities, and hands-on,
strategic advice to help you get started.
So if you’re ready to start cultivating your dream, give
Must be a member to attend.
To join, see contact information below.
P lease RSVP by August 15th
Contact Crystal Cox
PO BOX 767, Amity OR 97101 · 971-259-9134
971-259-9134
isgoffice@integratedseed.com
us a call. We’d be happy to help.
800.743.2125 | northwestfcs.com