Water is an essential ingredient, especially when you depend on it to grow feed for cattle. With the extreme weather across the country – from floods to droughts – farmers have a different opinion about water. Head to Oregon, and it is a shining example of how two farmers located on different sides of the Cascade mountains, have different thoughts about the wetter than usual weather that has hit their state.
Western Oregon dairy producer Darleen Sichley says never in their farm history have they had to pull cows off pasture in June. This is the second time this spring she has had to do so.
Alongside family, Sichley owns and operates Abiqua Acres, home to 100 Registered Guernsey cows and 100 acres of pasture in Silverton.
“This spring has been the coldest and wettest in the Pacific Northwest in 80 years,” she says. “Mother Nature is always a force to reckoned with and one of the greatest challenges we have no control over.”
As input costs have skyrocketed, along with the rising cost to feed cattle, Sichley was looking forward to letting her cows out to pasture to save on the feed bill.
“We have had to continue to feed like it’s winter and watch our prime grazing season pass by as the grass over matures,” she says.
East of the Cascade Mountain
Head east over the mountain and dairy farmers, Jos and Deanna Poland in Madras are smiling for the first time in a long time. They are welcoming the rare rain that arrived in late spring in central Oregon.
“The rain has helped a lot,” Deanna shares.
With 12” of precipitation annually, central Oregon is known for its high desert climate. A scarce water issue stemmed from the Endangered Spotted Frog issue along the Upper Deschutes River forced the Polands to reduce their milking herd size from 240 head to 140 earlier this year.
“We had no other choice,” Jos says.
Poland’s water allocation was reduced from previous years, making it hard for them to grow feed and pasture their cows.
“We normally get about 2’ per acre of water,” Jos says. “Last year we got 1’ and then later during the irrigation season, somewhere at end of June, they cut us back more. This year we get allocated half of what we got last year.”
However, Deanna shared they recently were allocated more water rights this spring.
“We received .06 more water allocated this spring, which is basically nothing, but we will take what we can get,” Deanna says.
The Polands shares that organic hay is nearly impossible to find right now, as many organic alfalfa hay farmers are three weeks behind on their first cutting due to the wet weather.
“We have had to green chop our extra grass to feed the herd,” Deanna says.
The Polands are still unsure what the future means for them, as they know feed, especially hay, will be hard to locate and pricey when they do find some.
“We are still waiting for a price, which we are anticipating being extremely high,” Deanna says.
Meanwhile back in western Oregon, Sichley says, with the wet weather she has had to purchase more hay, which has been hard to come by.
“Late Spring into Summer is never when you want to have to scramble to find feed,” says Sichley. “Luckily, we are very fortunate to have a great relationship with our alfalfa grower, so we were set on the cow side. It was just trying to find anything for the dry cows and youngstock. Especially in the financial strain of all inputs this year any added cost feels like another kick while your down. We were very lucky to hit a break in weather just right (as in it started dumping rain as the crew finished our grass silage) so we are definitely in a better position than some who have struggled to even get any spring crops harvested.”
