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'The worst we've ever had' Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Applegate dairy farmer Bob Straube, who usually relies on 32 acres of alfalfa to feed his cows, substituted 20 acres of corn for feed instead to conserve precious water. This year has brought the worst drought his family has seen in the Applegate Valley in more than 70 years. Local water resource managers say stream flows are at the low levels normally seen at the end of August. The drought forces tough decisions on farmers across Southern Oregon By PAUL FATTIG UPPER APPLEGATE - Third-generation dairyman Bob Straube is caught squarely on the horns of a dilemma. Straube, whose family farm has Applegate River water rights going back to 1892, normally banks on his own alfalfa crop to feed his dairy herd each winter. But the worst drought his family has seen in the Applegate Valley in more than 70 years has turned plans for the annual green savings account into dust. Instead of planting 32 acres of alfalfa, he has compromised by growing 20 acres of corn. To save additional water, he selected corn that matures in 90 days instead of the 120-day variety. "We'll be using corn silage to feed our milk cows during the winter," he said. "We're going to have to buy more hay this year because of the drought. "It's a dire situation," he concluded. Stream flows in Jackson and Josephine counties are now at the low levels normally seen at the end of August, said Al Cook, southwest regional manager for the Oregon Department of Water Resources. The district includes Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Coos and Curry counties. "We're looking at regulating streams that haven't been regulated in a long time," he said. "The water is just not there to satisfy the needs of all the users." For instance, water rights on the Applegate River may be cut back to 1950 next week, he said. When authorities begin to shut off water rights, they begin with the newest. "Our storage is low and getting lower," Cook said. In fact, storage upstream from the Applegate Dam on the Applegate River just upstream from the Straubes is at only 18,910 acre-feet, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It normally would be at near full, some 76,000 acre-feet, in midsummer, officials report. Lost Creek reservoir storage on the main stem of the Rogue River near Trail is at 308,605 acre-feet, well below the full pool of about 465,000 acre-feet, officials report. The region has received only about 50 percent of its annual precipitation, leaving the ground parched. And the winter snowbank in the mountains isn't there this summer to feed mountain streams. "All of our water comes from the same place: winter precipitation, snowpack and natural storage," Cook said. "And it's all very low." Consider this: Water rights on Williams Creek in the Applegate River drainage have been cut back to 1880. Water rights on Evans Creek, a tributary to the Rogue River, have been cut back to 1900. "That's real early for that," he said. "All the smaller tributaries are pretty meager. We just haven't had the rain." Deer Creek in the Illinois Valley is virtually bone dry, he noted. Not only is the annual precipitation one of the lowest in history, the demand for water is probably higher than ever, thanks to the growing population. "But, for the most part, we can give our community a little pat on the back for that," Cook said. "They have recognized that we are in a serious water situation." Many have voluntarily cut back on water supplies, he noted. "But everybody's fear is how much do they dare draw out of storage," he said. "Should they start saving for next year? It's kind of a guessing game." That's a concern of the Talent Irrigation District, according to board member and pear grower Ron Meyer. While there is enough water behind Howard Prairie and Hyatt dams for this growing season, he is concerned about next year. "Another dry season like this and we'll be in trouble," he said. Jackson and Josephine counties are already among 16 Oregon counties declared disaster areas by Gov. John Kitzhaber because of the drought. The declaration makes them eligible for some help from state and federal governments. More than 50 farmers and ranchers from Jackson and Josephine counties, including the Straubes, have expressed interest in the Non-Insured Assistance Program for drought-damaged crops provided through the local Farm Services Agency. The agency is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "It doesn't cover everything, but it's enough to get them through," said Toni Williams, the agency's director for the two counties. Plenty of interest also has surfaced in the FSA's emergency conservation program, which pays half the cost for drilling or deepening wells to help commercial livestock producers weather the drought, Williams said. "There is no one area," she said. "It's shotgunned throughout both counties where streams have dried up or didn't have any water at all this year." Longtime Applegate Valley resident Carl Offenbacher, who raises hay on 25 acres near Offenbacher Point, is also concerned about the dog days of August. "Down the road a couple of weeks - that'll be the worst time," predicted Offenbacher, who is now on his second cutting of hay. He expects to do his third cutting in September. "The biggest crop is always from the first cutting, but production on that crop was down about 20 percent this year," he said. The good news is that there is a growing demand for hay, he said. "The prices are up this year, $20 to $30 a ton," he said. "That helps a little." But farmers are worried that the dry days will continue. "This is the worst we've ever had," Straube said. "I talked to my dad about it, and he says he has never seen water this low this early." His father, Louis Straube, 87, was a child when his parents, Fred and Sophie Straube, bought the picturesque farm along the Applegate River at the outset of the Great Depression. The family farm, which once covered several hundred acres, is now about 90 acres. The Straubes have 50 head of dairy cows. A 1969 graduate of Oregon State University, Bob Straube, 54, has cut his farm's water consumption back to about 75 percent of what he could use. That volunteer conservation effort has its downside, he acknowledged. "I haven't had a full ditch of irrigation water all summer," he said. "It's cutting me short." And he figures the worst is yet to come. "We've got a little water," he said of the current availability. "You could go ahead and plant and not have water. Or not plant it and have water. It's a real dilemma." Straube, who has a son working on a master's degree in education and a daughter who is just entering high school, says the drought has added a heavy burden on the struggle to survive on a family farm. "I told my kids they need to go do something different," he said. "They seem to agree. I may be the last generation here." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.