TORRINGTON – The agriculture industry in Goshen County, and the surrounding area, have been affected by severe drought conditions this year. These conditions have had a negative impact on our local farmers, ranchers, and other related industries.
According to www.drought.gov, 100% of people in Goshen County are affected by the drought and this October was the 27th driest on record, over the past 128 years. At this time, 100% of the county is in a severe drought and the southern 59.98% is in an extreme drought.
In a severe drought, the pasture conditions are poor, overgrazing is reported, and hay is scarce. Also, producers are selling more cattle, trees and vegetation are stressed, and well levels are declining. In addition to the conditions of a severe drought, an extreme drought means there is a poor snowpack, and the surface water is inadequate for ranching and farming.
“We have about 450 acres of hay and about 380 acres of grass,” Greg Befus owner and operator of Befus Hereford located in Lyman, Nebraska said. “Our first cutting was about 25% of normal, way down. Normally, we can expect two-and-a-quarter to two-and-a-half tons an acre off our hay pivot and it was about a third of a ton an acre.”
This has been a common occurrence this year. Many ranchers and farmers have commented that they haven’t had any moisture since spring, and there’s not much feed in the pastures for cattle. Among the challenges of a dry year, 110,000 acres are still being affected by the tunnel collapse that happened in July 2019.
In July 2019, one of the underground tunnels along the Fort Laramie Canal collapsed causing a breach in the side of the canal. Kevin Strecker, manager of the Goshen Irrigation District (GID), explained that at this time the GID has constructed a temporary fix to the canal. The work that has been done currently has the canal running at about 90% compacity. The additional problem this year was the lack of water from runoff.
“We didn't get water until June 20th or so,” Befus added commenting on the irrigation schedule. “We had already taken the first cutting, we had no rain, and everything was dry. We just couldn't catch up with the water.”
Befus also explained that they had only about 85% of the normal amount of water this last season. When the irrigation system was opened, they did not have enough water to run their pivots as usual. They had to turn off every third sprinkler in order to have enough water to run their pivots.
These hardships have directly impacted the price of hay. In many cases, hay that used to cost $150 a year ago, and $90 three years ago, is now going for $220 a ton or more. Among the rising cost of hay, there has also been an increase in feeds for other animals like livestock and poultry.
As a result of the high hay prices, many cattle and horse operations have made the decision to reduce or disperse their herds. This has not only made it more expensive to raise these animals, but it has also impacted sale prices and the cost of meat.
According to the Wyoming weekly market summary which was posted on Dec. 9, feeder steers weighing 500 to 600 pounds have increased from $188.74 last year to $219.00 this week. Feeder heifers of the same weight have also seen an increase from $165.36 last year to $199.71 this week.
According to the food price outlook on www.ers.usda.gov, meats have seen an 8.2% increase from last year, and poultry has seen a 14% increase from last year.
At this time, unless we have more moisture this year, the water situation is unlikely to improve.
On Nov. 16, the GID did a tunnel tour for the representatives of different organizations who are involved in the reconstruction and restoration of the irrigation system.
At this event, Strecker explained, “We are just getting contract work to get the design going, so that’ll start in the next couple of weeks. The design and drawing of the bid will probably take the next year. We hope then, in the fall of 2024 we can start construction.”
Strecker also explained that because of the significant age of the infrastructure in place many different structures in the system need to either be refurbished or replaced within the next couple of years. The Whalen Diversion Dam, the structure which diverts water into the Interstate and Fort Laramie Canals from the Platte River, is over 100 years old and in need of replacement. If these updates are not completed, there could be more catastrophic and costly damages to be addressed in the future.
