2021 continues to be the year that’s kicking the hell out of Klamath family farmers, ranchers and our communities. The Bureau of Reclamation delivered it’s May update for the water allocation for Klamath Project Irrigators. Everyone assumed it would be lean, but not this lean. After the 8% water allocation back in April, how bad
One of the most perpetuated, unfounded claims that gets thrown at farmers and ranchers is that the Klamath Project is a desert. Somehow, farmers and ranchers that have made the Klamath Basin home for over a hundred years have been scraping by in the junipers and sagebrush, managing to eek out a living in this
Even in the fairgrounds parking lot near Linman Hall one could feel the pressure of the announcement that accompanied the KWUA 2021 Operations Meeting. Though the morning was sunny with a cool breeze, it was quiet and the air felt heavy and still. Inside the hall was no better. People and chairs were spaced appropriately
For years, the Basin has been profiled as “only producing” one or two crops, with little to no nutritional value. Let’s bust this myth. The Klamath Basin is built for production, with high altitudes, rich well-drained soils and (when allowed) abundant natural water resources. The short growing season makes production focused & structured, with close
This is a time of year when farmers and ranchers all over the Klamath Basin are gearing up water their fields and crops. Stakes are removed from wheel lines, irrigation districts like KID are priming the ditches, and the fields seem to come alive with action as solid set is laid out. Not this year.
