Drought puts burden on Oregon ranchers

Livestock producers are feeling the effects of drought at an intensifying rate. On the heels of two sparse rain years, pastures are drying up and herds might follow suit if the trend continues into next year. Fourth-generation Eagle Point rancher Ron Anderson figures plenty of his fellow ranchers are in a world of hurt. “We had no snowpack to speak of in comparison to what we used to,” Anderson said. “So when the snow’s gone, you know the runoff slows down. If you’re in the right place, you still get some runoff. There are places in Oregon where once that snow is gone, they don’t get nothing. If we don’t get a wet winter, or a lot of snow this year, then we’re really in for it. That could be a disaster.” Anderson said it is reminiscent of the climate shift in the late 1970s. “If you’re not in the right place, you can’t irrigate,” Anderson said. “You might only get one or two irrigations, well that don’t grow any feed, so that makes it difficult. You take a dry year on dry-land farming, you might get nothing.” While herd sizes have remained stable over the past decade, they’re much smaller than they were 40 years ago, Anderson said. At the same time, there are fewer acres devoted to hay and feed production. With pastures drying up this summer, farmers and ranchers resort to buying hay, more than likely from outside of the Rogue Valley...MORE