From the Fields: Jim Morris, Siskiyou County rancher and farmer

By Jim Morris, Siskiyou County rancher and farmer

We are a cow-calf operation and a sheep operation producing lambs for sale. Cattle prices are at unheard of numbers right now. Prices are off the charts, so I don’t know how sustainable it is, but cow guys are smiling. Lamb prices are fair, and there’s no market at all for wool. 

We also grow forage crops and hay crops for retail. We’re within a week or two of cutting hay. We’re exploring the world of seed crops—grass seed and vegetable seed. These crops allow us to grow using a little less water because our water is very regulated in Scott Valley and Shasta Valley. 

Until very recently, we were under an emergency declaration for drought, and this was at the same time that our county had issued an emergency declaration for flooding, which is a bit of a conundrum. The state has tried to deal with the situation by just perpetuating the regulation that we had during the drought through legislation. 

We have tons of water in the river, and it’s leaving to the ocean, so adding more storage would be valuable. We are doing groundwater recharge research, and the results at this point look very promising that we can store wet-season water when the river is high. 

There is plenty of water, so we think the water year should be fine, but we don’t know if the state is going to shut us down. The state has asked us to write a local cooperative solution that shows how we’re going to cut our irrigation by 30% under 2020 levels. It’s tough to do, but that is why I am looking at water conservation crops. The local cooperative solution program is like an insurance policy that we start paying the premium right up front and we cut our irrigation by 30%—even if we find out later there was plenty of water. We’re going to remain optimistic that we will find a way through this water situation.