Irrigation project

seeks to save hay meadows

TOWNER, N.D. (AP)--An irrigation project is bringing relief to hay meadows, and to farmers in the heart of the state's cattle country.

The Eaton Irrigation Project was built in the 1930s, when ranchers struggled to provide hay for their livestock. Today, 67,000 acres of land benefit from the project. Each spring, water is directed onto the hay land.

"It's big cattle country all along here. We've got 42 landowners in the project and I'd say 35 of them would be pretty-much out of the cow-calf business without that water. It's critical for this area," said Cliff Hanretty, a longtime Eaton Irrigation Project board member.

"These meadows really produce if we get water on them. It's quite a boost to the community. It sure means a lot," said John Rognlien, a Towner area rancher.

"We just don't have any stored soil moisture," said Raquel Dugan-Dibble, the McHenry County agent. "We're severe to moderately dry because of no snow cover and no rain. The moisture reserves just aren't there."

Dugan-Dibble estimates that ranchers whose hay land is not flooded by the project could suffer as much as 60 percent loss of forage without enough ample rainfall soon. Sloughs and water holes in the area are drying out--some that have not been dry for as long as residents can remember. Dugan-Dibble said some ranchers are beginning to talk about selling cattle or stockpiling hay.

"One inch of soil moisture can contribute 130 to 150 pounds of grass in a native pasture," Dugan-Dibble said. "We're a long ways from being OK. If we don't get some rain by that May 15 mark, the pastures and range lands, even the crops, will be hurting."

Two memorable dry years in the Towner area were 1988 and 1961, when little hay was produced outside the irrigation district. Ranchers hope 2008 will not be added to the list.

"Last year, it starting to rain on the fourth of May," Hanretty said. "I know, because I was working calves about that time. You need rain steady in this country. It is so sandy."

Timely rains and warmer temperatures to speed the growth of grasses would be more than welcome.

"If they turn out the cattle too early, you get a quick consumption of new growth and you actually limit the carrying capacity of the pasture," Dugan-Dibble said. "The grass may not get a chance to get ahead of the cows."

The Towner area recently got a quarter-inch of rain--not enough to have much of an impact but enough to bring some hope.

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Date: 5/29/08

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