Ranchers worrying about beef markets  

By ELON GLUCKLICH 

H&N Staff Writer

April 20, 2010

   But the years to follow could be a different story.

H&N photo by Elon Glucklich - Jason Chapman watches over cattle at the family ranch in Poe Valley. Chapman says an expected drought in the region could leave his livestock far from drinkable water.

    The Poe Valley cattle rancher has been here before, faced with a water shortage in 2001 for his 600-plus-head cattle operation. But, as Chapman explained, one season of drought can affect his livelihood for up to four years because a lack of water puts extra strain on his livestock.

   “It’s just like with humans,” Chapman explained. “If you restrict their water intake, they’re not going to gain weight and produce as well. Producing milk for their young takes a lot of energy, and if they don’t have that energy it’s going to affect their calves as well.”

   Upper Klamath Lake is at record low levels, and drought conditions are expected in the Basin this year, and irrigators on the Klamath Reclamation Project have been told to expect no more than one-third the Project’s normal water supply.  

   The Chapman ranch

   Chapmans have worked the 750-acre parcel of land since Jason’s grandfather bought the property in 1948.

   Today Jason runs the ranch with his father, growing grass to supplement their income, of which a vast majority comes from their cattle.       

    “Obviously, we make our money selling beef,” he said.

   Chapman has around 350 cattle and 320 calves on his ranch. Keeping them nourished requires a steady water source, and he fills that need through a number of strategically placed irrigation ditches, designed to minimize the distance the cattle need to walk — and energy they need to dispel — to reach drinkable water.

   “We pick water from three different districts,” he said.

   The water comes from the Klamath Irrigation, Klamath Basin Improvement and Poe Valley Improvement districts.

   “We have no wells,” Chapman said, “so we’re kind of tied in pretty heavily with how the Upper Klamath Lake looks.”

   Undernourished  

   Drought years, such as that seen in 2001, drop Upper Klamath Lake to a fraction of its full capacity.

   When that happens, water doesn’t reach Chapman’s irrigation ditches. Ideally, Chapman said, cattle shouldn’t have to walk more than a quarter mile to reach water. But when the ditches are dry, the closest source of water becomes the Lost River.

   “That’s about a mile and a quarter away from where they are now,” he said.

   Curtis Martin with the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association said numerous areas in the state are likely to be impacted by anticipated droughts this year. Martin, chairman of the association’s water resources committee, said that lack of resources will leave ranchers like Campbell with tough choices to make.

   “It’s going to impact production so much that it boils down to economic options,” he said. “Do you liquidate part of your base herd of cows and calves, or do you go out and buy more expensive feeding equipment?”

   Chapman said he hopes he can keep operating at his current levels. With fewer natural resources to split among a large number of cattle, however, the result could be a lower than-average yield of beef.

   “The offspring are going to gain fewer pounds, be less healthy, making for fewer pounds the producer is able to sell,” Martin said.