Merrill - When Dan Chin visited the Chinese village from where his grandfather had immigrated, he saw they were still farming potatoes with oxen.   In 1914, Chin's grandfather, Sam Wong, left his farm in China to moved to America.   No one knows how long the family has been raising potatoes but Dan Chin is the third generation in Merrill.  

"Farming is a great way of life but a hard way to make a living," Chin told the Pioneer Press.   "My grandfather went broke three or four times in the process."  

After coming from China, Sam Wong started growing potatoes in Stockton, then moved to Fallon and finally settled in Merrill.   

Dan Chin now farms approximately 3800 acres in the Klamath Basin.   The primary crop consists of 900 acres of potatoes and 300 acres of onions.   The remainder is alfalfa and wheat which are used as rotational crops to keep the ground healthy and fertile.    

Chin who is the father of three, said he may be the last of the farmers in the family.
"Due to the general economics of farming and the uncertainty of water issues here," his kids have not shown much interest in taking over.  

His eldest children are both teachers and the youngest is still attending college.  

The Pioneer Press met with Chin in his office at Wong Potatoes.    Chin said his grandfather began sorting and marketing potatoes here in 1938.   Back then it was called dry sorting where the potatoes would be brought in from the cellars and sorted into #1s, #2s and culls.   Then packed in 100 pound sacks and sold.

In the 1960s, his father, George Chin, took over from his grandfather and they began washing the potatoes, sorting and packaging in more convenient forms for the consumer.  
As the third generation, Chin and his wife DeeDee, bought the farm and packing shed from his father in 2000, the year before the water crisis.  

In April 2001, Chin found out there would be no water.   With 80 percent of his fields already having been prepared to plant and approximately 40 percent of that year's costs already incurred.  

Chin was in a bad spot.  

He began cancelling orders for fertilizer, seed potatoes, equipment and parts which the farm would need to operate.    He knew this would also effect the businesses he dealt with.  
"The financial trickle down effect of the water crisis was dramatic," Chin said.  "The tax base is tied to the land."

It affected everyone in the community whether they used the water or not.   he said.

Chin employs approximately 25 full time workers with the farming operation and another 35 in the packing shed. This number increases significantly during harvest. With no water there would be no work for them.  

After five years, Chin says he is still trying to recover from the financial burden the crisis placed on him and his business.

He described that summer as "frustrating."   He wondered "How could they let one arbitrary opinion affect the lives of tens of thousands of people?"   He stood at the headgates, saw the lake was full.   How could they just shut the water off?   He spent that summer "trying to understand what had happened."

He saw many different levels of frustration while at the headgates.   By protesting there they brought national attention to the issue.   He also worked with legislators and other politicians to try and resolve the issue.   Both aspects were needed.

Chin still has fears of future water issue problems.

He has "taken a hard look" at how they do business.   In addition to drilling several new wells to supplement his irrigation, he works on many water conservation projects to become as efficient with the water he uses as he can.   He said they keep getting better every year.  

 

More sophisticated moisture meters are used to test the soil.   He has started using  alternative growing methods such as planting the potatoes at a 72 inch spacing instead of the conventional 3 feet.   This change in spacing provides a larger crop canopy which in turn helps retain more moisture in the ground. 

Working hard on as many water conservation issues as he can.   Chin hopes that he will never have to spend another summer at the headgates.