http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

v 2.4.3.0

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced a drought declaration for Jefferson County through Executive Order 24-08 and directed state agencies to coordinate and prioritize assistance to the region, granting a request that was originally denied by state officials. This is the sixth consecutive drought declaration for Jefferson County. Below-normal precipitation, streamflow and groundwater conditions continue to indicate persistent drought conditions in the basin. Precipitation has been below average in Jefferson County since 2018. KTVZ-TV NewsChannel 21 (Redmond, Ore.), June 27, 2024 Although the State of Oregon denied Jefferson County’s request for a drought declaration, due to the normal snowpack, increasing streamflows and rising water storage levels, farmers were still having to get by with about half of their normal water deliveries for the sixth consecutive year. Several farms will no longer be farmed. One livestock company has to get feed by rail from the Midwest, which increases expenses considerably. They have quite a bit of farmland, but about half of it was fallow. A purple coneflower grower used to be the largest producer in the U.S. While his production is usually in the range of 35,000 to 45,000 pounds, this year he has just 510 pounds. Irrigators in the North Unit Irrigation District will get a little more than half of the full water allocation for the sixth year of drastically reduced water deliveries. Some generational farmers were choosing to stop farming. Some local businesses have shifted operations or moved elsewhere. One business shut down its seed division; another shut down its fertilizer division; and a tractor sales and service company relocated to another town. Jefferson County officials saw the difficulties that the water shortage was causing farmers and businesses and requested the drought declaration in March. The Oregon Water Resources department will reevaluate Jefferson County’s drought declaration request each month. In the meantime, the state is willing to help Jefferson County farmers appeal directly to the federal government for assistance. Central Oregon Daily News (Bend, Ore.), May 22, 2024