We received notice yesterday by the Ditch Company that the irrigation water is to be shut off early this year and (depending on the snow levels over winter) to start later next year.
Although, we have turned our water off, there are those who have planted winter wheat and also those who have just cut their hay and will need to water the alfalfa field one more time before going into winter.
“Due to drought conditions and the heavy usage of stored water this summer, the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association –UVWUA- will be shutting the Gunnison Tunnel off two and a half weeks early this year. The shut-off date will be October 15th. This decision has been made to conserve Taylor Reservoir water for next year. Growers planting winter grains should plan accordingly. Pending the type of winter we have this year, there is a possibility water will be turned on later than normal next spring. For questions or comments call the UVWUA.”
You are looking upon our head gate for the irrigation water to our place. Our share of this canal (the Ironstone) is taken out at this point. It goes back in at the end of our farm.
We were watching the Rural Farm News (yes, we do things like that) and the report on there was this drought is the largest drought in years, and years, and years, encompassing most of the United States clear into Canada.
As much as I dislike snow and ice and the dark and cold of winter….I’m sure there isn’t a person out there that doesn’t want a lot of moisture this winter.
Finger crossed and toes crossed for moisture for drought stricken regions everywhere!!!!
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
Hasn’t it been something this year? Throw out the record books…hot, dry, windy summer after a dry windy winter. Sure do need some good old snow this winter. Love the cattail!
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Wow, that is really scary news. This drought could do more harm than all the government policies combined.
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Interesting as they shut ours off October 15th every year but then we are farther north. I sure hope we get LOTS of snow here and in the mountains or we are going to be in big worries next year.
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Wishing the best for all of you. I guess that means lots of snow in your area. Farmers are brave folks!! We appreciate your labors
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Toes and fingers crossed is euphemism for praying your heart out, right?
You know, it averages out sometime, somewhere which means someplaces in the world are having way too much. Another thing to go on the list to discuss with the Man upstairs when I get there.
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I’m with you in praying for LOTS of moisture this winter! We need it so bad, too. It was on the news a couple of nights ago that we are 20 inches behind in rain for the last two years! Cotton watering is done here, too, but wheat farmers will need it soon.
Looks like your watering is very labor intensive…a farmer really has to love what he does or it would be impossible to keep up with it all.
Blessings to you and Terry! BTW, love your header and the pic of the cattail.
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I sure hope that winter and the next growing season produces a much better crop of rain, (but not going into the other direction, like floods!)
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I’m hoping for moisture everywhere! We have gotten rain and have come out of “exceptional drought” to “extreme drought”. I’d like to see that go away completely. How about “no drought”?
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So it’s a time of mixed emotions. You need some bad in order to get some good. You need winter to get snow and water.
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interesting that the land affected is so broad.. they call it a drought here too but honestly compared to you guys we just had a dry spell.. I mean really! c
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Oh dear, the World has turned “topsy turvey”.
Last two summers here far more rain and cyclones than ever ( 2010/11) and now the long range
forecast for this summer is HOT! Thankfully there is enough water, actually plenty in all the dams that supply water to towns and cities – all around Australia.
Might be your turn in the Northern Hemisphere to get heaps of rain – and without bloody floods.
Just shows what people living on the land have to endeavour to put up with so as to produce food for supermarkets and of course to make a living out of it.
Great to know that like rural TV stations here, you have rural news which is not shown in the capital cities – Sydney, Brisbane etc. If rural news was shown on the city TV news broadcasts, it could, hopefully ??, make city slickers appreciate the work that you all do. Maybe one out of ten might watch it??? Would give them something to talk about when they sip their “lattes” or chardonnays!!! Even the bar (beer) mob might take note.
My mother watches religiously the rural news in Young, NSW. It comes on immediately after
her favourite USA TV show – now don’t faint – “The Bold and the Beautiful” – ha ha!
And on that cheery note – good luck with the weather.
Cheers
Colin (HB) Brisbane. Australia.
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Fingers, toes and prayers. ♥
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Not fair cutting that off two weeks early! Yes, I will pray for good moisture all winter for you and your neighbors!
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Oh LInda You are in my heart. Trying not to worry abut the weather is so hard. And a drought breaks your heart. – it’s always there. May you have what you need, I’ll be thinking of you.
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And the sad thing is, that all these climate changes have nothing to do with the Man up there, but with the men down here, chopping down forests and changing the whole ecological chain. We once lived in a place where you could see this in miniature, where the trees had been removed, we had no rain, but could see other people a mile away merrily filling their water tanks in regular downpours, while we had to buy water.
Roll on the rain and the snow for you this winter, at carefully staged intervals so you don’t get too much at once.
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Wow.
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Those pretty cattails are a large part of the problem. So many lakes, ponds and rivers are clogged with them and Phragmites. Such a lake produces no “lake effect” rains that are a major part of the global cooling system. The silt these weeds produce raise the lake beds until lakes are nonviable, and become drylands. The name of this process is hydrosere. Look at Africa’s Lake Chad. The weed there is Typha Australis, a cattail bigger than ours. Tools for cutting T. Latifolia or T. Angustifolia are inadequate for it. Many aquifers have their replenishment zones at the bottom of lakes. When the silt coats the lakebed, the aquifer runs dry. This process can be reversed by weeding, dredging and digging. The effort will be enormous, but there is a world-wide labor glut to do it with, and it can be financed with the biofuel to be made from the weeds.
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We camped by the Dillon Lake this summer… and it was way down. then we went to a lake near Steamboat… it was way down. Sad!!! The chopped down trees was the really sad part of camping this summer.
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Much as I hate to admit it, too, we all need a regular old wet winter…We’ve had enough rain in the last month to nearly be back at normal – three different tropical systems – but without the snow to melt down slowly next spring, we’ll be right back into the Dry by May.
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