After years of extreme drought, farmers' prayers were finally answered —the water came, and a lot of it.
But now farmers across Utah, particularly in the north, are struggling to salvage a growing season stunted by cold weather and threatened by record flooding.
Ron Gibson, president of the Utah Farm Bureau, paints a grim picture of the problem Utah farmers are facing:
- Delayed planting
- No planting
- Calves dying off due to cold temperatures and a March that saw 250% of normal precipitation
“We are going to have a lot of ground where we will be lucky if we get any crop in this year,” Gibson said. “It really depends on how this runoff comes off. Right now, it is pretty scary.”
On Thursday, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food announced it was helping ranchers impacted by extreme flooding along the Bear River, which passes by Logan and Brigham City.
The agency estimates 20 to 30 ranches along the Bear River have been impacted by flooding, resulting in the evacuation of cattle to avoid the rising waters.
The ranchers are expected to incur additional feed costs of $18,000 to $25,000 per ranch and transportation costs of $2,500 to $5,000 to relocate cattle, according to the agency.
Additional costs stem from having to divert water and create high ground for cattle to stand on. And as the weather warms, the snowmelt and resulting runoff will continue to move more rapidly and more intensely.