From the Chair

By Martin Kerns

It is almost unbelievable, but summer is over for us in the Klamath Basin. For hay growers, it was a great season – hardly any hay got wet from rain. For grain growers, if you could keep the grain damp during the hot days, your yield and quantity should be pretty good. Cattlemen started the summer season with lots of grass and ended with good yearling gains. Mother cows and their offspring show good feed. Time will tell with potatoes.

As always, pests did show up. Some alfalfa had bad weevil infestation and Ft. Klamath has lots of grasshoppers trimming the late growth and making the Fort look pretty brown, like we’ve already had an early frost.

I’m happy to report that conservation projects went along fine. We did have some problem getting archeology consultations, but now that need has been met. A possible setback to the CREP program is the no grazing rule. Penalties for intentional grazing buffer strips are severe; however, accidental grazing, through no fault of the landowner, is another matter. In order to maintain trust, it is critical for landowners to have the opportunity to correct the situation, after all, the goal of the CREP program is to IMPROVE WATER QUALITY.

April 2006 is coming closer. Thanks to Senator Doug Whitsett, Water for Life and the determination of the Off-Project Water Users Association, the shock rate bill passed into law. What this really means - if we do not prevail with Pacific Power, our power rates will only increase by half each year for 7 years. This gives you about 3 years of reasonable power rates to plan for and implement a program to curtail power usage on your irrigated land. It is certainly time to become innovative, always watching the bottom line.

The Klamath Soil and Water Conservation District’s Annual Meeting is coming up on October 13^th. Your invitation is included in this newsletter. We would like to have you come and help us celebrate a successful year. We’ll give out awards to some landowners that did an outstanding job of conservation on their property.

I’ll end by saying, “Keep up the good work!”