May/June 2022 - 18

Water concerns
abound in Idaho
A strong snowpack was hoped for, but levels were below average
By Zeke Jennings
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
A
strong winter snowpack to fill
Idaho's reservoirs and canals for
the 2022 growing season was
the hope for the state's potato farmers
following the excessive heat of 2021,
which resulted in below-average yields.
That's not what happened,
unfortunately.
According to the April 1 Idaho
Water Supply Outlook Report issued
by the USDA's Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS),
snowpack peaked at 75% of the 20-year
average. Snowpack levels were higher
in the panhandle region, ranging from
75 to 85% of the average, but lower in
the Upper Snake, Southern Snake and
Bear Basins, which were in the 60 to
70% range of median averages.
After strong precipitation in early
precip
winter,
late-winter
fell
off.
To complicate matters, there was an
early thaw that had snowpack melting
earlier than normal.
" Much of Idaho is poised to enter
another summer below normal
streamflow, and concerns about adequate
irrigation supply, " the report stated.
18
Spudman.com
Some springtime precip would
help delay irrigation water usage
and prolong the supply, but the
prospects of that do not appear
good. The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's Climate
Prediction Center forecasts a La
Niña weather pattern in the region
for late spring, which means belowaverage
moisture and above-average
temperatures. The forecast does call
for cooler-than-normal temperatures
for early spring, however, which
could help slow the snowpack melt.
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
President Bryan Searle, a potato, grain
and hay grower in Shelley, said growers
are " bracing " for the uncertain.
" Nobody is guaranteed to have
ample water supply to the end, " he
said. " Everyone is bracing for that. "
In Searle's case, he's opting to forgo
planting potatoes on some acres he'd
planned to because it isn't expected
that the nearby canal will have
water past June. Others are choosing
alternative crops, he added.
" There are some choosing to plant
grain because they're able to get a
decent contract price, " he said.
Idaho Potato Commission President
and CEO Jamey Higham said there
aren't a lot of answers to be had right
now, but there is great trepidation.
" I don't have any groundbreaking
insights, but I can tell you that our
growers are very concerned about
water this year, " he said.
WASHINGTON
While conditions in the Columbia
Basin - Washington's major potatoproducing
region - have experienced
drought conditions, the region's
irrigation water hinges largely on the
Columbia River in British Columbia.
" The majority of our water comes
from the headwaters of the Columbia
River
in British Columbia, "
said
Chris Voigt, Washington State Potato
Commission executive director. " I
think all of those snowpack sites are
at normal or slightly above normal
snowpack.
" So, we should be good in the
Columbia Basin. " Spring temperatures
are projected to be below normal
in Washington, with precipitation
expected to be in the normal range,
according to the most recent
Washington Water Supply Outlook
Report from the NRCS.
http://www.Spudman.com
May/June 2022

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