Family Farm Friday #89: Our Ditch Runneth Over

We live in an irrigation project.  Most people aren't familiar with what that means, so let me explain.  The Army Corps of Engineers dammed up the Canadian River about 50 miles northwest of our family's farm for the purpose of creating this irrigation project.  They allow farmers in the project to buy a set amount of water to irrigate crops and that water is then diverted from the river into canals and ditches that get to the farmers.  Because we live in a place that doesn't get much rainfall (even in a normal year, much less in a drought like we're in), we depend on this water for our livelihood.

When I was a kid, we used to get about 18 inches of water per acre.  You'd look out the front window and it was green as far as you could see.  We'd have multiple cuttings of hay, trucks full of milo and wheat, and lots of grass for the sheep.

Then the drought hit.  The last 5 years, we have gotten no water.  It was too dry and there was just not enough water in the river.  Fields turned brown.  Dust started to blow.  Crops died.  My dad says that now, when you look out the front window, it's just depressing.

But then, on Monday, a welcome sight.

Water came flowing down the concrete ditches of the irrigation project.  This year, we'll be getting 9 inches of water.  I wasn't there for the fun, but I can assure  you that my parents took it all in when that water came down the ditch.  The smell, the sounds, it splashing up on you when you set the tubes for it to run down the field.

Farming is tough.  It's even tougher in the worst drought in history and the wind blows 50 miles an hour for weeks on end.  I know that it's depressing and eats on my dad every day.  But as he said when he posted this on Facebook, he waited a long time for this day. 

And although the drought is far from over and the grass is far from green and we are still in desperate need of rain, that sound you hear in the video....it's worth celebrating.  Our ditch runneth over.