Impact of the Drought

Information on how the drought may affect specific agricultural products and related industries:

Most of Washington's crops are grown in near-desert conditions and depend on irrigation. About 58 percent of the state's total harvest, representing $2.8 billion, comes from 27 percent of the land that is irrigated. From a cursory look at selected crops during the 1997 and 1994 droughts, the harvest value of these crops in 2001 may drop 33 percent, or $225 million.

In 2003 there were significant increases in the costs of diesel or gas fuels, escalating power costs for those who had to purchase electricity on the spot market, and rising natural gas costs as more gas was required to generate electricity. Natural gas is the raw material for many agricultural fertilizers, thus the cost of fertilizer has rapidly risen, too.

This situation is exacerbated by farmers having little money to explore options due to weak markets and increasing costs for water and power. For the last four years, many farmers have received less than the cost of production for their crops. Many can no longer get loans to hold them over. The drought has made many lenders wary of loaning money to growers because no water means no crop. No crop means no income to repay loans.

The value of products harvested from irrigated land is nearly seven times greater than that harvested from non-irrigated land. Farmers pay almost $40 per acre for energy for irrigation. At $49 million per year, 98.7 percent of the cost is for electricity. Farmers are somewhat protected by irrigator preferences, but the long-term trend toward higher costs threatens the viability of irrigation in several areas.

Many growers, unable to get credit or to sell their products at a profit, are in arrears in payments to the irrigation districts, or have simply defaulted. The cost of maintaining the irrigation then falls on fewer and fewer members until collapse is inevitable.

Washington can be divided into four areas for the purposes of irrigated agriculture:

There also is some acreage in Whatcom County irrigated out of the Nooksack River.

For farmers who grow annual crops, such as potatoes, peas or carrots, loss of water will mean a year of lost production. For those who grow perennial crops, such as grapes, fruit trees or hops, loss of water will mean several years of lost production. Trees and vines, which are perennial crops, would die from lack of water and would need to be removed or replaced. It would take several years for the new stock to reach maturity and begin providing income for the grower.

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