Swiftsure Ranch Summer Newsletter

Page 1

Summer 2021

Quarterly

Newsletter

Ranch Roundup What’s on the Horizon for Our Water?

Spring brought great lessons, a competitive second annual Swiftsure Derby, and the joy of welcoming you back for the 30th annual Cowboy Ball—in person, no less. But, unfortunately, spring has also brought the Wood River Valley a significant drought. While it seems that we often go through drought cycles here in Idaho, this one presents significant challenges for the ranch. In a “normal” year, our ranch hands are busy making sure our waterlines are in place, fields are being watered regularly, and the crop is growing. Typically, we’re pretty self-reliant. We grow our hay for the herd and produce enough over the summer to usually last us through the winter. But not this year; this year’s drought is throwing us a curveball. We have not been able to water at all this summer because of the extreme drought conditions that are present throughout the valley. Swiftsure Ranch Executive Director Paul Bennett states that the impacts the drought is taking on the ranch are significant.

While he noted that, unfortunately, there isn’t anything we can do about the water situation this year, we are taking advantage of this time to improve our water lines for efficiency. We are adding moisture meters to make sure we’re watering to JUST the right amount, and in the front pasture, our largest pasture, we’re replacing high-pressure water guns with traditional wheellines. These improvements are focused on distributing our water to achieve maximum productivity and efficiency in the years to come. As Paul said, there isn’t much we can do about the drought this year other than preparing ourselves for the future. This year we’re simply grateful for friends and connections that are helping us secure 40 tons of hay to get us through the winter months. We need to extend a big thank you to the Nancy Eccles and Homer Hayward Foundation and the Boswell Foundation for helping make this possible. Let us also state—we’re not the only ranch in the south valley faced with challenges this year. All ranches and properties in the Wood River Valley and Silver Creek drainage are seeing low water and are also forced to reduce or eliminate their summer water consumption.

Strength

Freedom

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Continued on page 2 Join today at swiftsureranch.org/GEMs

Connection


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Swiftsure Ranch Summer Newsletter by Nancy Glick - Issuu