For Art and Carol Baca, who grow 34 acres of pasture grass for livestock in Belen, the lack of water this year is very visible. “If that river is not running, a lot of things don’t happen,” Art Baca said.
In a typical season, the Bacas would irrigate every two weeks, flooding six or seven times from March through October. This year, there was only one irrigation, leaving the pasture dry and making it difficult to plan for fertilizer, grazing or production.
“Our fields have not had any water since the beginning of June,” Carol Baca said. “That’s how bad it is.”
For farmers like the Bacas, who depend on water delivered by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, if there is no water in the river, there’s less grass, more uncertainty and difficult decisions about whether they can continue farming.
The Rincon and Jaral ditches, which serve farmland west of Belen, ran dry this year, leaving the Bacas wondering when their next irrigation would arrive. They could only wait for a phone call from the ditch riders letting them know water is available — or hope for Mother Nature to be a little bit kinder.
Like many other New Mexico farmers, the Bacas got a lot less water than they needed this year, complicating their lives and livelihoods. Fertilizer is expensive and needs water to be effective, but without reliable irrigation, they risk wasting money on fertilizer that won’t help their crops.
“It hurts,” Art Baca said. “You can’t predict it, so you just do the best you can during the time.”
Farmers across the state have had to adapt by using drip irrigation, land leveling, monitoring soil, planting crops that withstand harsh weather and even leaving some land un-planted, according to New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte.
“Everybody’s basically rationing water and trying to use it the best they can,” Witte said.
At Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm, in Los Ranchos, surrounded by Albuquerque’s North Valley, farmers use different systems, including wells, sprinklers, drip and flood irrigation.
Farm manager Judy Hartline said one of the farm’s well pumps failed this summer. Although she couldn’t be certain that dry conditions caused the failure, the pump may have been running more than usual.
Even with the support of two wells, Hartline watched as dry conditions stressed the inn’s tomatoes, cucumbers and fruit trees.
“There may be some things we just can’t grow here anymore,” Hartline said.
The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District said the rain raised river levels, but there still wasn’t enough water to guarantee irrigation for all farmers south of Isleta.
Witte said farmers who aren’t able to irrigate from the river should work toward more efficient water infrastructure. But adapting isn’t easy. The Bacas said the cost of digging a well could eat up any profits they’d make. Even farms that are able to adapt, like Los Poblanos Farm, could face costly equipment failures.
Another dry year could make decisions more urgent. For farmers along the Middle Rio Grande, the question is not simply whether the river will have water next summer. It is whether there will be enough water to keep farms going for the next generation.
“The next several years will be challenging for New Mexico agriculture,” Jeff Witte said.
