As harvest season winds down across Jefferson County, farmers and ranchers are tallying the costs of what turned out to be one of the hardest growing years in recent memory — defined by drought, reduced water allotments, and the long shadow of a historically low-snowpack winter.
A Year Defined by Drought
At its peak this spring, roughly 94% of Jefferson County was classified under severe drought, with the remainder in moderate drought, according to the Oregon Water Resources Department. The conditions mirrored the devastating 2015 snow drought and prompted state emergency drought declarations across much of Oregon.
The culprit was a winter that delivered historically low snowpack across the Cascades and the broader Central Oregon watershed — the primary source of irrigation water for the region's farms and ranches.
Tighter Water from North Unit
In March, the North Unit Irrigation District (NUID) board approved significantly reduced water allotments for the 2026 season, giving member farms just 1.30 acre-feet per acre from the Deschutes River and 0.65 acre-feet per acre from the Crooked River. In a typical year, those figures run considerably higher.
For Jefferson County's potato, wheat, hay, and mint growers — many of whom depend entirely on NUID water for irrigation — the cuts forced difficult choices: fallow some acreage, shift crop mix, drill deeper, or simply absorb the losses.
Looking Ahead: Building Resilience
The drought has renewed urgency around long-term water planning. NUID and the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) are leading a drought resilience working group that has been meeting since 2022, bringing together more than 40 members including growers, ranchers, county officials, conservation organizations, and university researchers.
The group's goal is to develop and implement strategies that keep agriculture viable in Jefferson County as the region faces a future of more frequent and severe dry cycles.
"Agriculture drives Jefferson County's culture, economy, and land conditions," according to NUID's drought planning materials. "How can agriculture stay viable as temperatures rise while water supplies decrease and become more erratic?"
There are no easy answers. But as October rains begin to trickle in and snowpack forecasts for the coming winter come into focus, Jefferson County's farming community is watching the skies — and the water rights — very closely.
Residents wanting to learn more about drought resilience resources can visit northunitidor.gov or contact the Jefferson County SWCD office in Madras.