https://www.heraldandnews.com/members/forum/guest_commentary/turner-dry-ditch-portends-hard-future-for-farmers/article_708a82fa-385f-5198-a839-050bdccd7a48.html
Turner: Dry ditch portends hard future for
farmers
I am soon to be
a fifth-generation farmer here in the Klamath Basin and have
always looked forward to seeing what my agricultural future
has for me.
Ever since that
first tractor ride with my dad, agriculture has had my
heart. The lifestyle, experiences and character I have
gained while living on a farm is honestly an unforgettable
feeling.
Recently after
school I drove around a little red farm pickup that has been
on our family farm my whole life, just out enjoying the
agricultural scenery which never gets old. About halfway
through my drive I stopped on a wooden bridge and mindlessly
stared at a dry canal which has never been dry this time of
the year during the 18 years I have been alive. I stared
blank off into the distance and noticed how quiet and dead
our ecosystem in the basin was.
This time of
the year you always hear animal life communicating to no
end, enjoying the canal full of water. You hear irrigation
systems watering crops to grow and fulfill the needs to feed
America. You see waterfowl using the canal and ditches for a
safe place to mate. You see hardworking men out changing
water before sundown. You see mothers and fathers taking
their kids out for drives showing them how great agriculture
really is. You see muskrats and otters getting ready to mate
and using the canal full of water trying to make a living
just like us farmers.
But the
devastating part about all of this is everything I just
listed was far from being heard or seen during my drive on
this recent afternoon.
The Klamath
Basin water crisis really set in my heart this day and made
me miss the little things I have seen and heard the past 17
years of living on a farm. I realized that not only is this
hurting farmers, but it is ruining the experiences kids get
from living in a rural, agriculture-based community. It’s
ruining habitat and water sources for animals, and is making
young men like me worry that farming might not be here when
it is my time to produce crops to feed America.
— Zack Turner, 18, is a
student at Lost River High School. He farms outside Malin
with his family.
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