LAMAR, Colo.—Some southeastern farmers, still recovering from drought, say new water rules will make it even harder for them to survive.
“Truthfully, we’ve been farming for the insurance payments these last few years,” said Don McBee, who farms with his parents, Don and Alta, at the tail end of the Fort Lyon Canal in the May Valley south of Lamar. “Most farmers don’t make money,” he told the Pueblo Chieftain.
Some forecasts call for a possible return to drought conditions next year.
McBee said fuel prices alone—even without the new water rules—could force him to give up his 1,000-acre farm. At age 45 he is in what has become an old man’s profession.
He said the sprinklers the state wants them to use may not be as efficient as thought.
“That’s why we’re insisting on engineering reports,” said State Water Division 2 engineer Steve Witte. He said he will be explaining the rules at a series of local meetings with farmers.
The new rules would cover surface irrigation improvements like sprinklers and canal lining made since 1999, when Colorado and Kansas agreed on how much water is used for irrigation in Colorado, but would not cover wells which have been under new regulations since 1996.
McBee says the rules require farmers to prove they are not using too much water.
“We don’t understand why they’re after us so bad, unless they’re looking for water everywhere they can find it,” McBee said.
McBee didn’t want to be a farmer, at first. He once planned to attend the Colorado School of Mines at Golden and become a chemical engineer. He stayed at home to help farm, never married and has no regrets.
“I plan to die in this house,” he said simply. “We were never meant to be rich people. We love living in the middle of nowhere. If the water goes, there goes a way of life.”
