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Joseph Gittins and his twin brother Jacob carry 3-hour-old twin calves on the Gittins Dairy farm their father Jeff Gittins owns in Smithfield. The farm maintains about 180 dairy cows. The Utah State University Research farm, and Cache Valley farmers are getting water from the Logan Northern Canal, from a cobbled together system fed by other canals and culinary water wells. Everyone is cooperating to avert disaster this growing season, but they'll need a permanent solution to get through next year. Photo by Leah Hogsten/ The Salt Lake Tribune SLC 8/6/09 Logan and Smithfield
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Weather is fickle, but who could have guessed the heavy June rains that ruined crops in Cache County would be a boon.

Higher-than-normal creeks now are helping farmers irrigate their crops after water was cut off July 11 when a section of the Logan Northern Canal collapsed.

Farmers also are getting water from a temporary system cobbled together from other canal companies as well as from culinary water in wells normally reserved for homes and neighborhood lawns.

The patchwork system was made possible by other growers cutting back on irrigating their own fields and homeowners conserving water.

"It's amazing how neighbors have helped each other out," said Utah State University extension agent Clark Israelsen, who initially predicted bone-dry corn, alfalfa and grain fields irrigated from the Logan Northern Canal.

Smithfield dairyman Jeff Gittins said the real test for the temporary system will come after this week's hay harvest, when fields must be irrigated before farmers can get a third cutting. Gittins and his twin sons, Jacob and Joseph, have been baling hay nonstop in hope of harvesting that third crop.

Like dairy producers nationwide, Gittins is struggling to make ends meet because the price of milk is substantially below production costs. He and other area dairy producers have added burdens of a ruined first alfalfa cutting, along with not knowing if whether water supplies will hold out.

"We've been

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blessed and lucky so far," said the elder Gittins. "But we can't be blessed and lucky two years in a row. Next year we'll need a permanent solution."

Federal engineers have drafted two plans to reroute water, with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The proposal to eliminate the damaged canal and reroute water north to the Logan, Hyde Park, Smithfield Canal Co. appears to be the most feasible, Logan public works director Mark Nielson said. The second, less likely alternative would be to keep the Logan Northern Canal largely intact, but bypass the treacherous hillsides that gave way in July, killing a woman and her two children.

As part of a temporary fix, Logan has diverted water from its municipal well and is using the city's storm-drain system to deliver water where farmers need it.

"We've done all we can, but it's still less than half the water that farmers need," Nielson said.

The century-old Greensville Research Farm in North Logan is making do with half the water normally allocated, according to Ray Cartee, director of research farms for Utah State University. Scientists at the 80-acre site have produced disease-resistant wheat and barley varieties, and they're evaluating plants best suited to dry, high-desert climates.

"There were days when we were pulling hoses to water where we could, but we've been fortunate to have averted a real disaster," he said.

The temporary repairs should provide just enough water for the remainder of the growing season, added Jeff Slade, research-farm supervisor at Greensville.

The question of adequate water supplies, however, remains unsettled -- especially for that third hay cutting.

A USDA report released last week said growers are concerned about getting enough water for that task. So far, the second hay cutting is good quality, silage corn is growing rapidly and the safflower crop "appears to be one of the best we have ever raised in this county."

But there was no measurable precipitation during the entire month of July, and rangelands are drying up quickly.

dawn@sltrib.com

Tips to conserve water for lawns:

» Don't water in the heat of the day -- as much as half the water is lost to evaporation.

» Water deeply one or two times each week with at least a half-inch per irrigation session.

» Check for clogged or leaky pipes and inspect sprinkler heads to ensure they're spraying correctly.

» A few brown spots are OK, but concentrate on watering spots with a small hose-end sprinkler, if needed.

» Mow the lawn at a height of 3 inches so turf roots will grow deeper into the soil.

» Over-fertilizing invites pests and diseases. Two yearly fertilizations usually are adequate.

For more information, visit http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/boxelderrev.pdf.

Source: USU Horticulture Extension Agent Taun Beddes.