Severe drought conditions costing farmers more, leads to thinning herd numbers for some

(Update: Adding video, comments from Redmond rancher)

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Severe drought conditions are making things increasingly difficult for Central Oregon ranchers and farmers like Dennis Fast, the owner of Sky Hawk Ranch in Redmond.

“Well, there's certainly some ranchers and farmers that are in real difficult times in Central Oregon,” Fast said Wednesday. 

Every summer, Fast raises yearlings, or young cows. He sends them to feed lots in the fall, and eventually the meat ends up in the grocery store.

With Central Oregon entering the third year of extreme drought, Fast said the people growing food or raising animals simply don’t have enough water to produce the way they want to.

“Farmers and ranchers work hard, and they sometimes struggle anyway, financially,” Fast said. “You add on to that the burden of cutting your product, at the end of the day you’re just going to lose money.”

Typically there would be 250-300 cows at Sky Hawk Ranch each summer. But this year, they expect to only have enough water for half that.

Fast also boards horses at his ranch.

But with the drought hurting hay growers in Jefferson County even harder, he has to adjust his prices.

“My cost for hay, and I’m feeding 50-60 horses per day, has jumped $100 a ton in the last three months,” Fast said. “Those costs, either I have to absorb or pass them on.”

He said certain grocery store items are having the same issue.

“And some of it is due to the drought,” Fast said. “If we’re not producing as much product, there’s less supply -- and it's going to cost more.”

Fast knows some ranchers who have had to sell their herd, or their land.

He hopes not to join them.

“We’ve worked hard for this, and we don’t want to lose what we’ve worked for,” Fast said. 

Fast said there are some water-saving strategies and conservation ideas being looked into.

But for now, he's praying for more snow and more rain.