The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared that most of Idaho is in a natural disaster area because of drought.
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Some farmers in Eastern Oregon have run out of irrigation water. The farmers said they knew going into the summer that water would be limited.
Malheur and Harney counties were among the first to appeal to the state for official drought declarations. Now, irrigation water in some parts of eastern Oregon has run out for most farmers.
"The reservoirs are dry. The system is dry," said Dan Fulwyler, who manages the Vale Irrigation District. It covers 35,000 acres and operates three dams.
"We're in about a three-, four-year drought and it's getting hard for the farmers to maintain their farms" Fulwyler said.
Many farmers opted to plant different crops this spring when it was obvious that reservoirs would not fill this summer. Fulwyler said that many of the farmers in his district are harvesting crops early, now that the water is gone.
"They were very good about picking the crops that they planted so that they could at least get some crops this year," said Fulwyler. "But they're hurting."
The full irrigation season runs until Oct. 15 for Vale Irrigation District users. It's rare for water to be available for that long, but Fulwyler said that in a typical year the water will last until late August or early September.
