MRGCD makes late-season water deliveries available to New Mexico farmers
Jimmy Beal is ordering irrigation water for late crops in New Mexico as seasonal supplies open. The move lets local growers irrigate fields just weeks before the irrigation season finishes.
The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District told farmers to contact their ditch operators directly. Water is ready now for late-season crops.
Beal owns Beal Farms. He said he will ask for irrigation on Tuesday.
He plants triticale every year around this time. Triticale is a cross between wheat and rye. It winters over until spring.
“We’ll order water tomorrow, as you can see me behind me for the crops we’re going to put in,” Beal said. “A winter crop called triticale, and that crop will be harvested middle of May next year, and hopefully we can create some cash flow for the farm.”
Beal said it has been a difficult year for regional growers. It was tough.
“The worst year ever,” Beal said. “We’ve had tough years in the past, but this is the worst year, and that’s three generations of farmers. I’m the third.”
He is prepping the dirt before Tuesday deliveries. He said winter wheat is the only other crop farmers plant now in New Mexico.
“There’s some things we would water, there’s some things we wouldn’t,” Beal said. “I know some farmers are not ordering water right now; the alfalfa seems to be growing well.”
The district serves 11,000 farmers. Only a small percentage are requesting flow currently.
Overall demand drops in the fall. River Operations Manager Anne Marken explained the seasonal slowdown.
“People are winding down, particularly the row crops they’re harvesting, the alfalfas starting to wind down its production,” Marken said. “So most people, if they’re not doing winter crops, very few take a late season delivery.”
Recent flooding created hurdles for valley growers. Fields must dry before producers check irrigation needs.
The agency expects more call volume soon. Marken noted interest in autumn grain plantings.
“People are starting to think about fall planting,” Marken said. “So winter wheat is something people would be planting this time of year and accepting deliveries on.”
Canal crews are also repairing ditches damaged by storms. October 31 marks the finish of the season for non-pueblos across central New Mexico.
The conservancy district manages river flows and delivery networks for valley agriculture. Ditch riders coordinate ditch gates to steer water toward private turnouts. Growers submit requests ahead of time to schedule water turns.
Water deliveries will halt at the end of the month.
