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Harney County ranchers face a costly winter after drought and wildfires cut grazing and hay
Wildfires forced Katie Baltzor to bring her cattle home weeks early, while drought reduced the hay available to feed them. High diesel prices are making it more expensive to harvest what hay remains and could raise costs further if ranchers must buy feed next year.
HARNEY COUNTY, Ore. — A summer of drought and large wildfires has left southeastern Oregon ranchers with less pasture and hay, while high diesel prices are adding to the cost of feeding cattle as winter approaches.
For Katie Baltzor, who runs a ranch near Hines with her husband, Keith, fires burned areas where her cattle normally graze in the mountains. The couple and hired riders brought the herd home in July, roughly two months earlier than usual, moving through heavy smoke to get the animals out of danger.
Some burned grazing areas may be closed to cattle for years while vegetation recovers, Baltzor said. The fires affected so much land in Harney County that the loss of grazing is a concern for ranchers beyond her operation.
Drought also reduced the water available to irrigate Baltzor’s hay meadows. Some fields produced a small crop; others were too dry to cut. With less grass and hay, ranchers face difficult choices about how to feed their herds and what they can afford to harvest.
“Fuel costs, parts costs, everything has gone up,” Baltzor said. Although calf prices have risen, she said, they have not kept pace with inflation, squeezing ranchers whose expenses are climbing.
Harvesting hay typically requires several tractor trips to cut, dry and bale it. Each time Baltzor’s operation fills a tractor with diesel, the bill is about $300. Faced with a light hay crop, the ranchers chose in some fields to rake hay into piles for cattle rather than spend more fuel baling it. That approach requires fewer tractor passes, but leaves less hay stored for later.
The decision may shift costs into next year. If precipitation remains low and irrigation water is scarce, Baltzor said, the couple may need to buy hay. That can mean long-distance hauling, adding more fuel expense.
Baltzor said she and her husband have worked outside jobs and tried to limit debt, including switching to gasoline pickups to reduce diesel use. But she said other ranchers may have vehicle, livestock or land loans that leave them with less room to absorb rising costs.
Cattle prices also do not translate into immediate returns for every animal. Ranchers often keep some young female calves, called heifers, to replenish their herds. Baltzor said a heifer can take about two years to produce a calf, making that choice a long-term investment rather than a quick sale.
The couple has moved about 150 cattle closer to home for pregnancy checks and vaccinations. With burned grazing land, a diminished hay crop and winter nearing, Baltzor said the outlook depends in part on whether the region gets enough precipitation to restore water and grass next year.