CENTERFIELD, Utah — Central Utah farmers are watching the developing and highly anticipated El Niño closely after a difficult growing season, and a recent storm brought much-needed moisture to the area.
For many, it has been the toughest year they can remember.
“Well, so it’s been a miserable year. That’s not been a secret to anybody in Utah or in the West,” said Zack Jensen, president of the Gunnison Irrigation Company who runs M&K Farms
Jensen's farm normally grows about 2,000 acres of corn this time of year. This season, they planted just 200 acres.
“We’ve seen a lot of wells go dry," he said, "we’ve seen a lot of springs go dry."
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The Gunnison Irrigation Company is also seeing its worst water year on record. That’s why Jensen was encouraged by the rain that moved through central Utah this week.
Jensen’s farm measured about three-quarters of an inch of rain, but he said it came slowly enough that most of the water soaked in, although there was some localized flooding and ponding.
“It was the good kind of rain that we got last night and this morning. So that’s the stuff you’re hoping to continue,” Jensen said.
Meteorologists are also watching conditions in the Pacific Ocean as El Niño strengthens. As of Tuesday, there is a 70% chance it could become the strongest El Niño on record, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Hayden Mahan.
For farmers dealing with depleted water supplies, the hope is that El Niño will eventually bring more moisture to Utah, particularly in the form of winter snowpack.
“We’re hoping that with this El Niño that’s coming, or sure looks like it’s going to hit us, that it can help recharge a bunch of our water supplies,” Jensen said.
That includes both surface water and groundwater, which farmers and communities depend on. Jensen already has fields planted with fall grains, including hybrid rye and triticale, and recent rain is helping those crops get established before winter.
But plenty of unknowns remain about the months ahead. The recent rain won’t fix the problems farmers faced this year, but it could help set up a better year ahead.
“Obviously, it ain’t going to fix this year, but it puts us on a really good foot forward for next year,” Jensen said.
For farmers across central Utah, the focus now is on the skies and hoping more moisture follows.