Drought changes farmers' ways in survival struggle

The Western drought is adding to the cost of produce.
PHOENIX (AP) -- A nearly decade-long drought is changing the way Frank Martin does business at Crooked Sky Farms.
He still grows organic lettuce, beets, bok choi, cabbage and cauliflower on his 26-acre farm in Glendale, Ariz. But growing water-intensive crops like sweet corn is a thing of the past.
The drought is forcing a transformation at many Western farms. Like Crooked Sky, they're shifting to different crops. They're also scaling back their acreage, implementing conservation measures and installing water-saving devices.
"We really play the hand that we are dealt," said Will Rosseau, a fourth-generation farmer. "We are always trying to shave production costs, make ourselves more efficient in terms of water."
Rosseau has also stopped growing corn. And, because of surface water cutbacks, he has to spend more to pump ground water.
Worst times
The drought has been wreaking havoc on Western states from the Mexico border to Canada for nearly a decade, but with Arizona facing its worst drought in recorded history, the past two years have been especially difficult for farmers here.
For the second consecutive year, farmers who receive water from the Salt River Project, which delivers surface water from the Salt and Verde rivers, have had their allocations cut by one-third.
SRP, one of the Phoenix area's largest water suppliers, cut deliveries to all of its customers in January 2003 after levels in storage reservoirs fell, said SRP hydrologist Bruce Halon.
Farmers in other parts of the West are also suffering. In parts of Idaho, the only farmers who are expected to get water this summer might be the ones with water rights dating to the 1800s. In New Mexico, a dam that provides water for many farmers is going to be at its lowest level on record this summer, said horticulturist John White.
"Even if the drought ends tomorrow it is still going to take a couple years to build back up our water supply," said Nancy Watson, a San Miguel, N.M., farmer. "But I am ever hopeful."
Tough all around
Gary Nabhan, of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University, said the water cutbacks are increasing production costs, diminishing yields and increasing debt for the farmers.
Some growers have found ways to cope. Nabhan grows desert-adapted crops, such as tepary beans, which he said historically were the most widely grown bean in Arizona. Nabhan, who sells his produce to farmers markets and to restaurants, also grows sunflowers and blue corn.
Some farmers are just quitting.
"They are just throwing in the towel and selling out to developers," Nabhan said, estimating that an average of 100 farms in Arizona have been going under every year since the drought began.
The drought is forcing Colorado farmers to quit, as well.
Vess Quinlan, an alfalfa farmer in the high desert of southern Colorado, said the drought is going to put him out of business by next year.
"We can't survive," Quinlan said.
Competition from overseas isn't helping. The water restrictions have increased the farmers' production costs by forcing them to get water from more expensive sources, which consumers see on the price tags for farm goods. Consequently more produce is being bought from other countries -- such as Mexico, Argentina and Chile, Nabhan said.
A $400 million increase in fruit imports is projected for this year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released in May. Similar gains are expected for vegetables.
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