Some producers take drastic steps to adapt to dry climate, record-low snowpack

This is the first time that Jim Magnuson, who operates a family farm in the rural town of Eaton, can ever recall planting only 75% of his acreage. 

Magnuson and his brother, Tim, primarily grow corn and alfalfa on their farm, Magnuson Bros., which has been in their family since 1908, located alongside stretches of County Road 33.

Given the lack of precipitation, the brothers decided to set aside 25% of their acreage for farming millet and sorghum, forages more suited for drier conditions that can be sold as cattle feed. 

“In these historically dry times, we haven’t had near the amount of precipitation both on our farms but also up in the mountains,” Magnuson said. “We rely heavily on snowmelt to supply our irrigation canals. Most of our water comes in the form of runoff down the Poudre River.” 

“We’re trying to utilize what water we have to the best of our abilities,” he added, noting the lower snowpack and lower water allotments through their canal systems. 

During previous years, Magnuson and his brother have opted not to plant some acreage — maybe up to 10% or 15% of their land.

They’ve never decided not to farm 25% of their land until this year.

The brothers also run a small feedlot and bring in cattle from other farmers on a custom basis to care for in the wintertime. During the cold months, they will take in 200 to 500 cattle, depending on the year. However, they will not be able to provide as much feed and acres for cattle this winter. 

Farmers need a “miserably wet winter” and a lot of snow up in the mountains to water crops in the Front Range, Magnuson said. 

“We’re essentially depleting our reservoirs this year,” he said. “If we don’t have a great snowpack next year, we’re not going to be able to refill our reservoirs. We’ll be short on water next year.” 

Drought affects farmers and ranchers 

Magnuson isn’t alone in his struggles.

He’s in good company with several farmers, who are facing similar challenges and making tough decisions. 

South of Eaton, Robert Sakata and his family chose not to plant about 40% of their farmable acreage due to the extremely low snowpack this past winter. The family farm, located in Brighton, grows corn for silage and heavily relies on direct-flow water rights from the South Platte River. 

“This extreme action of fallowing so much land this season is how we are dealing with the drought,” said Sakata, calling the move a severe step. “We estimated how much we wanted to risk planting and growing a crop against the unknown of how much water there could be for irrigation. It is an instant 40% pay cut for us even though we will still have many overhead costs — like property taxes that we will still have to pay.” 

Farming fewer crops means that Sakata and Magnuson won’t be able to provide as much feed for cattle, and dairy farmers might have to scour for other food sources. 

Due to the diverse agricultural industry in Colorado, farmers and ranchers across the state are adjusting to the drought in various ways, whether it’s hauling in water for their animals or downsizing their herds. 

“All of these actions driven by the extreme climatic conditions this year have the potential to lead to extreme emotional stress,” said Sakata, who is also an agricultural water policy adviser for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. 

Not only are farmers grappling with trying to plant crops and raise livestock in drier conditions, but they’re also facing challenges with increased prices for supplies.

For Sakata, it’s not just about adapting agriculture to drought conditions. It’s a matter of adapting to aridification, a more permanent climatic change. 

On his family farm, they irrigate off four different canal systems to minimize the impacts of drought.

To adapt to aridification, they gradually stopped growing vegetables. Growing vegetables is a costly endeavor, Sakata noted. Vegetable crops don’t do well with less-than-optimal water amounts. 

“Unlike other feed crops, where you can reduce the amount of supplemental irrigation water and it can suffer for a period of time and look stressed, even turning brown, with vegetable crops you don’t have that flexibility,” he added. 

Low snowpack and stream flows 

Colorado saw the lowest snowpack in recorded history in 2026 as a statewide average, said Jason Ullmann, director of the Division of Water Resources for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, citing data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The NRCS measured snow water equivalents at manual snow courses and automated SNOTEL stations. The earliest available data dates back to the winter of 1978. 

The latest data shows that nearly 91% of Colorado is in drought, with 37.2% in extreme drought and 31.8% in severe drought as of July 21, per the U.S. Drought Monitor.

In early June, Gov. Jared Polis issued a statewide drought emergency declaration in response to prolonged warm temperatures and record-low snowpack. 

Irrigators are not solely affected by the amount of snowpack but also the timing of runoff. Ullmann noted that March 2026 was the hottest March on record, with some parts of Northern Colorado hitting 90 degrees weeks earlier than previously documented. The higher temperatures caused nearly half the snow water equivalent to melt, leading to an earlier runoff. 

“The significant amount of runoff that occurred in March happened prior to the bulk of irrigation needs,” Ullmann said. “If this meager runoff from low snowpack was not captured in a storage reservoir, it was not usable by agricultural operations.” 

On top of that, Colorado has experienced near-historic low stream flows during the summer. According to Ullman, dryland farmers growing crops, such as winter wheat, will have one of their lowest yields in decades due to lack of precipitation. Many areas saw around 4 inches less than average precipitation.

“These conditions are why we at DWR have heard many farmers express that this year is the worst or at least one of the worst that they can remember,” he said. 

The challenges of a local wheat farmer 

The long-term average yield for Alan Linnebur, a wheat farmer and general partner of Progressive Farms Partnership, is 40 to 45 bushels per acre. This year, the average yield across the farm was only 23 bushels per acre, roughly half the long-term average. 

Although the farm is headquartered in Byers, Linnebur and his business partners manage and farm land in four counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Washington and Weld. 

And the lack of a somewhat normal winter hurt their yields the most this year. 

“We certainly were drier than we would’ve liked to have been, but most farmers here would always say that,” Linnebur said. “Effective precipitation for dryland farmers in eastern Colorado is by far the most limiting factor.” 

Due to the warm winter and early spring, a cold shock came through and the wheat plants were weeks ahead of schedule for development. This caused a good deal of freeze damage to the plants since the wheat heads were developing and too far along when the cold front hit. 

While some of Linnebur’s fields didn’t suffer as much freeze damage, a number of his fields didn’t do well. Only two out of 30 fields were close to the long-term average yield for bushels of wheat. 

Coupled with the dry weather, Linnebur and his partners were also dealing with infestations of brown wheat mites and Russian wheat aphids. Insects are attracted to stressed crops, adding to the difficulties, Linnebur noted.

Additionally, an influx of wheat viruses carried forward in the warm temperature.

“This (year) definitely ranked high on frustrating seasons for winter wheat, for sure,” he said. 

‘We’re the eternal optimists‘

There are several government programs to assist farmers during droughts, including the Colorado Soil Health Program, the Climate Resilience Grant Program, the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program and a digital hay directory to connect producers that need feed, among others. 

The Colorado Department of Agriculture also has a dedicated webpage with a drought impacts survey and information about state and federal funding opportunities and mental health resources for producers. 

Additionally, Colorado State University researchers are developing more drought-resistant corn, wheat and sorghum.

For years, the university has studied and produced varieties of crops that fare better in drier conditions and some varieties that are weed and pest-resistant, according to a CSU Source article. University scientists examine a plant’s genetic code and field test to assess which genes help make plants more adaptable to drought. 

Despite the challenges, Magnuson has no plans to move on from the family farm during his lifetime. The farm has been in his family for more than a century, and he’s been involved with the business since he could walk. 

If it’s another dry winter, it’s possible that Magnuson will not grow any crops for 2027 into 2028. 

Yet, predisposed to think positively, Magnuson believes Colorado is at the tail end of a yearslong drought cycle and moving toward a super El Niño, meaning higher chances of wetter summers and snowier winters. 

“In agriculture, we’re the eternal optimists,” Magnuson said. “If we didn’t think the next year would be better, none of us would still be doing what we’re doing — raising cattle, raising crops, doing all the things that we do on the chance that the weather is going to cooperate.”

He added, “My heart is with our family operations at home and I’m planning on sticking it out and being here as long as I can.”