Water restrictions will shut down Dixon Melons
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The end is near; no doubt about it. Dixon Melons is just about history. Soon, it will be no more.
Dixon Melons has been in business in Western Montana for 24 years commercially. We grew all the local melons and expanded the operation as the years went by. My wife Joey and I employed and partnered with our family, including sons, daughters, cousins, nephews and grandparents. We also employ up to 35 local individuals as seasonal laborers as well as in our retail sales. Local kids, both tribal and non-tribal, have worked for us steadily over the years.
Josh Carter, an agricultural consultant who runs field trials for the large seed company named Keith Williams, works specifically in the Northwest region. Josh and I spoke about the water quota necessary to grow my melon crop. Josh confirmed that I am using my water very efficiently with our drip system. Drip irrigation is state-of-the-art for vine crop production. I asked him about the 1.4-acre-feet maximum of irrigation water proposed by the water compact commission that includes the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the State of Montana and my local representatives, the Flathead Joint Board of Control. After consulting with industry irrigation professionals, Josh’s initial advice shocked me. His advice was that I should relocate to a farm where I would have an adequate supply of irrigation water for the Dixon Melons. Josh informed me that 1.4 acre feet would not be nearly enough for a successful harvest. In other words, Dixon Melons would be no more.
According to Imperial County Extension Service bulletins, melons require a minimum of 3 acre feet of water in order to produce a high-quality crop. If we were to grow Dixon Melons on the maximum amount of water that the water commission insists is adequate, we would have vines with, at best, deformed, half-grown watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe. In other words, it would not be possible.
Over the years, our business has survived grasshopper onslaughts, late frosts, hail, thieves and alfalfa beetles, but never have we been deprived of a consistent source of good irrigation water. We are not the only productive producers that require ample water. Truck farms in this area and productive hay operations also require much more than a 1.4-acre-foot maximum. It is likely that, if the current water proposals are passed for the Flathead Irrigation Project, there will be a number of farmers out of business. The proposed water farm turnout allowance that is being forced on the producers in this area seems to be designed to put the local farms out of business. Either that, or the data that the water commission has based its recommendations on is totally flawed. No entity, whether it is the State of Montana, the CSKT, or the Joint Board of Control, should be able to dictate if I can grow my crop, the same crop that I have grown for over 24 years. Who is actually benefitting from taking water from producers and reallocating it to go down the river to be leased somewhere else? It is certainly not our family, the people who have used the water and paid for it for over 24 years. This proposed water agreement must be revised to accommodate local farming. Please call the Flathead Joint Board of Control and ask them to truly represent the irrigators in all negotiations. The FJBC needs to use data collected on-site to make any firm decisions about my farm and others, based on soil and possible drought conditions.
Have you ever had a bite of our Dixon Melons? If so, you must know that we pride ourselves on a quality, sweet, vine-ripened melon. No water, no melons.
(Editor’s note: Harley Hettick and his wife Joey own and operate Dixon Melons in Dixon, Mont.)
