By:  Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President

Nevada agriculture is different than agriculture in most of the country.  Having been in lots of different places around the country – and having interacted with the agriculture during those times…I’ve come to understand that everyone thinks the agriculture where they are is different, even if those differences are pretty much the same.

In making my case for Nevada’s agriculture being different, I think you first must focus on the fact that 90 percent of the land-area of Nevada is under the control of the United States government.  Most every where else agriculture flourishes under private control and management.  Working with, through and around federal land management agencies (and the requirements that go with such interaction) is far different than simply having to defend your private control and management from government agencies trying to find ways to get unto your land.

The fact that Nevada is a desert is also a rather unique condition in which to practice agricultural production.  There are other areas in the Western United States with low moisture climates, but again – there’s no place like Nevada when it comes to precipitation.

Because of Nevada’s “dryness” water rights in general and irrigation (in all it’s forms and systems) dominate the consciousness of farmers and ranchers in the Silver State as much as any other aspect of their livelihood.

Coming from an agricultural background where it rains (and that is the way crops are irrigated), producers spend most of their time fretting about there being too much rain or worrying about whether it will ever rain again.  In these situations, weather dominates the mindsets of agricultural communities.

Nevada producers also spend time with weather on their minds, but in a far different time-frame.  Moisture falling in the form of snow (preferably in places and amounts that will result in full irrigation reservoirs) is a primary discussion during the winter.

During the summer, when lots of other ag. producers around the country are looking for this week’s inch of rain, Nevada producers are probably hoping that rain clouds will not gather (at least until the last field of alfalfa has been baled and the bales stacked away).

For lots of other agricultural producers around the country, Farm Bills and the related “government programs” detailed in this legislation are big deals.  Until there started to be more emphasis placed on conservation elements (under the direction of the Natural Resources Conservation Service – NRCS) we could pretty much focus attention on other, more important things to worry about.  When they came up with the idea of the Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP) and started making payments to cost-share for various agricultural practices to enhance conservation objectives – Nevada’s interests in government farm programs shifted to being more aware of where their local USDA office might be.

Disasters (mostly in the form of drought, but also endured in the form of massive wildfires) also have had impacts of causing Nevada’s agricultural producers to be more aware of assistance available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The tapestry of what Nevada agriculture is all about has been woven by its history of development and the way it grew to be what we have today because of the niche caused by many factors (mostly in the form of limitations).  Over the coming posts, I hope to expand on the themes written here and perhaps draw more focus on not just defining Nevada agriculture, but also highlighting the critical elements that are required to provide for its future.