Ranchers earn water management award

Photo: Contributed

Dave and Wanda Casorso

Anyone who farms or ranches in the Okanagan, particularly the south Okanagan, knows full well the value of good water conservation.

However, any of these people could tear a page from Dave and Wanda Casorso's book on the subject.

The Casorsos, who own and operate Casorso Ranch, have earned the 2013 British Columbia Environmental Stewardship award. Casorso Ranch is located between Okanagan Falls and Oliver in the South Okanagan.

“We got this award, but most ranchers do what we do,”  said a very humble Casorso. “It is just the way we manage our livestock... if we abuse it and don’t do it naturally, our production is going to go down.”

The Casorso family has been in the Okanagan since 1883, when the first members started farming at Kelowna. Wanda’s family is also farming stock from Willowbrook in the south Okanagan.

There are nearly 250 head of cattle on their acres, most of which a Angus-based cows. The ranch itself consists of 1,400 deeded acres as well as  400 acres of private lease. Cows go out on grass in the early spring at Summerland for the summer, then return home in October.

Water management was the top priority when Casorso's father bought the acreage in 1959 and started the first irrigation plans to grow forage in the semi-arid region. Three creeks wind through their property and feed a gravity irrigation system. Extra water collected from snow melt and rain is stored in a 3.5 acre, six-metre-deep reservoir located above the house. There are two small dams and a spillway, so it does not overflow in flood years.

Crops are watered with a pair of low-pressure irrigation pivots that are fed by pipelines from the reservoir. With this additional irrigation, the Casorsos can grow silage corn and hay for winter feed.

Water may be the limiting factor for the region. The lakes may look full, but it is a limited resource with many farms, ranches, towns and cities drawing from what amounts to the same well.

The big change came for Casorso when he heard speakers at a B.C. Cattlemen’s Association meeting in the mid-1990s. as they spoke about protecting water courses with fencing, bringing back trees to stabilize creeks and building up more grass.

They enrolled in the Environmental Farm Plan and started to make changes, including fencing off the creeks and providing off-stream water for the livestock. They also provide habitat for numerous endangered animals and plants.