Spring comes earlier in this valley of the Deschutes and Crooked rivers than anywhere in Central Oregon. Tulips will be in full bloom at the low, 2,633-foot elevation, while the tips of the leaves are just starting to peak out of the soil in Bend at 4,000 feet. Cool nights produce hardy seeds that earn more per acre than raising the actual vegetables or harvesting hay would earn. A lot of acreage is still committed to conventional crops like alfalfa, wheat and sugar beets. Peppermint was a big cash crop here until soil fungus diseases forced most farmers to switch to seed crops.
Soils are relatively deep and of a better quality than the southern areas of Central Oregon.
Still, due to our arid climate, even Central Oregon's best soils lack organic matter and do not retain moisture, so constant irrigation is necessary. The first water rights were claimed in 1913, but these were rights to water that could not be delivered until the construction of Wickiup Reservoir in the mid-'40s and completion of the North Unit Main Canal. This region depends on Mexican workers, who regularly work for the same farmers every spring, summer and fall, then return home to Mexico for the winter. This Hispanic community is very tightly knit. Family and friends provide new sources of labor.