59608 Old Lake Road, Christmas Valley, OR 97641 - Lake County

The Golden Rule Farm is the perfect place to grow alfalfa and high quality forage.

The water rights are excellent and the water source is very secure. The aquifer in Christmas Valley and Fort Rock, a basin-filled aquifer, was put under a moratorium in the 1970s. The moratorium has served the purpose of maintaining the aquifer levels for long-term sustainability. Water rights are bought and sold by the farmers in the region and the water rights gravitate toward their highest and best farming locations in the Valley. No new water rights have been permitted since the moratorium. Generally speaking, the value for water rights alone is roughly $3,500-$4,000 per acre in 2024. This aquifer is one of the most resilient in Oregon compared to Klamath Falls, Harney County, and most other aquifers in Eastern and Central Oregon.

Farmers in this area spend very little on KW/ton compared to most other areas in Oregon, Idaho and California. Generally speaking, a farmer in this basin should expect to pay $7 to $10 per ton of alfalfa for their power.

Soil, climate, and consistent quality water combine across a small region of Fort Rock & Christmas Valley, Oregon, to create near-ideal growing conditions for high-quality alfalfa and other marketable forages. The high-elevation climate, paired with its cooler nights, tends to slow the growth of alfalfa in the region, giving it a higher leaf-to-stem ratio. This produces lower lignin and higher protein hay, which is what the premium markets are looking for. The Golden Rule Farm has a higher loam content than its neighbors which can allow for a broader spectrum of crops. The loamy soils have better water retention which adds additional insurance on crop yields, quality and consistency.