The Sheehan Family of Washington State: On Dairy Farming, Irrigated Agriculture, and the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Irrigation Leader: Where in California is your family from? Karen Sheehan: My parents started in the dairy business in Turlock, California. They ended up coming to Washington State, where they rented a place and then bought a dairy and remodeled it. Eventually, my parents were able to move to the farm where we live now. Besides a home, there was nothing here but bare ground. They built the place from the ground up. Irrigation Leader: Jason, where is your family from? Jason Sheehan: My family still operates a couple of dairy farms in southeastern Minnesota. Right now, my three uncles and two cousins are running the farm. They are still milking 300 cows and farming 800–1,000 acres. We went back for a couple of years, but it ended up working better to move out here. Like Karen, I’ve been a dairy farmer all my life. Irrigation Leader: How many cows are you running right now? Jason Sheehan: We’re milking a little over 3,000 cows. We also have dry cows and heifers, so we have around 6,000 animals in total on two sites. We milk three times a day, 24/7, 365, including all holidays, regardless of the weather. Irrigation Leader: Are they all Holsteins?
Annelise Sheehan with one of her family’s cows.
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Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background. Karen Sheehan: Jason and I both grew up on dairy farms. We now live on the farm in Washington State where I grew up. I am originally from California. I’m a fourth-generation dairy farmer, and our kids are heavily involved in agriculture, too.
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Irrigation Leader: How much rain do you normally get? Karen Sheehan: About 6–9 inches a year, so irrigation is critical for the operation. Really, we live in a desert. Irrigation Leader: We've heard from the Department of Ecology that yours is one of the best examples of a forwardthinking dairy that is doing various things to comply with environmental regulations. Jason Sheehan: We’re one of a handful of dairies in the Yakima Valley that actually has a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation permit. It requires a pretty strict management process for nutrients. irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SHEEHAN FAMILY.
n their dairy farm in Yakima County, Washington, Karen and Jason Sheehan raise their children in the same farming way of life in which they were raised. But they conduct their day-to-day operations with an eye toward the future. Irrigation Leader spoke with Karen and Jason Sheehan about using water wisely and collaborating with other water users to implement the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (YBIP).
Jason Sheehan: For the most part. Our younger son has decided that he should have one of all seven breeds of dairy. He has a Holstein, a Red Holstein, a Jersey, a Brown Swiss, an Ayrshire, a Milking Shorthorn, and a Guernsey.
