Montana’s Producers are Leaders in Water Conservation Innovation
“We farm in a place that’s too dry for cows,” laughed Anna Jones-Crabtree, with a wry smile. Anna and her husband, Doug Crabtree, own Vilicus Farms, a large-scale, dryland, organic farming operation outside Havre, MT. Like many Montana farmers and ranchers, the Crabtrees rely largely on precipitation and snowmelt to offset their yearly water needs. And as most Montanans know, snow is in increasingly short supply.
In January 2024, the USDA released the Montana Water Supply Outlook Report. The report indicated that many snowpack monitoring sites, testing sites used to measure the water supply for Montana watersheds around the state, were logging record-low snowpack levels. The consequences of these low levels: a forecast of high-severity drought.
No stranger to dry conditions, however, the Crabtrees have implemented an overlooked method to mitigate water shortage: snow collection. Funded by the LOR Foundation’s Field Work initiative, Anna and Doug repurpose snow fences, commonly used to keep roads clear of snowdrifts, for snow retention. This unorthodox strategy allows for an increased feeding of existing stock ponds with water during the melting season and provides a low-cost, low-energy method of boosting water availability during the growing season.
The LOR Foundation is a private foundation that works with people in seven rural towns across the Mountain West: Cortez and Monte Vista, CO; Lander, WY; Weiser, ID; Questa and Taos, NM; and Libby, MT. The foundation collaborates with communities to improve quality of life, funding projects that address a broad range of issues – including economy, education, housing, transportation, and water, among others. However, LOR occasionally provides funding beyond these seven towns for projects that confront issues affecting the entire region – such as a dwindling water supply.
As the West’s ongoing drought worsens, intentional water efficiency as a farmer or rancher is no longer optional. But its necessity doesn’t make it any less costly. To address this obstacle, LOR launched “Field Work,” an initiative aimed at empowering farmers and ranchers to implement creative water projects on their land. “We recognize that those who are closest to the problem often have the best solutions, but often face too many barriers to get the funding they need to try something novel or innovative,” says Bill Jaeger, LOR’s Strategic Initiatives Officer.
Along with the Crabtrees and 50 other 2023 recipients of funding across the Mountain West, the ten Montana producers listed below have each developed innovative solutions, ranging from duck aquaponics to cattle GPS collars, to improve their water usage practices. Their outside-the-box and applicable strategies show just what’s possible when individuals and communities have the resources they need.
Laura Duvelius | Whitehall, Montana | Soil Health & Earthworks
Irrigated with manure-rich water pumped from a duck pond, increasing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the soil, which repairs soil and increases water retention, while taking advantage of rotational grazing strategies.
Kaly Hess | Arlee, Montana | Water Measurement
Installed a network of wireless soil moisture and temperature sensors, along with a wireless bridge and gateway, to precisely apply irrigation water to vegetable crops, increasing yield and decreasing plant disorders.
Megan Leach | Libby, Montana | Irrigation Enhancement
Extended the growing season and reduced labor time required for growing market and specialty crops using: 1) a solar pump catchment system; and 2) a permanent, freeze-proof irrigation system.
Shaun Martinz | Billings, Montana | Renewable Energy Generation
Built terraces and drainage trenches to capture and redirect water from heavy thunderstorms, and installed a micro-hydro system to generate electricity for a pump that moves the water from the cisterns and ponds to the garden and pasture areas.
Nathan McLeod | Missoula, Montana | Soil Health & Earthworks
Combined basin farming with multilayered sheet mulching to increase the organic soil matter. Measured savings in water and organic content of the soil against a control plot on the same field of fruits and cut flowers.
Tyrel Obrecht | Turner, Montana | Soil Health & Earthworks
Used radio collars on cattle, encouraging them to move more frequently between water points and pastures, allowing the pastures to rest and improving water infiltration and soil health.
Linda Poole | Malta, Montana | Soil Health & Earthworks
Processed low-value wool into compost, improving soil health and infiltration rates, and into matts which were used to create Beaver Dam Analog Structures (BDAS) and other water harvesting and erosion control structures, reducing runoff and recharging soil water stores.
Katie Pribyl | Great Falls, Montana | Novel Technology Practice
Installed a solar watering system with a cellular-based camera and float system to pump water as needed, increasing time and cost efficiency.
Vern Smith | Emigrant, Montana | Novel Technology Practice
Used a unique compost combination that includes food for hypha fungi and protein-based nitrogen, to improve soil health, allowing seedlings to establish more quickly in cobble and gravelly soils and creating greater soil moisture retention.
Karl Sutton | Polson, Montana | Irrigation Enhancement
Used a specially designed automated seeder, synthetic mulch, and a reusable drip line to improve labor efficiency and water precision on a 15-acre organic vegetable and flower farm.
Field Work 2024
This year LOR is excited to fund an additional ten projects around the Mountain West, imagined by farmers and ranchers who are implementing creative solutions to water-related challenges on the lands they steward. This year’s initiative is focused even more on identifying the best research questions and most innovative solutions, prioritizing creative, out-of-the-box, and novel ideas. To read more about the past and current projects, and learn how you can get involved with LOR, visit: lorfoundation.org/field-work.
This story was made possible with funding from:
Western Sustainability Exchange – Supporting stewardship of western ranchlands since 1994, WSE works with ranchers, businesses, and organizations to balance the health of soil, water, climate, and wildlife. Visit: westernsustainabilityexchange.org
Integrity Soils, Ltd. – Master soil, grazing, and ecosystem approaches and enhance your natural leadership through Integrity Soils’ dynamic online and in-person trainings. Author and coach, Nicole Masters, offers events across Montana and the world. Work directly with their fellowship of coaches. Visit: integritysoils.com
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