Threemile Canyon Farms' irrigation system is finely tuned to apply precise amounts of water and organic fertilizer to crops.

Water is precious at Threemile Canyon Farms. Our 93,000-acre farm lies just south of the Columbia River and west of Boardman, Ore., in the dry juniper-and-sage lands of the Columbia Basin. The sun shines 300 days a year and average annual rainfall is less than eight inches.

As a socially responsible company, we work hard to reduce the environmental impact of our farming activities, which provide more than 600 year-round and seasonal jobs and $250 million of economic activity annually to rural Morrow and Gilliam counties.

We operate one of the largest contiguous center-pivot irrigation farms in North America, bringing 35,000 arid acres into cultivation. By marrying potato production with dairy operations, we are able to use farm-produced compost to improve soil structure and water retention. We recycle all of the water used on our farm, except for drinking water for humans and animals.

Our recycling and conservation efforts have earned us recognition as the Northwest's leading sustainable farm by Sustainable Northwest, a prestigious organization that recognizes and promotes socially responsible business practices.

Our approach to water: Every drop counts

Our irrigation system, installed beginning in 1999, was part of an initial $185 million investment in innovative technology to conserve water and energy.

The system provides:

• Comprehensive monitoring: A 100 square-mile wi-fi network - the first in the nation on this scale - keeps second-by-second tabs on the operation of each of our 246 irrigation circles. Water-pressure monitors detect leaks immediately so they can be fixed. Irrigation circles also are being outfitted with GPS (global positioning system) units. Extensive historical weather information as well as future forecasts and present conditions allow our farm managers to adjust irrigation needs hourly, daily and monthly.
• Precision irrigation sprinkler packages: Each crop circle avarages a half-mile in diameter. Sophisticated controls allow us to adjust water application at each sprinkler head to reflect changes in soil or field conditions within an individual circle.
• Sophisticated soil-moisture measurement: Extensive sampling of soil conditions allows our irrigation managers to customize application of irrigation water and fertilizer.
• Pipe modifications: Ultra-sonic flow meters on pipes register exactly how much water we are using on a second-to-second basis. This allows us to meet exacting standards on our use of Columbia River water. (Differentials must be less than 1/10 of a foot in flow.)
• Water budgets: We follow daily, monthly and annual water budgets for water use.
• 24/7 rapid response: Around-the-clock monitoring and a crew of four trouble shooters and four sprinkler checkers make sure breaks or blockages are fixed immediately.
• 'Black-water' application: Our irrigation system is an agricultural leader in the application of dairy waste as organic, liquid fertilizer. Water used to flush dairy barns is collected in clay-lined settling lagoons, then filtered liquids are injected into our mainline irrigation system to fertilize growing crops.
• Long-term soil and crop improvement: Extensive use of dairy compost and cover crops improves the tilth and water-retention properties of our soil over time. By developing our own seed sources, as we do with our Grand Ronde Seed Farm for potatoes, we can start at the beginning to ensure healthier, more drought-tolerant plants.

Landmark agreements

We settled a six-year dispute over drawing water from the Columbia River in 2000 by helping orchestrate an agreement with seven conservation groups. We voluntarily placed more than a fourth of our farm into a conservation area to preserve native habitat and gave back a portion of our water rights. We also brought formerly uncultivated land into agricultural production, providing valuable products and jobs while building one of the Northwest's leading sustainable farms.

Control central: Keeping tabs on water use

Irrigation manager Greg Harting

Seated at "control central," irrigation manager Greg Harting uses three big-screen video monitors, plus a laptop and dispatch radio to keep second-by-second tabs on the operation of the farm's irrigation system. The farm's 100-square-mile wi-fi network and GPS units feed information to the center so managers can carefully control water use.

"We keep looking for ways to be even more efficient, " he says. "We're leaders in variable rate irrigation and black-water application." Harting, who helped set up the Threemile Canyon Farms system, knows how crucial it is to save every drop of water - he also helped develop agricultural irrigation systems in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.