Improving Water Management in Hazelnuts

On our farm we are always looking for ways to do more with less, improve efficiencies, work smarter and get more done with our hard working hours and dollars. 

We have slowly been moving away from hand line and wheel line irrigation and have made significant investments in linear irrigation systems. This year we made another move to even higher water use efficiency with drip irrigation in our hazelnut orchards. 

We plan to have at least half of our hazelnuts irrigated by drip this year. Which is exciting for many reasons. 

1. Labor: We used to water with hand lines. This took a minimum of three people to move pipe two to three times a day, around 2 hours each move.  And the cost of labor alone is going up significantly.  With our drip it will take only one person to turn the pump on, monitor valves and lines. 

2. Water when you want it and where you want it. Our drip system can easily be run from the pump that we already have and also can run at night when our pump is free from use on other crops. Simply put we can fill in the gaps to keep our pump running most efficiently. 

3. We can inject fertilizer by small doses to our trees. We consider this a spoon feeding approach and it’s shown to help trees grow and produce nuts at a more consistent level. 

4. We can keep our trees healthier by being able to get into the orchard at anytime to spray foliar feeds, kill pests or protect from disease, and not have to pick up pipe that is always in the way. 

5. Water from drip goes further. Drip irrigation has a 95% efficiency rating as compared to handlines which run at only 65%.  Factors such as evaporation and run off are considered when making this determination. 

Here’s a short video of our drip coming out of the tubing. 

You may wonder why we waited so long with a list of positives this long, well on the flip side of the pro and con list lies the cost of putting a system like this onto our farm. Luckily we already had the irrigation pump, but we had to add significant amount of underground mainline, put in a special filtration system, buy thousands of feet of drip tubing, build specialized equipment for putting the lines out and rolling them up. You can see it’s an investment in water, labor efficiency and equipment. 

So why now? Well first of all we have to budget beforehand in order to make improvements on our farm.  This is one improvement that we finally found room to add to our budget.  

And secondly we had some financial help from agencies that are focused on energy and water efficient projects. One being the Natural Resource and Conservation Service (NRCS) and the other Energy Trust of Oregon. Both gave us funds to help us implement this project. We also have Stettlers Supply in Salem Oregon to thank for doing a great job on installation and heading up the project. 

This investment is one of those long term plans that I often reference. This is an improvement that will serve Matt and I as the third generation and hopefully the fourth, the fifth and on and on! 

Summertime as Farm Boys 

Summertime for many families means family time, vacations, summer camps and camping. For our family it means field time,  harvest time, tractor time, field meals and lots of dust and dirt. All of which, our boys, Hoot and Auggie don’t know how to live without!  Here’s just a small glimpse of what summer time looks like in the life of farm boys. 

Auggie basically runs the crew hence the radio…aka “Boss Man”. 

He really keeps us on task. 

Hoot is usually busy harvesting behind our big machines, he just shakes his head and tells us our combines are leaving a lot behind. They both take a break from the hard work for some dinner out of the back of the pick-up. We call these field meals.

And then off to look at all our other crops to make sure they are growing well!  With so many crops on our farm while we are harvesting one the others are still growing! 
Auggie usually tries to rest up when he can… this farming business can be a bit exhausting!  He caught a quick nap while on the swing the other day. 

Then the day is over and these boys of harvest wash off the dust and get up to do it all again tomorrow.I wish I looked this cute farming, I wish I could farm without shoes on, and although Hoot promises me no pants farming ” is fine mama!” I think I’ll leave that to him for now!  Harvest 2017 is in full swing and these future farmers are having a ball out in the fields!  Come out and say hi….you can find these farm boys out in the fields covered in dust until September! 

It’s Rodeo Time in St. Paul!

It’s that time of year when our small town of a little under 400 people comes alive with over 50,000 folks. They come for the show, the bulls, the cold beer, the fireworks and friends, and a hell of a good time.  Because in St. Paul, we work hard so we can play hard! 

It’s a tradition that has gone on for 82 years and as the third generation of my family to call St. Paul home, it’s hard for me to even express the pride I feel to be from this small dusty farm town. It’s really a no where place, and except one weekend a year…that’s how we like it.  I have friends that have made this their family tradition too.  And every year getting together is just a piece of what keeps this legacy alive. Because that’s how it works, we welcome you in and it tends to get under your skin, it becomes a place and a time that is hard to live without.  I hear other places celebrate the 4th of July, but it’s hard to imagine a place with more tradition and more passion for freedom than our little town of St. Paul, Oregon. 

So dust off those cowboy boots, or better yet leave the dust on; we don’t care either way! And head on out to St. Paul, where you’ll get to experience a little of the wild west, and a little (or a lot) of a wild time. 

What are some of your best rodeo traditions, stories or memories? After 82 years I know there are some great ones out there!

Here are a few more stories to check out:

Steve Coleman remains true to himself, St. Paul Rodeo

Saddle Up for St. Paul Rodeo

And for tickets and more info: http://www.stapulrodeo.com