Aither: Bringing Australia’s Water Management Expertise to Users Worldwide
The Millennium Drought of the early 2000s in Australia led to fundamental reforms in water management in the country, including the establishment of a National Water Commission and the expansion of water markets. Water markets allow users to buy and sell water rights at market-determined prices, which helps to balance consumptive and environmental demand and […]
HydroSide Systems: Using Water Power to Make Traveling Irrigation Systems Autonomous
HydroSide Systems has developed an innovative and award-winning technology for moving wheel lines, traveling guns, boom systems, and other traveling irrigation units. It aims to replace labor-intensive movers with a water-powered hydroelectric system, making irrigation units self-powered and autonomous. In this interview, HydroSide Founder and CEO Dana Mohr tells Irrigation Leader about how the company’s […]
Congressman Dan Newhouse: An Advocate for Irrigated Agriculture in Central Washington and Beyond
Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA) represents Washington’s 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. A lifelong resident of central Washington, Congressman Newhouse served four terms in the Washington State House of Representatives and was the director of Washington State’s Department of Agriculture from 2009 to 2013 before being elected to his position in Washington, DC. […]
Working to Resolve Kinsey Irrigation Company’s Power Dilemma
The Kinsey Irrigation Company, located in Custer County, Montana, provides water to farming across 6,640 acres of land, supporting 80 families. The company was recently informed that its existing power contract with the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program will not be eligible for renewal when it expires. This casts the future of the company in question, […]
Preserving Pick-Sloan Power for the Sidney Water Users Irrigation District
The Sidney Water Users Irrigation District (SWUID), based in Sidney, Montana, serves water to 48 family farms across around 5,000 acres in eastern Montana. Along with its neighboring district, Kinsey Irrigation Company, SWUID is threatened with the loss of affordable project use power (PUP) from the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, which was authorized by Congress […]
Water Resources in the Fort Belknap Indian Community
Montana’s Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC), which brings together the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes on the Fort Belknap Reservation, is home to the nation’s oldest federal Indian irrigation project, the Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation Project (FBIIP). The FBIC has Indian reserved water rights in the Milk River basin and recognizes the importance of the […]
The Intertwined History of the Blackfeet Nation and the Milk River Project
The St. Mary diversion works, which deliver water from the St. Mary River to the Milk River and provide the water for the Milk River Project’s irrigation supply downstream, are located on the Blackfeet Reservation in northwestern Montana. While the facilities were built on Blackfeet land, largely with Blackfeet labor, the Milk River Project did […]
The Montana Water Resources Association: Advocating for Montana Irrigated Agriculture in Helena and Washington, DC
Mike Murphy has decades of experience in agriculture and has been the executive director of the Montana Water Resources Association (MWRA) for 27 years. MWRA advocates for Montana’s irrigated agriculture on both the state and the federal levels. In this interview, Mr. Murphy tells Irrigation Leader about the association’s top issues, including infrastructure funding and […]
Congressman Greg Gianforte: The Importance of Montana’s Irrigated Agriculture
While many Americans from outside Montana may not be familiar with the Milk River Project or the Sidney and Kinsey Irrigation Projects, their importance goes beyond Montana’s borders. The Milk River Project alone provides water to farmers who grow enough food to feed one million people per year. In this interview, Greg Gianforte, the representative […]
Senator Jon Tester on Legislating for Montana in Washington, DC
Third-generation Montanan Jon Tester has represented Montana in the United States Senate since 2006. His prior experience in agriculture and local and state government means that he has an intimate knowledge of the importance of irrigated agriculture for Montana’s economy. In this interview, Senator Tester tells Irrigation Leader about his legislative work on behalf of […]