An All-American Farming Operation 

By Kris Polly

Brothers Reed and Thane Tobol are members of the third generation of their family to run their farm, and they’re constantly looking for new ways to improve it. In addition to their wide range of professional pursuits—Reed is an auctioneer, and both brothers are pilots and run a trucking company—they look far and wide for inspiration to improve their farm, even flying to central Washington to observe university-based research seed plots. Moreover, they work hard to raise community awareness of the significance of agriculture. I am sure you will be inspired by their story. 

United States Senator James Risch of Idaho has long been known as a western water champion. We speak with him about recent legislation and the biggest issues affecting water use and management in the West. 

Aging infrastructure issues are a familiar story for western irrigation districts. Recently, when Nevada’s Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (TCID) was dealing with seepage on its canal, it made use of AssetGuard’s GroundGuard technology. We speak with TCID Maintenance Manager Cody Biggs about how the product successfully solved the problem. 

Urban development in former agricultural areas is a familiar story, too. We speak with Kirk Rathbun, the owner and manager of the Lewis and Clark Irrigation Company and the president of the board of Kennewick Irrigation District, about how this phenomenon is playing out in central Washington State and how his work with pump company Watertronics has helped him grapple with it. 

Husqvarna, the well-known manufacturer of chainsaws and other landscaping equipment, has recently moved into agricultural irrigation with the goal of changing the way the world waters. Stuart Eyring, the CEO of Husqvarna Water, tells us about several new products for growers, including the B-hyve Ag irrigation control and monitoring system. 

Rain Bird has been involved with agricultural irrigation since the invention of the horizontal-arm brass impact sprinkler in 1933, and it’s still innovating. In our conversation with Jeff Westphal, the national sales manager for Rain Bird’s agricultural division, we learn about the detailed, feedback-driven process through which the company designed and launched its new Micro Bird Jet sprinkler. 

Jim Lauria, the vice president of sales and marketing for Mazzei Injector Company, has several decades of experience in every facet of the water industry. Now, he’s sharing his insights into how to tell the industry’s story as a cohost of the podcast Water We Talking About? In our interview, he tells us more about the podcast’s origins and mission. 

Last, we look at how northeastern Nebraska’s Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District is responding to the devastating floods that affected its service area in 2019. In our conversation with General Manager Brian Bruckner and Assistant General Manager Curt Becker, we do a deep dive into the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Watershed Flood Prevention Operations program and learn how the district is using it. 

Infrastructure, development, technology, and communications: These are all constants for irrigated agriculture, and as this month’s issue makes clear, they are issues that our industry is working on assiduously. 

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Irrigation Leader magazine and the president of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.