Water is an ever-present concern for Cameron and Garrett Duncan. The couple farms hay and alfalfa crops, and they raise dryland meat sheep across the high desert landscape of their Sprague River community in Oregon. Water conservation is particularly critical to the Duncans due to the challenging environment of the high desert. The region’s arid climate means that water resources are scarce and highly variable, making efficient water use essential.

As a result, the Duncans are always on the hunt for ways to conserve water, ensure the long-term viability of their farm, and protect their livelihood against the increasing threat of droughts. The need to future-proof their operations against water scarcity has driven their search for innovative irrigation tools to maximize their water efficiency and minimize energy use.

The Duncans developed a plan to upgrade to a LEPA-LESA irrigation system by adding a variable frequency drive and pivots for watering, allowing for more precise control when watering.  The motor only works as hard as needed, reducing energy use and wear on the equipment. 

To afford the upgrades, the Duncans utilized funding from a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant, which was recently expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act. 

REAP grants help cover the costs for renewable energy systems or energy efficiency improvements for agricultural producers and rural small businesses. The pivot attachments move the sprinklers closer to the ground and emit water over a wider area at a significantly lower pressure.

The couple has been irrigating over 200 acres of farmland with their new energy efficient system since the spring. And Cameron Duncan has already seen a difference in the water and energy saved. 

In addition to the REAP grant, the Duncans received guidance from the Oregon Rural Energy Network, guidance from the state director for rural development from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and technical support from the Lake County Resources Initiative.

All of it, she said, was invaluable throughout the process.

“There’s a lot to be said for those organizations working together to make things happen,” said Cameron. “I think it will have a significant impact for landowners to be able to do these projects and have these people partner up and stack money.” 

An energy audit conducted before the Duncans pursued the upgrades suggested they would see a 30% savings. That estimate nailed it, according to Cameron.

The couple sees thousands of dollars in savings every summer, dropping the kilowatt hours they use per day from 2,200 to 1,400. And they’re saving roughly 50 million gallons of water a season. 

“We’re preparing ourselves for the future with limited water resources in the West. How do we get ahead of it?” said Duncan. “I don’t want us to get 10 years down the road and have to cut water 30% and not have the infrastructure to do that. That was our main goal. I don’t think we’d survive if we had to do these projects reactively.”

The savings allow the Duncans to reinvest in their farm. They’re able to focus more on soil health, integrating more organic matter, and cutting back on the fertilizers that contain man-made compounds that conventional farming generally utilizes. The system they’ve installed also gives them some breathing room on watering, allowing them to skip a day or multiple days from time to time. That practice could have been detrimental, or even catastrophic, for crop health previously. 

“It was worth it,” Duncan said of the grant application process. “It was kind of awesome to be able to do that because it helped make the next steps smoother for the landowners behind me.”

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed by the 117th Congress is a piece of federal legislation that aims to reduce inflation by lowering the cost of prescription medications, investing in domestic energy production and promoting clean energy, among other objectives.