Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1213923
WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 17 Jeff McCullough discusses some of the innovations Spud Grower Farms has made in order to remain sustainable in Colorado's dry environment. "My father had great success with the traditional potato-malt barley crop rotation for years, but the changing water dynamics meant we needed to adapt," says McCullough. "We had to reduce our water use as good stewards to help recover the decline in the aquifer." McCullough believed that for farming in the San Luis Valley to thrive indefinitely, there had to be a change. Spud Grower Farms created a new team that included Ben Seger, who has an extensive agronomy background, and Michael Curtis, who lends his considerable engineering expertise. Learning from the success of the previous team, the new farm players have an impressive synergistic skillset that has allowed the farm to prosper. "As a team, we have creatively focused on our future by truly understanding the economic value of the water in the aquifer," says McCullough. "We have adapted our farming practices to not only balance our water use but to actually help recover the aquifer to previous levels." Last year the farm set a goal of putting 20 percent more water in the aquifer through recharge than pumped, and exceeded that number by 10 percent. The goal of the farm's evolving system is to focus on better soil health for the potato crop using the appropriate mix of rotation crops and cattle grazing, addressing soil-borne diseases of potatoes, and optimizing irrigation application. "We have learned through trial and error and evolved our system as we learn from new techniques," McCullough says. "Not every new practice has worked out, but the key is learning from each new practice we attempt and being flexible with their solutions. We keep detailed cost records to ensure what we are doing is truly cost-effective." Today the farm raises 1,570 acres of russet potatoes in a rotation with quinoa and green manure cover crops, with cattle grazing incorporated into the operation. They plant a grazing mix designed to meet cattle needs while including plant species important for controlling potato diseases. Also planted is a low-input green manure mix that is cut and baled at an immature stage for their grazing partner's cattle. McCullough says nothing would be more disappointing than seeing the sub- district unable to meet its sustainability goals. "I believe that every grower in the sub-district can be doing more to manage his or her irrigation water and help recover the aquifer," McCullough says. "My suggestion is to start with one idea and build from there. The future of your farm, your neighbors and your community depends on the steps we take today." "I knew that our farm was not living within our water means, and I thought about what the long-term impact of this would be on not only our farm, but my neighbors and the community." —Jeff McCullough Spud Grower Farms