In ongoing efforts to preserve natural resources, Hermiston, OR-based River Point Farms employs highly efficient water application systems to ensure highest crop quality and at the same time minimize water usage.
The family-owned operation uses a combination of irrigation and farming systems and has conserved some 7.6 million gallons of water annually, enough to supply to roughly 600,000 people for one full year.
“As water is our most precious natural resource in irrigated farming, conservation and quality preservation are two of our primary objectives at River Point Farms,” said Bob Hale, CEO of River Point Farms. “We’ve continued investing in the necessary tools to successfully conserve water.”
River Point uses low-pressure center-pivot and drip irrigation systems, all controlled and monitored by radio telemetry and computer systems. Pivot irrigation systems use about half the water as traditional surface water application, and drip systems use approximately two-thirds the water as pivot irrigation systems, while still precisely watering the crop.
In addition River Point Farms uses a reservoir tillage system during cultivation, a process by which small holes or reservoirs are punched in the soil between the onions rows to capture water from irrigation or rainfall. And it utilizes real time soil moisture monitoring systems in each onion field at 4”, 8”, 12” and 20” depths.
The telemetry control panel and variable frequency drive irrigation pumps control the volume of water to give each crop only the amount it needs.