Future Roots Locally Grown Guide - Catalog - Page 89
WATER-WISE FARMING
For Hillside Ranch, water conservation is more than changes to their irrigation practices—
it’s also about increasing soil health. Justin is shifting toward minimal tillage to preserve soil
structure and water-holding capacity. “We’re working to reduce soil disturbance and increase
organic matter to improve water retention,” he says.
RESTORATION AGRICULTURE
Brooke Bonner vividly remembers the struggle of taking a soil sample during her first year
managing Drinkers of the Wind Farm. “I was jumping on the shovel, and I couldn’t get any soil
out at all,” she recalls.
For 50 years, Brooke’s stepfather, Archie Bouttier, bred champion endurance Arabian
horses along the Big Wood River south of Bellevue. When he passed away unexpectedly in 2021,
Brooke and her mother faced a tough decision—sell the property or find a way to preserve it.
“The credit goes to my mom,” says Brooke. “She believed in my dream of turning this into a
regenerative farm.”
The rock-hard patch of compacted soil in a former horse pasture is now thriving with a
variety of cover crops, trees, and shrubs, thanks to a system of swales and berms engineered
to follow the land’s natural contours. This is the start of what Brooke identifies as “restoration
agriculture.”
“The swales break up soil compacted by years of horse hooves, collect every drop of water, and
allow it to soak in rather than run off,” Brooke explains. “Our goal is to turn the soil into a sponge.”
The increased water holding capacity generated by the swales supports over 4,000 trees
and shrubs (more than 100 varieties), which help enrich and shade the soil, sequester carbon,
BEFORE
AFTER
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