Background and History

On an 80 acre farm parcel located on the north side of the Oregon-Washington state line near Walla Walla, four generations of the Huesby family have farmed the land since 1908.  Although the property is located on the Washington side, their primary surface water right is from Oregon served by the Hudson Bay District Improvement Company (HBDIC).  There is a supplemental well water right from Washington for use when surface water is unavailable.

Joel Huesby grew up helping on the farm his mother inherited, lending a hand in the field and tending cattle.  After working for a farm chemical company and losing money using traditional chemical farming methods on his land, he decided to try switching to more sustainable processes to restore the soil and raise livestock.  During a visit to Portland, OR, the Joel and his wife Cynthia met Doc and Connie Hatfield, who helped set up the Oregon Country Beef Co-op, through which Northwest ranchers market high-grade meat. “It was great to hear somebody being successful doing beef,” Cynthia said.

Through fallow rotation and application of waste short paper fibers from Ponderosa Fibers, the Huesbys have improved the organic matter, soil fertility, and its capacity to hold water.  In order to find ways to address growing regional concerns about potential harm to fish from irrigation withdrawal of water from the Walla Walla River, Joel proposed to construct an off-stream lowland irrigation storage reservoir to provide winter surface water storage.  By shifting when water is withdrawn and storing it during the off-season when water is most available, the goal is to help fish during late spring and early summer when water is most needed in the river.  Shifting water diversion away from the low flow period also helps improve stream temperatures. 

OWEB Involvement

In 2001, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) approved a technical assistance grant (#201-385) to study ideas for cost-effective off-stream off-season storage of irrigation water and come up with the engineering designs needed for implementation.  John Warinner, PE, of Fountainhead Irrigation worked on the project and developed the idea of several small on-farm "ponds" instead of one big reservoir.

A demonstration pond with a 500,000 gallon capacity was installed to test the idea of using an organic scum seal called “gley” to prevent percolation.  This liner layer was created by running cattle in the area to build up the organic material needed to create the seal.  The project is testing whether or not this type of liner can be used in place of expensive plastic, rubber, or concrete liners.  Results to date are very promising.

If the gley lining is effective and another six or seven ponds are installed, it is estimated that about 2cfs could be put back instream from this farm during the May to August irrigation period.

Some tree planting has occurred around the pond to provide shade, food, and cover and improve the habitat potential for migratory birds and other wildlife.  Joel is also exploring the idea of aquaculture to grow fish for recreation or sale to expand the beneficial use of the water even further.

An OWEB small grant was awarded in 2003, to upgrade the pumping station to be able to fill the pond (#26-02-011).  Rebuilt equipment was purchased from Widner Electric to make the project as cost effective as possible.

Growth of Thundering Hooves

The Huesbys founded the Thundering Hooves family partnership in the late 1990s.  They continuously strive to understand their farm from an ecosystem perspective and work passionately to enhance the overall performance of the production system.   They raise pasture fed livestock and poultry and do not use hormones or antibiotics.  In addition to selling products at the local farmer's market, they have developed a loyal group of customers who buy direct from the farm from as far away as Seattle.

They are concerned about protecting and preserving their irrigation water rights and are committed to enhancing the overall health and benefit of their farming operation.  They seek a sustainable future for fish, farming and their community.  The family is interested in pasture-based livestock production (intensively managed grazing), synergistic agro forestry concepts such as windbreaks and silvo-pasture systems, capturing the latent potential in renewable energy sources (especially wind), and enhancing the value of prospective ponds with aquaculture production and/or recreation.

The family partnership purchased the Kwik Freez Meat Processing & Locker Service in Walla Walla, WA, in order to have full control over the production end.  More information about their business can be found at the Thundering Hooves website.  The PCC Farmland Fund is raising money to protect the neighboring Bennington Place 174 acre farm and put it into organic production under the Huesbys stewardship. 

Media Attention

Many people have been out to see the pond and hear Joel talk about balancing the needs of fish and irrigation. The President of Shorebank Pacific, a sustainable lending institution in the Portland area was given a tour. Also a senior producer and a correspondent for MSNBC.com came and did some filming, resulting in a nice feature story "Healing the Land- A Rancher's Tale"  (posted 3/3/04)

They have also been featured in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin "Local farm family takes slice of organic beef biz" (posted 1/11/04, requires fee to access the archives) and in the PCC Sound Consumer newsletter "The Farmland Fund steps over the mountains to save a new farm" (posted 3/04).  Joel now writes regularly for Sound Consumer (1/05).