LOR Foundation's 2024 Field Work Initiative Invests in Four Montana Operations

In 2023, the LOR Foundation, through its Field Work initiative, invested $538,802 in 61 on-farm/ranch projects across five states to support development of innovative, practical water conservation solutions by on-the-ground experts. Eleven of the insta-grant recipients were Montana operations. With support from the LOR Foundation, AERO invited the “Montana 11” to share about their projects and findings at the 2023 Expo in Helena, Oct 20-21. You can watch individual presentations on particular projects HERE, or catch the recorded Expo session, On-Farm Water Conservation in Montana: Stories from the Field, HERE. 

In 2024, the LOR Foundation invested in ten additional projects, four of them in Montana.

Here are the four funded Montana projects.  We look forward to hearing from these folks in the months to come, and learning what their on-farm research is revealing.

Jody Manuel – Prairie Grass Ranch | Havre, MT

Plant the perennial wheat grain Kernza alongside alfalfa and use a specialized harvesting machine (a stripper header) to enhance soil health and conserve moisture.

Rebecca Weed – Thirteen Mile Lamb & Wool  | Belgrade, MT

Develop a wool-based pillow that can be used on a stream to slow water flow, reduce bank failure, and enable the growth of soil-stabilizing plants.

Richard Williams – Sugar Beet Row Farm | Whitehall, MT

Apply the Bokashi fermentation method (a composting technique) to food waste, and then press it into the ground with a subsoil plow tool to increase soil health and water-holding capacity without disturbing the soil structure.

Leon Stangl – Yourganic Farm | Corvallis, MT

Develop a mechanical mulcher prototype that attaches to a manure spreader to efficiently create and apply an organic mulch that will increase soil moisture–holding capacity.

photo credit: Ben Vaughn