Sustainable Farming

What does it mean to be sustainable? Good question! At Stahlbush, we think it’s important to explain to people what we mean when we use this term to describe our way of farming and producing food. We define sustainable as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (based on “Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development,” United Nations, 1987). We like this definition because it shows the quest for sustainability is a philosophy. Our philosophy of sustainability guides our farming practices and affects the way we use energy and care for soil, water, people and wildlife.

Water

Low pressure irrigation system conserves energy and water

We strive for the most efficient irrigation possible. From a technical standpoint, we use drop tubes on our linear and pivot irrigation systems to reduce water losses due to evaporation and drift. We also use drip irrigation to provide water directly to the crop root zone. We continue to improve our irrigation scheduling techniques, using weather, soil moistures and evapo-transpiration data to track water use and needs.

In our processing plants, we measure our current daily water use during production and clean up and look for ways to save water. Keeping equipment, such as hoses, nozzles and valves, in good condition helps us manage water use. We also sweep and collect waste without using water and communicate water use metrics to production personnel to keep the whole team focused on our reduction goals. At Stahlbush, water is a natural resource we’re taking care of. And we’re always looking for ways to do more with less.