Staff / The El Paso Journal
Friday, March 24, 2023 | 20:54
Farmington, New Mexico— Navajo Nation rancher George Tso has been involved with agriculture his entire life, from helping with his father’s alfalfa crops to sell to ranchers to working on his own nine-square-mile ranch in Farmington, New Mexico.
While Tso has plenty of space to raise additional cattle on top of the 51 head he currently maintains, his biggest obstacle is water. The only water source on his land is located on the south side of his ranch, but the best pasture for his cattle is on the north side.
“It’s impossible to raise cattle with that one water trough,” Tso said. “I kept scolding (the Navajo government) that I needed water, but they told me to reduce my cattle by 10 percent, so I reduced. There is a lot of grass in the northern part of the ranch, but my cattle don’t want to go that far to graze.”
According to Tso, if the animals remain in one area, the grass is depleted and this causes them to lose weight. Meanwhile, grass grows abundantly in the other areas.
Mike Lisk, founder and CEO of Remote Well Solutions in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, decided to step in to help Navajo ranchers like Tso, who for years have had to travel miles just to bring water to their properties for their cattle. The company has designed and received U.S. and international patents for an off-grid water production and distribution system that will replace aging windmills with hybrid solar-generator systems that automatically operate off-grid to pump the liquid. electrically vital from the wells, then distribute it to multiple irrigation points.
“I have a cattle ranch in Lincoln County with 125 units of animals. When I visit a Navajo Nation tribal ranch, I find they have better land with more forage than I do, but they only have 20 to 30 units of animals,” Lisk said. “I have distributed water on my property, but they have a windmill and a watering hole in one place. Dramatic efficiency improvements will pay off very quickly for the cattle, ranch and rancher as water challenges are resolved. The quantifiable results will be almost immediate.”
Lisk worked with the Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University on a 2018 study on the economic impacts of installing Remote Well Solutions systems in McKinley County. The analysis, written by Arrowhead Center program director Kramer Winingham, business consultant Dale Spencer, and then-graduate student Ejiro Osiobe, used economic modeling software and found that carrying capacity on McKinley County ranches is four animal units per section on average.
In a likely scenario, carrying capacities increase 100% to eight animal units per section with Remote Well Solutions technology installed. While this is still lower than typical ranchers in the state, the project will help support more than 200 additional jobs in NM annually and contribute nearly $18 million per year to the state’s economy.
“In terms of return on investment, this is one of the best economic development opportunities I’ve seen,” Winingham said. “The technology can double or triple the income potential of ranches in the area. It is very exciting to see the Navajo Nation supporting the implementation of this new technology. The potential impact of Remote Well Solutions is significant here and beyond, as it can address challenges on similar farms throughout the Southwest.”
“This new water production and distribution project technology developed by Remote Well Solutions is a big step in the right direction to support our local Navajo ranchers,” said Myron Lizer, who was vice president of the Navajo Nation when it was first released. time the Remote Well Solutions project. “This system will increase the performance of our local ranchers and improve grazing land, since cattle do not have to be concentrated at a water point.”
Lizer said the project will also have a profound impact on the nation’s economy, as well as help ranchers prolong their equipment, fuel and finances.
“Over the many years we have worked with Mike Lisk, we have been very impressed with his inventiveness and persistence in bringing this new technology to market,” said Kathy Hansen, director and CEO of the Arrowhead Center at NMSU. “We are excited to help bring to market a technology developed in New Mexico that is solving real challenges in the state.”
Remote Well Solutions is working with the Navajo Nation Department of Agriculture to initiate additional projects within the eastern region of the reservation, which consists of regions in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Last year, Remote Well Solutions was awarded a $500,000 contract to build the wells after years of planning.
“This will allow for better use of forage vegetation on our tribal ranches, distribute water away from primary sources on the property, improve cattle weight gain, improve our farm profits and increase revenue from our leasing program. ranches,” said Ferdinand Notah, program and project specialist with the Navajo Department of Agriculture.
This is good news for ranchers like Tso, who hopes to grow his ranch once the system is up and running.
“It will benefit everyone. We can raise more cattle and make more money from that, and in return buy the things we need to run a ranch,” Tso said.
