Conservation Efforts Provide Benefits to Valley Ranching Family

By Melissa Blair, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist

For Martin Pena II and his wife Cristal, owners of the 606 Ranch LLC. in Hidalgo County, the hands-on technical assistance provided through the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) not only proved to be a time of learning for the young couple, but also yielded positive benefits for them and their ranch.

Martin and Cristal didn’t grow up on a farm or ranch, but they wanted horses to ride and enjoy, so they bought a ranch in Donna. They started raising horse quality hay to feed their livestock and to sell. They went through the “school of hard knocks” as Martin put it, learning from others, asking questions and seeking out resources to help with their goals of improving the ranch. Farmers who had come to see Pena about his hay at the ranch, told him about the NRCS and the assistance available through the agency to help agricultural producers with land management issues.

Martin, like many Valley producers, was dealing with an inefficient irrigation system, poor land uniformity, and soil erosion, resulting in a lot of time spent in the field trying to make the most of his water supply for his hay production. Martin started working with Raul “Ray” Hinojosa, district conservationist at the Edinburg NRCS office, to develop a voluntary conservation plan to help him address the ranch’s natural resource concerns through an improved efficient irrigation system. Rolando Miranda, soil technician with NRCS, assisted with the surveying and designing of Pena’s new irrigation system.

“Conserving and utilizing water efficiently is continually important within the Rio Grande Valley,” said Hinojosa, “Using conservation practices such as land leveling and irrigation pipelines creates a delivery system that is specific to the location you need water - there’s no waste transporting it from the source to where you need it to go.”

Martin said, “Too many times, we see farmers using a trench system or watering ditch and they have water spill over the dirt banks. The water flow tends to erode the very water banks that were created to contain the flow. This leads to hundreds if not thousands of gallons being leaked onto adjacent grounds.”

By working with NRCS to install the recommended irrigation system and pipelines, Martin, his wife and employees can now water the ranch’s fields without the added worry of water leaking out of the irrigation canals. Thanks to the new efficient irrigation system, less trips are made to irrigation sites by Martin and his employees. Employees no longer have to sit in vehicles during the heat of the day monitoring the water canal, watering tarps, and inspecting for improper water flow.

Martin shared about what he calls the “short term loss opportunity” compared to the long term benefits of installing conservation. The short term loss opportunity of not cutting and selling or using the hay was minor compared to the long term benefits of installing the irrigation system and pipelines.

After installing the irrigation pipelines and land leveling the hay field and re-seeding, hay production went from 360 bales to 2,000 bales. Hay quality has improved due to improved water efficiency and soil that wasn’t washed away.  

“Eliminating the watering canals also means eliminating a stagnant water source,” said Martin. “With the old system, when watering is completed in a pasture, water can remain in the irrigation ditch for weeks. This is a prime breeding ground for mosquitos and rodents. With diseases carried by mosquitos, the positive impact made by irrigation lines is immeasurable.”

Cristal sees the benefits of conservation from the family perspective. Now the family is able to spend more time together and even go out of town since they don’t have to worry about the water canals leaking.

“Also, Martin doesn’t come in drenched in irrigation water from being in the ditch,” said Cristal. “Martin isn’t as sick as much because he isn’t in the water in all types of weather and stressing about the fields.”

Martin and Cristal know the importance of being good land stewards who not only benefit their operation, but the environment and the future of Valley agriculture. Their plans are to pass the ranching operations onto their children, Celeste, Carolina, and Martin Pena III, along with the conservation lessons and values they continue to learn.