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English: Staehely Valley Veue Dairy Farm is located in Oregon City, less than 20 miles from Portland. The 350-acre property has stood strong through multiple generations. Currently run by Paul and Diane Staehely with their son and nephew, the property was first passed down from Paul's grandfather and two great uncles and then from his father and two uncles.

The farm has been in dairy production for several generations and transitioned to organic dairy 16 years ago. This year, the Staehley family made the difficult decision to transition the organic dairy to beef production, as being a smaller organic dairy was becoming less of a viable option.

In 2021, Staehely wanted to reduce input costs and increase productivity across operations. He connected with Kim Galland, NRCS Oregon District Conservationist in Clackamas County, to apply for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) On-Farm Energy Initiative.

Through EQIP On-Farm Energy Initiative, Staehely worked with a Technical Service Provider to develop an agricultural energy management plan, which essentially acts as an energy audit, for the farm. The energy management plan itemized energy usage of Staehely's agricultural systems to evaluate his farm's current energy usage levels. Once that baseline was established, Galland worked with Staehely on recommendations to improve energy efficiencies and what the return on investment was in terms of cost and time. The plan helped Staehely consider various options for his operation and encouraged him to implement irrigation improvements that converted a wheel line system to center pivots. This enabled Staehely to conserve water and save on energy and labor costs.

Water usage is top of mind for many farmers in the West. Oregon has experienced extreme drought in recent years. In 2021, Staehely worked with Galland to apply for EQIP - Conservation Incentives Contract (CIC), a new program for NRCS that targets climate-smart conservation. Through EQIP-CIC, Staehely installed two irrigation pivots across his pastures. The two new pivots help Staehely use water more efficiently while reducing operation costs. The pivot sprinklers also spray water closer to the ground, reducing the amount of water lost through evaporation. Staehley pointed out that he now has more water in the creek throughout the summer watering season, which is something the wildlife, his grandkids and his dog Roxie benefit from. Staehley will also be implementing an advanced system for irrigation water management that will use sensors to measure water moisture levels for even more precise water use.

As the years pass, Staehely is thinking long-term about farm efficiencies and improvements. However operations evolve at Staehely Valley Veue Dairy Farm, one thing is certain - Staehely's conservation successes point to a bright future for his land.