Giving farmers more time is a big motivator for Andy High, owner of Thompson Pump and Irrigation. He says being able to monitor and control pivots by phone is a step in the right direction.

Andy High, owner of Thompson Pump & Irrigation in Bend, Madras and Powell Butte, Ore., knows firsthand the perils of farming and ranching where water is scarce.

As Andy came of age, his father and grandfather told him the water wars weren’t likely to end anytime soon and urged him to go to college.

High earned a degree in public policy and spent the next 15 years working for legislators, including Sens. Tim Knopp and Gordon Smith.

“In 2016 I decided I didn’t necessarily want to farm full-time but to get back in and give back to that community,” High said. “Coming in with Thompson Pumps was a golden opportunity; just a really great company, strong staff and strong community ties in Bend, where my wife, Jennifer, grew up.”

Ranch life for the High family revolved around hard work, 4-H and socializing at the Midland Grange Hall.

Vacations were 4-H Fair Week and the State Grange Convention. High has been a Grange member for nearly 30 years.

“It’s tough; with all the social media now and so many demands on people’s time, there’s not a lot of that kind of community gathering happening anymore,” High said. “Our ag roots are very important to our family.”

Giving farmers more time is a big motivator for High, who says being able to monitor and control pivots with a phone is a step in the right direction.

Thompson Pump and Irrigation is a sponsor of this year’s Central Oregon Ag Show, where High and his crew will demonstrate the latest innovations in irrigation.

“That’s where our focus is and that’s what excites me about the industry; just the technology helping people,” High said. “We’re a Valley Pivot dealer and do a lot of center pivots in Central Oregon. The AgSense products we’ll have on display at the show allow you full access to what’s going on with your machine, wherever you are.”

Soil moisture monitoring provides farmers with a daily report showing where more coverage is needed. The farmer can choose where to slow down or speed up the pivot to equalize water absorption remotely.

“Our goal is to give our farmers and ranchers more time and to help them be more water efficient,” High said. “If I can give you another hour in the day that you can go to the football game and not have to run out to a crop, to me that’s a huge victory.

“Within the next couple of years, we will see solar making a bigger impact on farming, which could open thousands more acres to help grow the industry,” High said.

“Technology is coming to farming,” he said. “There are 7 billion people to feed and a small group that’s doing it.”

Last spring’s addition of Scott Miller to the Thompson Irrigation & Pump team brings a greater level of expertise to commercial and residential drip irrigation customers and the efficiency such watering systems can provide.