Northeast Montana News

An Idaho-based hydroelectric irrigation tech company won the top award recently for innovation, highlighting how farming continues its transition into a more tech-based industry.

HydroSide Systems LLC in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, received its honor from the Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge in January and was named the 2020 Farm Bureau Entrepreneur of the Year.

“From the beginning, we’ve believed that HydroSide is the better way to irrigate crops,” Dana Mohr, CEO of HydroSide Systems, said in a press release. “However, there’s no greater honor than receiving a national award because other people believe in what you can offer too.”

HydroSide’s award-winning innovation was for a product that fits on an irrigation wheel line to independently irrigate the field. The benefit is farmers’ cut time and effort to physically move irrigation lines.

Mohr’s product is one of many available helping to reduce the financial burdens many small- and medium-sized farmers face.

More farmers are using advanced tools such as drones, replacing the prop planes, to better accurately spread weed killer products. There are also microchip technologies that will monitor an animal’s health, or apps to analyze crop and soil health.

“In communities across the country, folks are coming up with innovative solutions to help farmers and ranchers continue to grow healthy, affordable food, fuel and fiber,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a press release. “I’m proud this competition has supported so many start-up companies as they develop new technologies that have great potential to be implemented on farms and ranches nationwide and grow our rural economy.”