Amann Family Ranch

Kim and Denise Amann ranch with their son, Dusty, southeast of Dazey. They run about 200 cows and background their calves. One Discovery Farms gaging station monitors runoff near a crop field where the cows graze and are fed throughout the winter; another collects adjacent to the nearby Baldhill Creek. The first station enables researchers to study runoff behavior from grazed cropland. The second determines how much water and nutrients are absorbed naturally by pasture vegetation versus reaching the Baldhill, which drains into Lake Ashtabula and eventually the Sheyenne River. Read more about the Amann Family Ranch.

Bartholomay Brothers Family Farms

Kent and Sandy Bartholomay and Keith and Sandi Bartholomay, together with family, farm 4,500 acres of cropland near Sheldon. The Bartholomays allow Discovery Farms researchers to collect surface and tile drainage water at three gaging stations near one of their fields. Nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the samples are monitored to determine whether nutrient loss is an issue for the Maple River, which is just a half-mile south of the field. Read more about Bartholomay Brothers Family Farms.

Johannes Farm and Feedlot

Doyle and Patsy Johannes farm and ranch near Underwood. The couple, with help from family, run 200 cows, background the calves and custom feed up to 300 more cows. A Discovery Farms gaging station collects water samples as runoff leaves the feedlot and flows to two more collection sites. During this half-mile trek, the runoff passes through grass and trees. The samples show how much nitrogen and phosphorus is leaving the feedlot and to what extent natural vegetation decreases these nutrients as runoff approaches the nearby Missouri River. Read more about Johannes Farm and Feedlot.