Rural Roots: Rainshadow Organics

As we grow our Irrigation Modernization Program, we’re inspired by stories of farmers and ranchers who have already modernized and are realizing the benefits of an updated system.

Sarahlee Lawrence grew up watching her dad, Dave, grow hay outside Sisters, Oregon. After leaving the nest to seek adventures elsewhere she was drawn back to the family farm, just as Three Sisters Irrigation District was investing in modernization efforts. Over a decade later, Sarahlee and her husband, Ashanti Samuels, have completely transformed and expanded her family hay farm, creating a vegetable and grain production farm, a restaurant, and a burgeoning cattle business. For this short video we visited Sarahlee, Ashanti, and Dave at Rainshadow Organics Farm and during a cattle drive near John Day, OR.