Nomination Recommendation for CNJ Oilfield Services My name is Carson S., and I was asked to share a recent experience my small business, Bluffs Farm, had with CNJ Oilfield Services and Mr. Craig Nelson. Earlier this year, I entered into a lease agreement with B Square Ranch to farm seven acres of fruits and vegetables and open a farm stand. I named the new business Bluffs Farm. Because this was my first-year farming on this property, there were many new startup costs. One of those costs was a new irrigation system. The seven-acre field was planted with a water saving strategy that utilizes drip lines with tiny emitters every 8 inches. These drip lines are buried under the soil surfaces next to the roots of the plants. The driplines are set under plastic mulch to ensure the water remains in the soil. For the irrigation water to flow through the drip lines and exit through the emitters, the sediment and debris in the water must be cleaned first. Then after it is cleaned, it must be pressurized to travel through the 400-foot-long rows. When the Animas River was flowing at normal levels, the system worked as it should, but as the summer progressed and water levels in the river dropped, the sediment load in the irrigation water increased and the filtration system became more temperamental. By the beginning of August, when the Animas River was running very low and the sediment load was very high, the filter could no longer keep up with the debris in the water and still maintain pressure in the lines. Despite many efforts to find solutions to remove the debris in the water, the irrigation equipment wasn't working. By the beginning of August, the field went five straight days without water in 100-degree temperatures because of irrigation and filtration equipment failure. The crops were wilted, and I was at the point where my entire investment and new farming venture was going to be over. Then on Friday, August 9th Mr. Craig Nelson appeared at the produce stand inquiring about a farmer he had never met before who was having irrigation problems. He introduced himself as someone who lived close by and knew a little about filters and irrigation equipment. With tools in hand, he offered to take a look at my current system and see if he could help. After evaluating the system, he recommended several different strategies and we tried them all, but despite our efforts, we couldn't maintain pressure in the lines after cleaning the water. The system just kept getting bogged down. That night I went to bed accepting I was more than likely going to lose the field because I couldn't get water down the drip lines. Early the next morning, I loaded up my truck and left for the Farmington Growers' Market. Right after I left, Mr. Nelson arrived at the farmstand and mentioned he had another solution. He asked if he could place a tank full of water near the field to provide a short-term solution to water the crops. This short-term solution would buy us extra time to find a way to get the current irrigation equipment to work. Of course, I was thrilled when I heard about the offer, and I hoped the tank might save a few rows in the field. I was envisioning a tank that would fit in the bed of a pick up truck! About an hour later, a semi truck full of water arrived at the farm and the driver asked where to set the tank. I simply couldn't believe Mr. Nelson just had a 20,000 gallon tank full of water dropped off. Then, after the tank was placed, 3 employees from CNJ Oilfield Services assisted in getting it hooked up. They also brought an additional pump and hoses to get it connected to my main pump and filter. After just an hour of fine tuning, water was flowing to all 7 acres again. And given this was day 5 of the water outage and I needed to water through the night, Mr. Nelson had a light tower dropped so I could see. To top it all off, he stopped by the farm, called, or text me every day for the next two weeks to make sure everything was going okay. Mr. Nelson connected me with another employee of CNJ Oilfield Services, Mr. Tim Torrez who continued to help until the tank was no longer needed. Together, all of us worked out a long-term solution to get the existing equipment to work along with other community partners. As a result of Mr. Nelson's kindness, support, and service above self for a farmer he didn't even know, my farming business was able to survive a very difficult time. Because of his generosity, the field is still continuing to produce. I have supplied produce to every school district in our area plus restaurants, senior centers, and ECHO food bank. Many people in our community have enjoyed fresh, local produce because he was willing to step in with a solution to save the my field. With CNJ Oilfield Services nomination as a 4CED EDGE award where businesses are recognized for their economic contributions and also their community involvement, I can say first hand they are the business of the year in my book!!!!!! Sincerely,