The Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project (LYIP), in operation by 1925, played a significant role in convincing sugar industry officials to build a sugar refining plant in the area. Without the irrigation already in place at the time, producers likely would not have included sugar beets in their rotations, the sugar industry would not have moved to the area by building a plant in Sidney, and the region could not have maintained a stable, economic health over the years. So much of the agricultural health of the area relates directly to irrigation activity through the years.

Irrigation came to the area in 1910. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior authorized the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project on May 10, 1904. The Bureau of Reclamation began the construction of the Lower Yellowstone project on July 22, 1905, with the express intention of expanding economic development in the area.

Construction took several years, due to severe weather conditions, financial problems, the difficulty of obtaining skilled workers and problems finding competent contractors.

However, in spite of the difficulties, the Bureau did complete the project in 1909, which included the diversion dam at Intake, the main canal, all major structures, and a distribution system capable of irrigating approximately 35,000 acres. In 1922, project officials expanded the distribution system to include another 15,000 acres.

The irrigation system did not reach maximum utilization for several years. The construction of the Holly Sugar plant in Sidney in 1925 stimulated interest in irrigation expansion, and by 1930, growers utilized approximately two-thirds of the total project acres. Drought in the '30s and World War II convinced growers to settle the remaining acres, and by 1946, growers had 50,200 acres under irrigation through the Lower Yellowstone project.

The Lower Yellowstone project cost a total of $4,529,000, with water users obligated to repay $3,929,000 of the total cost. Water users made the last payment in 1979.

The main project feature, the 700-foot Intake Dam, located 18 miles downstream from Glendive, raises the water surface in the Yellowstone River to allow a 12-foot depth of flow in the main canal. The main canal today runs approximately 80 miles to the Missouri River, several miles upstream from the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. The main canal has 225 miles of laterals, which move water from the main canal to the over 450 individual farm units. The system also has 118 miles of drains in the drainage system.

In 1947, the Bureau built the smaller Savage Unit irrigation project. In 1944, Congress passed the Flood Control Act, or the Pick Sloan Missouri River Basin Project. Congress designed this comprehensive program to supply, among other things, both power and irrigation for the promotion of economic development projects throughout the west. The Bureau identified the Savage area as appropriate for irrigation purposes, and local interests encouraged development of a Savage Unit Pick Sloan Missouri Basin Program.

Construction of the Savage project began in 1949, with completion a year later. Only two growers took advantage of the available irrigation in 1950, but it didn't take area growers too many years to take advantage of the available water and begin growing sugar beets and corn for silage.

The opening of the Savage irrigation unit provided an economic boon to the Savage area. Prior to irrigation development, many farms retained much of the original sod ground. Farmers used their land for grazing and for the growing of small grains. If farms didn't receive sufficient moisture, farmers had no crop. In dry years, many farmers didn't even try to farm.

With the completion of the Savage irrigation project, farms at first did not increase much in size. Instead, irrigation gave growers the opportunity to develop what they already had, to break up sod and begin farming in earnest.

The Savage project cost $560,000, with approximately $222,000 allocated to the Pick Sloan irrigation program. This left Savage unit water users with an obligation to repay a $338,000 loan for the project construction.

Water for the project, elevated 84 feet, reaches 22 farm units by way of a 7.8-mile main canal. The Savage district has 4.6 miles of lateral ditches and 120 irrigation structures including laterals and farm turnouts, checks, drops and measuring devices for water control and for farm water deliveries. The project irrigates 2,300 acres.

Sidney's Holly Sugar factory not only obtained sugar beets from growers using the LYIP and the Savage unit, but the factory also obtained beets from growers using the Buford-Trenton irrigation system. The Buford-Trenton Project, located in Williams County, ND, took two starts to get established. This project, which includes land from the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, dates back to 1903. The project land lies between the Great Northern Railway line and the Missouri River, and runs to approximately 17 miles east of the North Dakota/Montana state line.

The site in 1903 looked promising for irrigation development to both local growers and government officials, and a preliminary engineering survey in 1905 deemed the land suitable for irrigation. Construction began on the project in 1906. However, due to a combination of many factors, including poor engineering plans, lack of competent contractors, problems obtaining reliable workers, poor management and financial difficulties, planners abandoned the project.

In 1940, government officials tried again, and authorized the Buford-Trenton project for construction as part of the water conservation program under the Interior Department's Appropriations Act of 1940.

The original authorization plan called for 15 miles of main canal and 6 laterals to irrigate the 13,000 acres deemed suitable for irrigation development. A reassessment and reclassification changed the main canal length to 21 miles long, with 32 miles of laterals, 10 miles of drain, and 335 canal and lateral structures to irrigate a total of 14,000 acres.

On May 6, 1940, crews began work on the project. Planners estimated the total cost of the project at $1.5 million. Water users' share of the cost amounted to $630,000. The federal government built the irrigation system to provide relief from drought and, at the same time stabilize the livestock industry. With the coming of World War II, irrigation also allowed growers to increase production for the war effort.

Crews finished the project in time for the 1943 growing season, with water delivered that year to 3,000 acres of land.

By 1949, irrigated acres in the Buford-Trenton district had increased to 7900. By 1954, the total acreage receiving water had expanded to 9,000 acres. Today, the project irrigates 10,400 acres and reaches approximately 100 farm units.

These projects proved their value by providing continuous and stable economies for area residents. Irrigated acres continue to expand today with the addition of pivots on individual farm land, and with several proposed new irrigation projects currently in the planning and development stages.