Jace Miller has always known exactly what he wanted to do. He began working on his family’s farm south of Phoenix at the age of nine. When other boys were playing football, he was driving a tractor. He has grown to love the long, hot days and even the acts of God. At 30, he’s inheriting a century-old farming business, has a first child on the way, and says there are only two things that could force a career change: “For me, it’s bankruptcy or death. I’m a farmer.”

That commitment was put to the test last summer, when Miller found out he was going to lose the Colorado River water that sustains the thirsty alfalfa and hay he grows in