The Nature Conservancy, in collaboration with Nestlé Purina and Cargill, is launching a three-year water project to improve the sustainability of the beef supply chain. This project is expected to reduce the environmental impact of row crop irrigation in Nebraska and provide a scalable irrigation solution for farmers across the U.S.
More than 50% of water used in U.S. beef production is dedicated to irrigating the row crops that become feed for cattle. By putting first-of-its-kind, cost-effective irrigation technology in the hands of farmers, the amount of water needed for row crop irrigation is greatly reduced, as is the environmental impact of the beef supply chain.
The Nebraska project enables farmers to make more informed irrigation decisions, by installing smart weather sensors in crop fields and using Internet of Things (IoT) technology on sprinklers connected to a smart phone app.
