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Cargill wants to improve water sustainability in the beef supply chain

Hygiene & Biosecurity

Cargill has entered a partnership with the Nature Conservancy and Nestlé Purina to launch a three-year water project to improve the sustainability of the beef supply chain.

Posted on May 31 ,15:02

Cargill wants to improve water sustainability in the beef supply chain

The project's aim is to reduce the environmental impact of row crop irrigation in Nebraska and provide a scalable irrigation solution for farmers across the US.

According to Cargill, more than 50% of water used in US 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," Cargill's statement read.

Cargill says that 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.

“By using smart weather sensor technology in row crop irrigation, this program could help save 2.4 billion gallons of irrigation water over three years, which is equivalent to roughly 7,200 households over that time period,” said Hannah Birge, water and agriculture program manager at The Nature Conservancy. “The reduction of pumping also means less energy used and less labor expense for farmers.”

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