Arable, a leading innovator in climate-smart agriculture, announced a collaboration with Google aimed at accelerating the adoption of agricultural technology that promotes water conservation and crop productivity simultaneously. The collaboration will equip farmers in southwest Nebraska with Arable’s innovative crop intelligence solution to facilitate data-driven decision-making that enhances irrigation precision.
The growing impact of climate change on water resources underscores the importance of this collaboration. Persistent extreme drought, caused by rising temperatures and prolonged heat waves can strain groundwater, surface water, and soil moisture. Projections indicate that climate change could triple the rate of water depletion. The potential consequences would be dire for agriculture, with 40% of global production depending on unsustainable groundwater extraction. The Google-Arable collaboration proactively addresses these challenges by supporting sustainable water management practices that bolster agricultural resilience amidst a changing climate.
“We’re committed to being responsible stewards of natural resources,” said Suzie Shine, Data Center Sustainability Manager at Google. “As a company, our goal is to replenish more water than we consume by 2030 and support water security in communities where we operate. We’re excited to collaborate with leading organizations like Arable to promote water conservation in agriculture and complement our commitment to climate-conscious cooling within our own operations.”
To enable this innovative initiative, Google provided funding to support the widespread deployment of the Arable system across 25,000 acres in the Twin Platte Natural Resources District (TPNRD). Participating farmers were identified by the team at the TPNRD and Arable executed the deployments of its award-winning technology throughout the region. Arable will also provide training and ongoing support to ensure growers maximize value and will monitor the overall program’s progress against its objectives.
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The collaboration builds on Arable’s proven track record of facilitating water savings while maintaining crop quality and yield. In 2023, Nebraska’s Paulman Farms leveraged the Arable solution to reduce irrigation by 22% across 27 fields.
Arable’s user-friendly solution empowers growers to optimize water use by capturing and synthesizing weather, crop, soil and irrigation data from within the field and then transforming that data into actionable insights accessible via mobile and web apps. Armed with real-time visibility into the unique water requirements of their crops, growers can minimize water consumption while maximizing crop health throughout the growing season.
“In my 39 years of farming, this is the most revolutionary step I’ve seen irrigation take,” said Roric Paulman, Owner of Paulman Farms. “Arable brings together the data needed to inform and support irrigation decisions. Those choices have significant impacts on natural resources in terms of quantity as well as quality. Regulatory factors, such as load control and water allocations, are much better managed through this partnership. Producers throughout the region are excited to have access to this solution and put it to work.”
As water scarcity continues to be a pressing concern for farmers worldwide, the widespread adoption of innovative solutions like Arable’s could play a crucial role in helping growers optimize their irrigation practices.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Google as well as the team at the TPNRD and the local farming community to address what I see as the most pressing challenge in agriculture today—the future availability of water,” said Jim Ethington, CEO of Arable. “Google’s commitment to water stewardship and the resulting widespread adoption of our leading-edge technology unlocks a future reality where growers have the tools they need to produce more with less, benefiting both their bottom line and the planet.”
SOURCE: Businesswire