Sustainable beer: Utilizing satellite imagery to source water-conscious barley

05 Aug 2019 --- Minimal and efficient water usage is top-of-mind for companies and businesses striving for a more sustainable business model. Brewers are continuously challenged with addressing efficient water use across the supply chain because water is at the heart of beer production, from growing key ingredients such as barley and hops, as well as the sanitation and regulation requirements at the brewery. But the last mile problem for sustainable water efficiency occurs in the field, not at the factory, according to Agrograph, a global platform for field-scale predictive modeling providing accurate and timely information on crop yields, land suitability and risk management.

Companies such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors set lofty goals to cut water usage and increase water quality across their respective supply chains – a commitment that quickly becomes complicated. Agrograph Co-founder James O’Brien speaks with FoodIngredientsFirst about a new solution utilizing satellite imagery and machine learning models to help the beer industry meet its water sustainability goals.

“Research shows both investors and consumers care about sustainability. These trends have led toward corporate sustainability initiatives focused on brand reputation. Product claims and marketing programs are less prevalent, but appear to be on the radar of the beverage industry,” he explains.

“Companies care about more than simply turning a profit these days. Finding more efficient ways to grow barely means fewer resources are used at the field-level. Often, this can result in cost savings for the grower while also ensuring a company's environmental footprint remains small.”

For years brewers attempted to assess water sustainability at the field-level. However, in the drought-prone regions of the Western US (Montana, Idaho, Colorado, North Dakota and Wyoming) where brewers contract with local farmers to source barley, rice and to a lesser extent hops, growers depend heavily on irrigation systems to ensure yield and quality standards, O’Brien continues.

The use of water guarantees premium returns on contracted acres. Herein lies both the challenge and shared responsibility – how to minimize water use and maximize yields to meet sustainable production targets. 

Sustainability is a hot topic across the corporate landscape. The Agrograph platform provides data for 14 crops and soon we will be adding hemp to its commodity line-up.

“With Agrograph data, brewers identify and advise growers on water use efficiency metrics throughout the growing season. This data includes entire regions, states, and even global production models, and sets benchmarks and analysis to explore various water application scenarios,” O’Brien explains. “This allows brewers to provide growers with critical data points that illustrate the best use of water resources. This information allows growers to adjust water application in real-time to improve sustainability.”

“With lower water levels in underground aquifers and above ground rivers, farms still need to draw water to irrigate their barley. This need stresses all the natural ecosystems that rely on this water during a drought year. Finding ways to more efficiently manage water use for crop production and minimize over-watering and waste is a shared goal of growers and manufacturers.”

Access to field-level data 
To model a descriptive dataset to inform field-level sustainability decisions required brewers to request information from every contracted grower, according to O’Brien. Depending on the company, contract growers could range from 800 to 50,000 and span across multiple states and multiple countries. Requesting data in real-time and accounting for granular factors proved difficult to scale across an industry, he says. 

“With Agrograph’s platform, data is instantaneously available across different time zones and regions, and processed, analyzed and returned as a quantifiable metric that measures sustainability in the field. These data points do more than simply measure sustainability. Agrograph’s data can demonstrate the commitment of farmers to maintain healthy, productive, and profitable operations year over year. That’s because Agrograph’s data is retrospective, drawing from historical metrics to show progress over time and recognize farms for their commitment to continuous improvement.”

By Gaynor Selby