Central Valley Ag Partners to Improve Fertilizer Efficiency, Water Quality

Central Valley Ag partners with Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) on the development of the Producer Connect app. Producer Connect is a groundbreaking web and mobile application suite designed to empower agricultural producers with the tools they need to optimize inputs, enhance agricultural profitability, improve water quality, and increase irrigation efficiency.

“Central Valley Ag wants to assist our growers in the proper use of nitrogen fertilizers to maximize crop uptake and minimize loss to the environment,” said Tim Mundorf, Central Valley Ag director of soil management.  “Producer Connect app is a tool for our growers to track nitrogen application, improve management of nitrogen credits, and maximize nitrogen-use efficiency.”

Additional partners on the project include the Nebraska Corn Board, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), 17 of Nebraska's 23 NRDs, the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) and the NARD Foundation.

“We are pleased Central Valley Ag is joining us to move Producer Connect forward,” said Dr. Orval Gigstad, NARD president. “The development of Producer Connect is a joint effort that underscores the commitment of key stakeholders to foster a thriving agricultural industry while protecting Nebraska’s water quality and quantity.”

Producer Connect will be free to producers and offer a wide range of features designed to simplify nitrogen and water management, including:

• Producer-specific data
• Protected data
• Customizable nitrogen recommendations
• Irrigation efficiency
• Historical data analysis
• Economic analysis of nitrogen applications
• Information exchange

Producer Connect is currently in its initial stages of development and is expected to launch in June 2024. The initial rollout will focus on Phase 2 and Phase 3 Groundwater Quality Management Areas and areas with irrigation allocations.

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD), the trade association for Nebraska's 23 Natural Resources Districts (NRD), works with individual districts to protect lives, property and the future of Nebraska’s natural resources. NRDs are unique to Nebraska, and act as local government entities with broad responsibilities to protect Nebraska’s natural resources. Major Nebraska river basins form the boundaries of the 23 NRDs, enabling districts to respond to local conservation and resource management needs. Learn more about Nebraska’s NRDs at www.nrdnet.org.