Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) and Agrible, Inc. today announce a global partnership to improve barley production while minimizing environmental impact. The two companies are joining forces to help farmers around the world access better data and predictive analytics on crop management and climate effects. AB InBev is the largest brewer and user of malt barley in the world.
In 2013, AB InBev created SmartBarley – an innovative platform and incubator which leverages data, technology, and insights to help farmers solve challenges and improve their productivity and environmental performance. Today, SmartBarley is present in 13 countries across 5 continents. To enhance AB InBev’s SmartBarley program, Agrible will provide farmers with access to their proprietary software, Morning Farm Report®. This software helps growers detect disease threats earlier, improve logistics planning, monitor crops on all fields, and improve quality.
Agrible and AB InBev began their work together in 2016 on a project to forecast barley yield (or production) and quality factors through better crop modeling and predictive analytics for American farmers. The relationship has developed beyond the United States into a major international expansion. AB InBev farmers will soon have access to Agrible’s technology across multiple countries on a variety of crops, beginning with South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina.
Agrible and AB InBev will also work together to develop sustainability insights and metrics in areas such as water use, land efficiency, and the carbon footprint from growing and sourcing ingredients.
“We are very excited to form this relationship with AB InBev to continue bringing world class software, predictive analytics, and expertise to farmers everywhere,” says Chris Harbourt, CEO of Agrible. “Our insights can truly change the face of agriculture across the globe and help companies of all sizes capture efficiencies and make their operations more sustainable.”
“Quality ingredients are the key to brewing our world class beers. Morning Farm Report from Agrible is an exciting addition to our ongoing work in agricultural development to help our farmers around the world produce the best barley possible while also ensuring we are living up to our promise of creating a better world,” says Katie Hoard, Global Director of Agricultural Innovation at AB InBev.
With this international partnership, Agrible and AB InBev are leading the market in connecting farmers with real-time, actionable insights at the field level.