The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico. The plan aims to reduce nitrogen loss by 45%.
The Iowa Nutrient Research & Education Council (INREC) and Iowa State University (ISU)?s Department of Agronomy took a big step towards continuing to strive towards that goal by teaming up with Google.org for a three-day design sprint last week in Clive to work on new tool that will help farmers with nitrogen fertilizer rate decisions.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says that a tool to help farmers with nitrogen fertilizer application rate decisions could make a big difference in efforts to reduce nitrogen usage.
Naig says that a tool that can help farmers determine the correct application rate for their operation and even their individual fields can be beneficial from a profitability and an environmental point of view.
Naig says the collaboration on display for the three-day design sprint was impressive to see in person.
A team of 10 Google employees, including User Experience Researchers, Interaction Designers, Product Designers, Engineers, and Program Managers, are providing pro bono support to this event.
