From onboarding to infrastructure—how Farmers Edge and National Sorghum Producers are removing friction from sustainability reporting.
Farmers Edge and National Sorghum Producers (NSP) are working together to solve a major data challenge in agriculture: building a scalable, trusted system to capture sustainability data directly from growers and deliver it across the ethanol supply chain.
The partnership, launched in 2024, brings together NSP’s deep grower relationships and industry leadership with Farmers Edge technology infrastructure and Managed Services delivery model.
The Goal:
Enable hundreds of sorghum producers to participate in emerging carbon intensity (CI) scoring and USDA programs—without the delays, disconnects, or technical barriers that often slow progress.
The Partners
National Sorghum Producers is the national voice for U.S. sorghum growers, focused on advancing policy, market development, and innovation. Farmers Edge is a technology enabler specializing in agronomy, sustainability data, and digital infrastructure for agriculture.
Together, the organizations are co-developing a system to streamline sustainability data collection, onboarding, and reporting—starting at the farm level and extending through to ethanol plants and retailers.
The Challenge
To meet the growing demand for CI scoring and sustainability traceability, NSP and Farmers Edge needed to rapidly onboard a significant segment of the U.S. sorghum industry into a unified digital system—at scale and with precision. Accuracy was critical, as access to USDA funding programs relies on high-quality, field-level data. The effort required more than deployment—it meant setting the foundation for validating diverse data sets across broad regions and helping growers turn compliance into opportunity, with minimal friction.
The Solution
Farmers Edge implemented a Managed Services model for NSP, combining custom platform enhancements with hands-on delivery.
Key components included:
- Customized CI scoring workflows inside FarmCommand®
- Direct support from Farmers Edge subject matter experts
- Training sessions to equip both NSP staff and producers
- Data QA and backend process management
Over 1,000 combined hours were invested by both teams to deliver and refine the digital workflow for the program.
This partnership is a strong example of how Managed Services can turn complex agricultural programs into scalable, working solutions,” says Vibhore Arora, CEO of Farmers Edge. “Our focus is on building the operational support and technical expertise needed to deliver results reliably and at scale.”
The Results
This initiative marked one of the first large-scale, service-based rollouts of CI scoring infrastructure in U.S. sorghum. Rather than deploy a standalone tool, NSP and Farmers Edge built a fully supported system—designed to scale, evolve, and unlock real economic opportunity for producers. The first season set a strong foundation, proving that a Managed Services model can accelerate digital adoption in even the most complex agricultural environments.
- Stood up a multi-state, grower-first program in under 5 months, onboarding 400+ producers and setting a new benchmark for digital sustainability programs in row crops.
- Finalized 2024 CI scoring datasets, enabling NSP growers to access USDA funding and laying the groundwork for carbon markets.
- Initiated next-phase platform enhancements, adding new analytics, reporting tools, and integration capabilities for 2025.
- Launched downstream data exchange pilots, establishing the framework for field-to-fuel traceability with ethanol partners.
“Farmers push the boundaries of sustainability through innovations that make their operations more efficient and resilient every day. Our job is to help them tell their story in a verifiable manner that builds a bridge to better market opportunities,” says Matt Durler, NSP Managing Director of Farm Programs. “With Farmers Edge, we’ve created a system that works for farmers and helps position their farm for long-term success.”
What’s Next
The roadmap for 2025 includes new grower enrollments, downstream system integration with ethanol blenders and retailers, and early exploration of voluntary sustainability credit programs. The long-term vision is a seamless, end-to-end digital ecosystem that captures and communicates the full sustainability story of sorghum—from farm gate to final product.
What it Means for Agriculture
This collaboration illustrates the power of pairing industry leadership with operational execution. Farmers Edge and NSP are proving that sustainability doesn’t have to wait for perfect conditions or endless product rollouts. With the right model, partners, and priorities, it’s possible to digitize agriculture from the ground up—at speed and at scale.
