South Dakota State University
Fully Customized MMRV Platform.
Fully Customized MMRV Platform.
Building scalable infrastructure for distributing $80M in climate-smart agricultural incentives nationwide.
The Grass is Greener on the Other Side – Developing Resilient Beef and Bison Commodities initiative represents a groundbreaking 5-year, $80 million USDA-funded project designed to create market opportunities for beef and bison producers implementing climate-smart grazing and land-management practices. Led by South Dakota State University's West River Research and Extension Center in partnership with Yardstick, the program focuses on scientific verification and producer incentive distribution across vast agricultural landscapes.
The Grass is Greener on the Other Side – Developing Resilient Beef and Bison Commodities initiative represents a groundbreaking 5-year, $80 million USDA-funded project designed to create market opportunities for beef and bison producers implementing climate-smart grazing and land-management practices. Led by South Dakota State University's West River Research and Extension Center in partnership with Yardstick, the program focuses on scientific verification and producer incentive distribution across vast agricultural landscapes.
From complex compliance to streamlined producer payments.
SDSU's Climate-Smart Agriculture team needed sophisticated enrollment infrastructure to manage an $80M USDA initiative, but off-the-shelf solutions couldn't handle the unique requirements of multi-tenant data sovereignty, scientific verification workflows, and federal compliance standards.
Working closely with Dr. Kristi Cammack (SDSU), Maya Lefelman (Yardstick), and Dr. Hector Menendez III (SDSU), we discovered the challenge would require a complete strategic approach to data architecture, user experience, and scalable payment processing that could evolve over a five-year timeline.
Comprehensive product strategy for federal-scale agriculture programs.
SDSU's CSA initiative required end-to-end platform development that could handle complex regulatory requirements while remaining intuitive for producers across diverse geographic regions.
Phase 1: Federal-grade system architecture design
Following a comprehensive evaluation of existing systems, we developed clear technical requirements that balanced federal compliance with user experience. Our team built a comprehensive system architecture capable of handling $80M in funding distribution while meeting strict USDA compliance requirements. We designed data sovereignty frameworks, multi-tenant access controls, and integration protocols for carbon measurement tools.
Phase 1: Federal-grade system architecture design
Following a comprehensive evaluation of existing systems, we developed clear technical requirements that balanced federal compliance with user experience. Our team built a comprehensive system architecture capable of handling $80M in funding distribution while meeting strict USDA compliance requirements. We designed data sovereignty frameworks, multi-tenant access controls, and integration protocols for carbon measurement tools.
Phase 1: Federal-grade system architecture design
Following a comprehensive evaluation of existing systems, we developed clear technical requirements that balanced federal compliance with user experience. Our team built a comprehensive system architecture capable of handling $80M in funding distribution while meeting strict USDA compliance requirements. We designed data sovereignty frameworks, multi-tenant access controls, and integration protocols for carbon measurement tools.
Phase 2: Conservation payment infrastructure
Implementation focused on primary system functionality that served both producers and program administrators. Key deliverables included automated verification workflows, payment processing systems, and scientific integration with COMET Planner for carbon measurement. Created seamless producer experience while maintaining research-grade data integrity for 250,000+ acres of participating land.
Phase 2: Conservation payment infrastructure
Implementation focused on primary system functionality that served both producers and program administrators. Key deliverables included automated verification workflows, payment processing systems, and scientific integration with COMET Planner for carbon measurement. Created seamless producer experience while maintaining research-grade data integrity for 250,000+ acres of participating land.
Phase 2: Conservation payment infrastructure
Implementation focused on primary system functionality that served both producers and program administrators. Key deliverables included automated verification workflows, payment processing systems, and scientific integration with COMET Planner for carbon measurement. Created seamless producer experience while maintaining research-grade data integrity for 250,000+ acres of participating land.
Phase 3: Ongoing evolution and partnership support
To accommodate USDA's evolving processes and ensure smooth data management throughout the program lifecycle, we provided flexible ongoing development support. This approach ensures the platform remains current and functional as regulatory requirements and program needs evolve over the full initiative timeline.
Phase 3: Ongoing evolution and partnership support
To accommodate USDA's evolving processes and ensure smooth data management throughout the program lifecycle, we provided flexible ongoing development support. This approach ensures the platform remains current and functional as regulatory requirements and program needs evolve over the full initiative timeline.
Phase 3: Ongoing evolution and partnership support
To accommodate USDA's evolving processes and ensure smooth data management throughout the program lifecycle, we provided flexible ongoing development support. This approach ensures the platform remains current and functional as regulatory requirements and program needs evolve over the full initiative timeline.
Impact and Outcomes
Dynamic data architecture that scales with program growth
Our multi-tenancy web-based platform features permissioned data collection with comprehensive audit logs tracking all system changes, ensuring full transparency and regulatory compliance.
The scientific integration includes seamless COMET carbon measurement tools, integrated soil sampling workflows, and biodiversity monitoring capabilities that provide researchers with the data quality they need while remaining accessible to producers.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Dynamic data architecture that scales with program growth
Our multi-tenancy web-based platform features permissioned data collection with comprehensive audit logs tracking all system changes, ensuring full transparency and regulatory compliance.
The scientific integration includes seamless COMET carbon measurement tools, integrated soil sampling workflows, and biodiversity monitoring capabilities that provide researchers with the data quality they need while remaining accessible to producers.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Dynamic data architecture that scales with program growth
Our multi-tenancy web-based platform features permissioned data collection with comprehensive audit logs tracking all system changes, ensuring full transparency and regulatory compliance.
The scientific integration includes seamless COMET carbon measurement tools, integrated soil sampling workflows, and biodiversity monitoring capabilities that provide researchers with the data quality they need while remaining accessible to producers.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Substantial producer impact and program success
The platform has distributed more than $700,000 in producer incentives across over 250,000 acres of participating agricultural land, demonstrating both technical reliability and real-world conservation impact.
Our systematic approach to user experience design and iterative development has created a system that serves diverse stakeholder needs while maintaining the precision required for federal reporting and scientific research.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Substantial producer impact and program success
The platform has distributed more than $700,000 in producer incentives across over 250,000 acres of participating agricultural land, demonstrating both technical reliability and real-world conservation impact.
Our systematic approach to user experience design and iterative development has created a system that serves diverse stakeholder needs while maintaining the precision required for federal reporting and scientific research.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Substantial producer impact and program success
The platform has distributed more than $700,000 in producer incentives across over 250,000 acres of participating agricultural land, demonstrating both technical reliability and real-world conservation impact.
Our systematic approach to user experience design and iterative development has created a system that serves diverse stakeholder needs while maintaining the precision required for federal reporting and scientific research.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Long-term partnership approach to agricultural technology
Rather than building generic solutions, we developed purpose-built conservation technology that addresses the unique challenges of climate-smart agriculture programs. Our ongoing support model ensures the platform continues to serve evolving program needs throughout the full five-year initiative timeline.
The collaboration with SDSU's research team provides unmatched regional insight and direct access to key agricultural community stakeholders, while our technical capabilities ensure research integrity and data validation at scale.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Long-term partnership approach to agricultural technology
Rather than building generic solutions, we developed purpose-built conservation technology that addresses the unique challenges of climate-smart agriculture programs. Our ongoing support model ensures the platform continues to serve evolving program needs throughout the full five-year initiative timeline.
The collaboration with SDSU's research team provides unmatched regional insight and direct access to key agricultural community stakeholders, while our technical capabilities ensure research integrity and data validation at scale.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
Transforming static research into a powerful membership acquisition asset.
"Cannot speak highly enough of Reid Hensen and team at Celium Group, they are the best of the best. They move quickly without ever sacrificing quality and are efficient, hard-working, and extremely reliable. If you're looking for support for anything software/data related in the Ag world, reach out to Celium!"
Maya Lefelman
Senior Customer Success & Grants Lead
Ready to transform your data into strategic advantage?
Strategy consultation includes assessment of current challenges, conservation-specific opportunity identification, and partnership model discussion.
Ready to transform your data into strategic advantage?
Strategy consultation includes assessment of current challenges, conservation-specific opportunity identification, and partnership model discussion.
Ready to transform your data into strategic advantage?
Strategy consultation includes assessment of current challenges, conservation-specific opportunity identification, and partnership model discussion.