AgriSecure and FBN Help Farmers Capture Organic Profits

Arlington, Neb. and San Carlos, Calif. – June 20, 2018 –  AgriSecure, a turn-key organic platform company, and Farmer’s Business Network, Inc. (FBNSM), the leading independent farmer-to-farmer network, today announced a major strategic partnership to enhance the profitability of organic grain production for farmers, and increase organic grain access and traceability for buyers. As part of the partnership, Farmer’s Business Network, Inc. has made an anchor strategic investment in AgriSecure.  

AgriSecure, based in Arlington, Nebraska, was founded by fifth generation farmers to partner with farmers to successfully scale organic grain production. The AgriSecure platform simplifies the transition from traditional farming to organic farming and  increases producer profit potential and reduces their risk from ongoing organic production. AgriSecure provides farmers with production expertise, technology systems and on-farm support to successfully manage organic farming at scale. The AgriSecure program  includes the end-to-end management of organic acres, including organic certification support, whole farm and field-level management, agronomic advice, proprietary data platform access, and marketing access.

Strategic investment from leading FBN network will help farmers capture profitable organic opportunities

“This is an exciting moment for AgriSecure and for US farmers who are facing low profits and limited options,” said J.P. Rhea, Founder & CEO of AgriSecure. “Organic grains, done correctly, can allow growers to capture terrific premiums – we’ve proven it on our farms. The FBN network will supercharge our services with its FBN Direct input procurement network, buyer connections, and advanced data science capabilities. Together, AgriSecure and the FBN Network will have the platform, knowledge and scale to transform organic agriculture.”

Current farmers leveraging the AgriSecure platform are seeing much higher revenue per acre growing organics than compared to traditional non-organic methods, with prices for organic grains being 2-3 times higher than conventional grains. “We believe AgriSecure has cracked the code on large scale, row crop organic farming: the AgriSecure program makes organic farming a viable commercial option for large scale commodity farmers,” says Rhea.

Despite the rapid growth of organic foods, the U.S. is a major net importer of organic grains from countries such as India, Turkey, and Romania – which creates traceability risks and presents a lost profit opportunity for U.S. farmers.

“In a time when U.S. farm profits are low and we’re importing organic grains, AgriSecure empowers US farmers to capture the profit potential of organic grains such as corn and soybeans with a seamless transition,” says FBN network Co-Founder and VP of Product Charles Baron. “By providing buyers state of the art traceability, it enables food companies to manage their organic supply chains domestically, at scale, and with field-level traceability.”

AgriSecure offers farmers:

• Comprehensive operation management including planning, execution, and analysis
• Hands-on agronomic advice including best practices, training and in-season coaching
• Streamlined organic certification support, traceability, and recordkeeping
• Guidance on how to finance the transition through every stage of the process
• Insights into how to market organic crops and opportunities with buyers of organic grains

FBN members will have priority access to the AgriSecure platform. Through this investment, the FBN network will look to expand and scale AgriSecure’s offerings to more regions and crops, including eventually offering transition financing and marketing support.

A New Opportunity for Farmers and Food Buyers

In addition to creating a valuable new opportunity for producers, organic buyers can now realize large scale access to organic grains through AgriSecure’s traceability platform, and FBN Crop Marketing’s Identity Preserved contracting programs.  

“Buyers can now work end-to-end. They can line up long term supply, grown by premier farmers, with total traceability and field-level crop knowledge,” said Baron. “We can even help them roll out and manage custom or proprietary seed genetics, for a crop tailored to their end product.”

The FBN Network now serves more than 24 million acres of farmland, or an area roughly the size of Indiana, serving farms across the US and Canada.  

About Farmer’s Business Network, Inc.

Farmer’s Business Network, Inc. is an independent farmer-to-farmer network, built by and for Farmers, representing Farmers FirstSM. FBN members receive comprehensive farm benchmarking, real world seed performance, input optimization and pricing analytics based on over 150 million acre events of real-world precision agronomic data. The FBN Direct e-commerce platform provides national, transparent pricing on ag chemicals, fertilizers, seeds, technology and services. FBN Crop Marketing provides farms premium contracts, production contracts, risk management, and price intelligence powered by a global buyer network.

The FBN network has grown to over 24 million acres of member farms in the US and Canada. Blending the best of Midwestern agricultural roots and Silicon Valley technology, the company has offices in San Carlos, California, and a National Operations Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and employees spanning 25 states and Canadian provinces.

The FBN network’s mission of creating a better farm economy has earned the support of world-class technology investors GV (formerly Google Ventures), DBL Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers LLP, Bow Capital, Acre Venture Partners, Temasek, and T. Rowe Price. To learn more, visit: www.farmersbusinessnetwork.com.

About AgriSecure

AgriSecure, a pioneering organic advisory company, was founded by growers for growers to ensure the viability of our customers’ farms by successfully scaling organic crop production.  AgriSecure responded to growers concerns successfully managing organic production – including the transition period, lack of knowledge & support, and onerous recordkeeping required – and developed an unparalleled program by integrating the expertise, systems, and face-to-face support to tackle the critical challenges of organic production. As a result, our clients benefit from the enhanced profitability, rejuvenated soil health, and long-term viability offered by the organic opportunity. Together, we will transform organic agriculture.

The sprout logo, “Farmers Business Network”, “FBN”, and “Farmers First” are registered service marks of Farmer’s Business Network, Inc.