Data Farming
Forbes|June 30, 2018

Can a Silicon Valley startup save America’s small farms? Farmers Business Network has raised nearly $200 million to find out—but Big Ag is fighting back.

Amy Feldman
Data Farming

Mark Gath’s farmhouse in Luverne, Minnesota, sits 30 miles down country roads from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. From that base in the heartland, Gath, a sturdy man in boots and a blue shirt, farms more than 10,000 acres of corn and soybeans with the help of his wife, Leah, and sons Dalton and Stetson. Though his farm is larger than average, he feels squeezed by low commodity prices and the rising costs of seeds, pesticides and equipment. “Everyone is scared out here,” he says.

So when Gath’s sons told him two years ago that for a nominal fee he could get information on corn and soy seed prices from a startup called Farmers Business Network, he signed up. Seed prices are surprisingly complex, but even herbicide and pesticide prices vary depending on a farm’s size and location, and agricultural suppliers tend to bundle products in a way that obscures their true cost. Since its founding, FBN has built a network of more than 6,500 farms to which it offers information, an online store and marketing help—all with the goal of making farmers more profitable.

This story is from the June 30, 2018 edition of Forbes.

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This story is from the June 30, 2018 edition of Forbes.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.