Iowa farmer says an independent data sharing network works

by | Sep 5, 2016 | 5 Ag Stories, News

by Ben Nuelle Listen: Money Matters 9-5-16

Knowing you paid the right price for a product makes you feel good especially in a time where commodity prices are low. A northwest Iowa Farmer says an independent data network has helped him through the tough times.

Bruce Rohrwer farms in northwest Iowa near Paullina. He is a member of the Farmers Business Network. A network that helps farmers leverage their information.

?With low commodity prices, every penny becomes more important. As the saying goes, when we had eight-dollar corn you wanted every bushel you could get. When we?re talking about $2.75 corn you need every bushel you can get likewise you need to make sure you are taking advantage of the most economical approach to your inputs.?

Charles Baron is co-founder of Farmers Business Network.

?It allows you to share all of your agronomic data to select the best hybrids, see what other seeds are working on other grower?s farms, see what fair market prices are for seeds and chemicals and through the procurement service, FBN actually goes out and negotiates manufacturers direct prices on inputs like ag chemicals and ships straight to the farm.?

Baron says they recently launched price transparency.

?What FBN price transparency does, is farmers can share invoices on their crop protection products. By doing that, they unlock what other farmers are actually seeing in the market from their invoices from around the country.?

Baron spoke to me at Farm Progress Show last week.