Producers in nine central Iowa communities now have the option of selling their grain to their local buyer over the Internet.  Central Counties Coop of Reinbeck, Iowa., and Farms Technology, LLC of Overland Park, Kansas, today announced they have reached an agreement where Central Counties will make available to its customers the patent pending electronic grain marketing services developed by Farms Technology.

This Dynamic Pricing Platform (DPP) electronically connects farmers to their local buyer and their local buyer to the futures exchanges via the Internet and the web browser.  The DPP is a marketing tool that literally watches the market’s every move for the producer. This allows producers to spend more time getting their farming done while feeling confident that their offers are being monitored, tick by tick.  Producers enter the price they want, when they want to deliver, and the quantity to be delivered if their offer price is met. The DPP takes care of the rest, monitoring the markets and displaying local cash bids as feedback.  It doesn’t matter whether it’s a change in the futures or the basis that gets them there; if their asking price is reached, the DPP automatically executes grain sales for them.

  “Given the volatility in both the futures and basis (the two components of grain prices) over the past few years, this tool really allows the farmer to concentrate on a net return to the farm.” says Jason Tatge, CEO of Farms Technology, LLC. “The grain industry is beginning to offer some very complicated grain marketing systems with rather stout price tags.  We believe in keeping our services simple and easy to understand.  Most of our users are between the ages of 45 and 65 and are neither computer nor Internet experts.  We offer outstanding customer service to those who call to ask questions, but the truth is that most of our customers don’t need it.  We’ve made it so simple that it is not uncommon for a brand new user to make an offer during their first visit.”

Dean Ohrt, Grain Merchandising Manager at Central Counties, says his company is getting ready to hold customer meetings to acquaint their members the DPP.  Ohrt says that some customers will find the web site easy to use and convenient, while others will still have the option of picking up the phone.  Producers will be able to use the web site https://dpp.farmstech.com/cc  to:

• Check local cash grain prices and futures quotes.
• Place firm offers to sell cash grain out of storage, or for future delivery.
• Have the DPP monitor their target price and electronically execute the transaction for them.
• View historical local cash prices and basis charts.
• Check current LDPs by county, review historical LDPs, and view LDP charts.

Jason Tatge says, “We have developed this software with a tremendous amount of farmer input. Farmers are strapped for time and we give them the opportunity to automatically execute their grain marketing plans when market conditions allow them to achieve their pricing objectives.”  Tatge also adds, “These markets move very quickly and when they go up everybody wants to call their local buyer at the same time. But the markets don’t stop when a farmer is placed on hold and by the time they get through, the rally could very well be over.  The DPP is an enormous process improvement for all parties involved in the traditional grain procurement process: farmer, local buyer, and futures exchange, and it offers the additional advantage of keeping a complete data trail.”

Tatge says the system “gives farmers the ability to make a price – rather than simply take a price.”  He says farmers use the system to automatically offer grain for sale when the market reaches certain levels, allowing them to take advantage of intra-day rallies and futures market volatility.

Tatge likens his firm’s online marketing software to advances in local banking, such as ATMs and online banking.  “The DPP is simply another way for the grain producer to do business with the grain buyer.  For those who are willing to use the DPP, it will offer tremendous convenience and flexibility, as it essentially allows the local grain buyer to conduct business 24 hours a day.  It’s also a quick and easy way to check on local cash prices and see where the markets have been heading over the past few months.  The historical cash and basis graphs have become a very popular feature.”

Ohrt says each of the Coop’s nine locations will be participating in the DPP.  Those locations are Gilman, Holland, Laurel, Pickering, Reinbeck, Grundy Center, Kellogg, Lincoln, Newburg, Traer, and Marshalltown.  He encourages producers to visit the web site at: https://dpp.farmstech.com/cc , and click on “Become a Member” to register for the system.  Further instructions are available on the web site.

Central Counties Cooperative serves 6 Iowa counties, 1800 farmer-owner members and over 175,000 acres of farm ground. They are ISO certified, and ready to serve their customer’s grain, agronomy, feed and energy needs.

Farms Technology's mission is to provide simple, useful tools to farmers and grain buyers that help them improve efficiencies.  Farms Technology’s flagship product, the Dynamic Pricing Platform (DPP) is being offered by a growing number of progressive, customer service-oriented grain buying entities across the nation to help better serve their farmer customers.