Horsepower.com, a business-to-business online marketplace for farmers, processors and suppliers, announced today an alliance with Morning Star Packing Company, California's largest tomato processor.

Morning Star has posted initial offers for up to 11,000 field tons of tomatoes through Horsepower for the 2000 and 2001 crops. Tomato farmers can view details of the offers, and respond to them, by enrolling for a free membership at http://www.horsepower.com. 

The alliance is unique in tomato e-commerce because at Horsepower, buyers and sellers have the power to confidentially agree on the price, terms and conditions of a transaction before it is completed. Horsepower does not perform on-line auctions, which can significantly hurt farmers' prices because they lose control of the process. Furthermore, growers can use Horsepower at no cost. Auction fees may apply on other websites.

This alliance marks the latest in a series of strategic partnerships between Horsepower and California's farming community. Previously, Horsepower.com established a strategic partnership with the California Farm Bureau, providing its 45,000 members with free access to Horsepower and upcoming educational seminars about e-commerce.

Launched Feb. 8, Horsepower's platform can be used by individual producers, processors and others to buy and sell more than 430 agricultural commodities using customized templates that offer enhanced search capabilities. Horsepower also offers the ability to request bids on more than 500 categories of farm supplies, equipment, labor and fertilizers; and to arrange for rail, sea, air, and truck transportation worldwide. Horsepower is also incorporating on-line escrow, financial and transaction management services.

Morning Star was attracted to Horsepower for its ease of use and high levels of customer service. Horsepower's technical team designed a custom interface to accommodate the specific needs of the tomato marketplace.

"E-commerce is coming to agriculture, and we at Morning Star have always been one to lead rather than to follow,'' said Jerry Gilbert, president of Morning Star. "Some of our farmers have used Horsepower and we hope that other farmers will find it an easy way to do business.''

Gilbert estimates that more than 75% of tomato growers utilize computers to assist with their operations.

Horsepower.com was developed by Ralph and Diane Friend, lifelong farmers from Tipton, Calif., who saw the tremendous need to improve profits on their farms. Currently, about 1,175 members have posted offers with a potential valuation of more than $22 million.

"We're delighted that Morning Star has adopted our platform and as farmers ourselves, we look forward to offering California's tomato growers something more dependable than the current marketplace,'' said Diane Friend, chairman of Net Horsepower Inc., the parent of Horsepower.com. "Horsepower is an effective tool for farmers to overcome market volatility.''

Horsepower "is the first agribusiness-to-agribusiness e-commerce site built by farmers for farmers,'' said Ralph Friend, president of Net Horsepower Inc. "We're offering short-term and long-term solutions to improve the bottom line for the ultimate risk taker.''

Horsepower.com is based in Tipton, Calif., with general offices in San Luis Obispo where its staff works on software development, marketing, customer service and other functions. Horsepower.com is supported by venture capital funding from Ridgewood, N.J. -- based Ridgewood Capital (http://www.ridgewoodcapital.com), with offices in Ridgewood, NJ and Palo Alto, Calif. For more information, visit http://www.horsepower.com or address inquiries to info@horsepower.com. 

The Morning Star Company and its affiliates specialize in the production of industrial tomato products and fruit products. From the field to processing to filling, our methods provide gentler handling, resulting in more consistent tomato and other fruit products. Through thoughtful design and advanced automation, we have significantly reduced the time from harvesting the ripe tomatoes to aseptic packaging. The Morning Star Company was founded in 1970 by Chris Rufer as a one truck owner operator, hauling tomatoes to other canneries. Today, Morning Star accounts for 13% of the California processing tomato production, supplying 30% of the U.S. industrial tomato paste market, with sales in excess of $150 million. For more information, visit http://www.morningstarco.com.  

Company news release
P2007