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FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA, US — Bushel, an independently owned software technology company focused on developing solutions for the grain supply chain, has acquired GrainBridge, LLC, a joint venture owned by Chicago, Illinois, US-based ADM and Minneapolis, Minnesota, US-based Cargill. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

GrainBridge employees remain based in Omaha, Nebraska, US, and their data expertise is expected to be tapped into to further strengthen the end-to-end capabilities of the Bushel platform and enable Bushel’s customers to better serve their farm customers.

“Innovation is one of the pillars of ADM’s strategy, and we’re committed to continually improving and expanding digital technology to help support the producers who grow our food,” said Doug Roose, vice president of producer marketing at ADM. “In 2019, we were proud to announce GrainBridge, a joint effort with Cargill to bring together new and useful tools for farmers in a single, easy-to-use digital platform. Now, we’re excited to take the next step: Bringing GrainBridge and Bushel together will give farmers a path to new features and functionality, including existing staples like the ability to see local cash bids and account information. This is a win for producers, and it’s a win for our industry, as we continue to innovate and improve to strengthen the entire food and ag value chain.”

Bushel said the acquisition of GrainBridge will complement its strategic focus “to enable, not disrupt, the agriculture industry and lead it into the digital age with strategies that solve real pain points and provide value for all stakeholders in the ag and food value chain.” The company has said it believes that by providing permission-based data sharing and visualization, there will be improved data-based decision-making, which ultimately can support all points of the supply chain from grower to grain origination to consumer packaged goods companies.

Specifically, Bushel said it hopes to achieve increased grower profitability at the field level through more data-driven decision-making, increased visibility for food processors sourcing for specific traits such as higher protein or oil content within their customer base, and verification to support sustainability credits and corporate targets for CPG companies through a “grain passport.”

“ADM and Cargill came together with GrainBridge to better understand the digital grain marketing landscape,” said Jeff Klock, global digital strategy leader at Cargill. “This next step of bringing GrainBridge together with Bushel will provide better outcomes for farmers by improving their grain marketing and selling practices. We look forward to continuing to engage with Bushel to continue our journey to understand and serve the market not just for today, but for the future.”’

Bushel and GrainBridge collaborate with many different partners throughout the grain supply chain. Following the acquisition, the companies will continue to maintain the standard of permission-based control within the sharing of data.

“The collaboration of the grain industry behind Bushel will lead to faster standardization, which leads to faster innovation,” said Jake Joraanstad, chief executive officer of Bushel. “As an industry, it is more efficient to be working together and collaborating on resources to improve the North American grain trade. Adding the GrainBridge team members to Bushel gives us stronger data science capabilities to provide even better insights from our expanded network.”

Introduced in 2017, Bushel powers nearly 2,000 grain facilities across the United States and Canada with real-time business information for their producers. Bushel’s platform now reaches 40% of grain origination in the United States, resulting in an extensive technology network among growers and grain buyers in the United States. The company’s product suite includes its flagship mobile app, websites, trading tools, market feeds, API services, FarmLogs and a custom software division focused on agriculture.

Source: World Grain