Simplot, Agri-Trend form joint venture

Boise-The J. R. Simplot Co. and Agri-Trend Data Corp. of Red Deer, Alberta, have created a new joint-venture company called U.S. Agri-Data Solutions LLC (USADS) to deliver their proprietary Agri-Data Solution?äó Netware Platform to agricultural producers and processors in the U.S. The new company will market and deploy the agricultural data management system to growers, food processors, and other agricultural applications. The fee-based data management platform has been used extensively in Canada for the past ten years and has been customized and tested for U.S. cropping systems and patterns for the past two growing seasons. It is a web-based system that allows growers to fully integrate all their data into a single management system and transmit specific farming data to key stakeholders, such as crop advisors, banks, processors, and others who have a vested interest in a particular crop or field. The system can also be used for documenting carbon sequestration activities, and by agricultural processors for contract compliance and to document land-applied processed water. In addition to data management, the system will provide documentation, which will increasingly be required of growers. “We felt that by creating a separate and stand-alone company, we could maintain data privacy and make this platform available to the entire agricultural industry,” said Bill Whitacre, Simplot CEO-elect. “We have been developing our on-line, encrypted, fully-integrated Netware platform since 1999 and were recognized as Alberta Ag E-Business of the Year in 2002 for demonstrating how farmers and agri-business could use the power of the internet to improve production and grower profits. The Agri-Data Solution?äó Netware Platform, and its related components have been used on millions of acres of farmland in Canada and after an extensive testing period, we are delighted to move forward with the J.R. Simplot Co. to offer this platform for use by growers and agri-business in the U.S.,” said Robert Saik, CEO and founder of The Agri-Trend Group of Companies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.