GrainBridge: Powerfully Simple Grain Marketing Now At Your Fingertips

The best ag technology optimizes profitability and makes farming a little easier. ADM is pleased to roll out GrainBridge, a new digital tool that simplifies the grain marketing process and will help you make more profitable decisions.

Just in time for harvest, you can sign up for a mobile friendly account at GrainBridge.com (it’s free!) and have the following key information at your fingertips:

• Combined Grain Positions and Records – Your account information from multiple grain buyers, including contracts, scale tickets and settlements.
• Locations Map – A list of elevators and processing facilities, including key contacts and delivery wait-time estimates at some locations.
• Marketing Opportunities – Futures and option information as well as cash bids from participating grain buyers.
• Announcements – Access to timely pricing and product notifications.

GrainBridge will evolve from here helping you manage financial risk by automatically providing your profitability picture based on current grain sales, market prices and various other data inputs with minimal need to manually enter data.

If you’re currently an ADM FarmView user, it is extremely simple to switch to GrainBridge—or to set up a new account. Contact your local ADM representative for any support.

In the latest episode of our podcast, In the Driver’s Seat, GrainBridge CEO Mark Johnson introduces us to the new platform and what to expect as the technology evolves:

Here are highlights from the conversation:

How is GrainBridge different from other grain marketing applications?

Johnson: GrainBridge brings data together from multiple places to give you a clear view of the financial position of your farm. Initially, you’ll see your contracts and transactional documents from both ADM and Cargill. Next, we’ll add more grain buyers to the equation. Then we’ll integrate other relevant data, such as your crop insurance coverage, production and yield variables, and forecasts from agronomic apps. We see GrainBridge as a data refinery that pulls in data from many different sources to help you become more profitable. Our focus on data will make us a successful company because we’re trying to make you successful as a farmer.

What features will GrainBridge offer right away?

Johnson: In this first phase, we are focused on providing farmers with information about their transactions from both ADM and Cargill, including all contracts, scale tickets and settlements in a single location. We’ll also show bids from elevators and buyers from various parts of the country. On top of these transactional documents, we’ll build a series of features around risk-management decision support to help optimize profitability for farmers.

Is GrainBridge easy to use?

Johnson: One observation that I’ve made as an outsider coming into the ag tech space is that a lot of companies add fancy features that you may or may not need. GrainBridge is focused first on foundational documents and data, and how they impact the profit and loss picture of your farm. We bring all of that information to you through a simple interface. It will be a phased approach, with the initial focus on the consolidation of data, so there’s one view of your entire position. Once that’s accomplished, we’ll build a series of features on top of that base level.

When is GrainBridge available—and will I still be able to use ADM FarmView?

Johnson: GrainBridge is available now for ADM customers. Simply log on to GrainBridge.com, open an account, and you can easily link your separate accounts. If you’re an ADM FarmView user, the transition from ADM FarmView to GrainBridge will be simple. For additional help, feel free to reach out to your local ADM representative for assistance with this process.

I’ve heard of GrainBridge before. What’s new about this platform?

Johnson: GrainBridge has been developing powerful web-based ag solutions since 2008. More recently, ADM and Cargill acquired GrainBridge in a joint venture to help us launch this all-new platform—one that will help producers take their grain marketing to the next level. The older platform still exists but is now called GrainBridge Advisor. That original application will continue, primarily to support marketing advisory firms that work with farmers.

How will GrainBridge build on other ag technology?

Johnson: There’s been a lot of work done on the agronomy side of the equation, such as bringing data to better seed varieties, variable-rate technology, yield forecasting and remote imagery. All of this has practical applications in supporting input decisions in the future. On the GrainBridge side, we think about using data to optimize revenue with better grain marketing. We expect to learn a lot from farmers and will bring our unique take on how data and technology can evolve the farming industry.

Data security is crucial. How will GrainBridge protect data privacy and security?

Johnson: GrainBridge safeguards customer data and privacy. Data will not be accessible on GrainBridge unless approved by an individual account owner, and confidential customer data will never be shared among participating companies. We’ve put a lot of work into putting the right “plumbing” in place to separate producer data from buyer data. At GrainBridge, security is a core competency of the company.

With your background in Silicon Valley, what enticed you into agriculture?

Johnson: I’ve worked for several tech startups, and at my last company, Descartes Labs, I developed a passion for agriculture. We looked at weather and satellite data to try and understand the planet better. We also spent a lot of time looking at global crop production and understanding agricultural supply chains. I led that company for five years before I became CEO of GrainBridge in April of 2020. I’m excited to be here because GrainBridge will help farmers market their grain better by understanding their grain position and how to maximize their profits.