There was a time when a lot of farm business was conducted across the kitchen table or over the hood of a pickup truck.
Times are changing.
E-commerce, where business transactions take place across the internet, is growing exponentially, said Doug Cornell, a vice-president with AgriPlace.com.
His company, a subsidiary of the Verida Internet Corp. of California, hopes to drive that expansion in Western Canada’s trade of grains and crop inputs.
AgriPlace.com plans to launch websites this year that buyers and sellers could use as their marketplace. Cornell predicted these websites will save farmers time selling their grain or shopping for fertilizers and other farm inputs.
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“You don’t have to spend all day phoning all over the Prairies finding prices,” he told an audience at Manitoba Ag Days, a trade show held recently in Brandon.
Cornell also predicted the service will gain farmers a better price for their product by creating a broader market.
His company will earn its money by charging a transaction fee at the time of sale, paid by the vendor.
The websites will be clearinghouses for the transactions, but it will be up to the buyers and sellers to negotiate prices.
Farmers also will be able to work with agronomists on the websites to develop fertility management programs, Cornell said. A fee will be charged for the service, also delivered via the internet.
AgriPlace is not alone in its endeavors.
Aginfonet, headquartered in Regina, is designing, building and managing e-commerce websites for rural enterprises on the Prairies.
“It’s going to take off here,” said Faith Martin, an Aginfonet field representative, describing the interest in e-commerce. “In the past six months there’s been a real increase from what we’ve found at trade shows talking with producers.”
