Grainswest - Tech 2023

Tech 2023 grainswest.com 39 This is just what Grain Discovery has done. Since its 2021 launch, Grain Discovery has grown from zero to 6,000 users and added 60 grain buyers, and counting, to its platform. Companies and farmers use the platform to conduct business with one another, while Grain Discovery acts as the agent to make it possible. What’s more, the company has found a niche with many crops, including wheat, corn and soybeans. As more grain buyers demand certain deliverables from farmers—spraying, scouting and input history of fields—Grain Discovery has set up its interface so this information is shared with all supply chain partners. Founder Rory O’Sullivan has 18 years of experience in the grain industry and has watched more and more Canadian farmers and buyers continue their digital migration. “Anyone can trade stocks in the palm of their hand, but if I’m a grain farmer, why am I still doing it similar to how my parents or grandparents did it?” he said. Through the company’s new traceability aspect, any farmer’s crop can be tracked right back to their field. This can be especially important for high-value crops such as malting barley or identity- preserved soybeans, both of which move regularly through Grain Discovery. “It’s very tailored towards particular closed-loop contracts,” he said. As the Canadian commodity sector continues to shift to an ingredients sector, platforms like his will simply become “table stakes” to conduct business, he added. The company has seen huge growth in Ontario where there are more independent grain buyers than on the Prairies, but it has made inroads in Western Canada. O’Sullivan said Grain Discovery can save the average elevator about 3,000 hours per year of basic calculations and back- end administrative work, which can easily total $80,000 or more annually. He said the software is easy to use and his octogenarian users attest to this fact, O’Sullivan noted. He’s not chasing a certain type of farmer, he added, but rather “just whoever’s buying or selling grain.” As the first and only live buying and selling platform in Canada, it can be a little daunting to lead the pack, but O’Sullivan is ready for the challenge. “It’s a one-stop shop where you can see from a farmer’s perspective, they can see all their portfolio and where the positions are. They can re-sign contracts, book logistics and view their ticket sales,” he said. “Now, they can also do all the traceability work like agronomics when their grain gets sold. That digital passport gets attached to that grain and you get a premium for that.” Part of that passport includes working with third parties, such as the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association, where grain buyers can easily validate the authenticity of seed tags with the organization’s database. O’Sullivan continues to see more farmers seeking marketing advantages and to leverage their data for a double payday. “Certain companies may want an ESG standard or be able to prove a crop is low carbon, sustainable, whatever,” he said. “Instead of scrambling around to find out what system I should use, Grain Discovery has already built that. It’s simple and easy to adopt. We’ve built up laser focused data of what’s required for traceability today, so when there are premiums in the future, that information is easily verifiable.” With the Grain Discovery app, any farmer’s crop can be tracked to its field of origin, which can be important for high-value crops such as malting barley and identity-preserved soybeans. Photo:CourtesyofGrainDiscovery