April 18, 2008

Pioneer buys stake in online grain marketing service

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a division of DuPont Co., announced that it has invested in an online marketing service that connects farmers with grain buyers.

Farms Technology LLC, a privately held Overland Park, Kansas, company that offers procurement applications over the Internet, said it boosts farmers' profit potential by enabling them to market their grain directly to numerous buyers to get the best price.

Buyers, including ethanol plants and feedlot owners, can log onto the Internet site to bid on grain offered for sale.

Financial details of Pioneer's investment in Farms Technology were not released.

The pair recently partnered to develop a new online service, called MarketPoint, and a pilot launched in February for corn growers and ethanol plants in Nebraska.

Growers with more than 60 million bushels of grain for sale registered on the site. The list of buyers that have registered include food processors, ethanol companies and grain cooperatives in North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Wisconsin, the companies said.

Paul Schickler, Pioneer's president, said that the purchase of the equity stake in Farms Technology shows the company's long-term commitment to the unique and expanding business.

Farms Technology was formed in 2001. CEO Jason Tatge said participating growers have shown they can earn bigger profits through MarketPoint than using traditional marketing.