ADM and Farmer Business Network strive to expand adoption of digital regenerative agriculture platform

First introduced in 2020, the Gradable platform tracks sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices and outcomes, making it easier for farmers to earn financial rewards.

For grain buyers, Gradable provides reliable farm-level data, allowing them to easily identify and purchase grain that helps them meet growing customer demand for sustainably produced products.

Currently, Gradable, whose partners include ADM, POET, and Attebury Grain, LLC, is a leading grain procurement platform in North America, with over 20,000 farmer users across more than 12 million acres.

It has scored more than 200 million bushels of corn and soybeans, analysed 48 million acre-years of agronomic events, and facilitates over $30 million in financial incentives for sustainable practices each year.

The new 50-50 joint venture will enable Gradable to expand and reach new partners and customers at every stage of the grain supply chain – from growers to grain buyers.

The Gradable technology platform was developed to provide a modern digital infrastructure to strengthen the relationship between grain buyers and farmers, as a new era emerges requiring efficient, transparent, and secure grain transactions for production agriculture.

Gradable’s digital infrastructure does this by connecting farmer and buyer experiences into a single, secure technology platform.

Gradable also lays the groundwork for increased farmer participation in new sustainability demand by allowing them to seamlessly collect and calculate verifiable production data – including carbon scores – empowering them to monetize these downstream benefits in the market.

“Gradable is rapidly becoming one of the industry’s leading and largest technology platforms enabling sustainability scoring at scale. We welcome all partners from the CPG and grain buying industries and look forward to serving new markets and more farmers,” said Steele Lorenz, the newly appointed CEO of Gradable.

Will the boosted platform expand value creation for farmers and grain buyers?

The partners claim that the demand for sustainably produced crops is increasing steadily, driven by consumer preferences, corporate commitments and initiatives, and public policy.

To meet this demand, Gradable will expand across ADM's hundreds of facilities spanning the U.S. and Canada to increase the number of commercial partners and countries served.

It will also look to have capabilities to help the supply chain meet global demand needs for more sustainable food, feed, fuel and industrial products.

FBN’s commerce platform has significantly disrupted the traditional agricultural industry since its founding in 2014. The network now includes over 87,000 farmers across the US and Canada.

FBN members farm more than 80 million acres in the US, Canada, and Australia. FBN's approach has not been without controversy. In 2020, allegations of anti-competitive practices by major agricultural companies against FBN led to an antitrust probe in Canada.

"We're excited to partner with an agricultural leader like ADM to launch Gradable, providing thousands of farmers with powerful sustainability solutions,” said FBN CEO Diego Casanello.

“By combining our expertise, Gradable will enhance insights, incentives, and support to help growers profitably adopt regenerative practices. We believe Gradable can become the industry-leading platform."

ADM’s regenerative agriculture efforts enrolled more than 2.8 million acres last year​. "We know that’s just the beginning,” said Greg Morris, president of ADM’s Ag Services and Oilseeds business. “The continued expansion of this work requires a strong technology platform that enables farmers to easily participate and provides farm-level data for grain buyers and end customers.

“This new joint venture paves the way for the continued growth of Gradable, opening the door for even more farmers, commercial grain partners, and end customers to benefit from regen ag practices and the growing demand for sustainably sourced products."