FarmLead ?

[jamesb]

Any one dealt through this guy? just read the article in grain news.

[FarmLead]

Hey jamesb,

I think it's great that you ask around
about FarmLead - we're a new company in
an industry that is often built on
personal relationships - dealing with a
new player should definitely be
cautioned. That being said though, one
of the pillars of our business model is
transparency - the last thing we want to
do is labelled as pulling wool over
anyone's eyes. First things first (and
we've been asked this a lot), we are not
a broker whatsoever. We do not buy,
sell, or handle any grain whatsoever.
What the FarmLead Marketplace serves to
do is connect you with the best, most
counter-party for the price & quantity
of the deal you're looking for.

FarmLead has been in development for
quite some time as I saw a major
inefficiency in how my own family in
Saskatchewan was able to sell their
grain to the highest bidder. Once the
deregulation of the single-desk starting
rolling along, more R&D occurred as we
tried to figure out whether or not a
platform like the one we've designed
would work. The response we got was
that, yes people would use it, so we
went ahead and started website
development in April 2012. The FarmLead
Marketplace has technically been live
for just about 4 weeks now and so far
over 250 grain buyers & sellers have
signed up and currently our user
registration is at about 6 sign-ups per
day (up from 3 per day last week).

There is absolutely zero cost to
register on FarmLead.com. The platform
is designed around the basis that it is
a risk-free option for producers and
buyers to connect more efficiently. We
believe that by bringing more buyers and
sellers to one convenient, transparent
marketplace, the marketplace can be more
competitive & ultimately more efficient.

You can negotiate price, quantity, &
transportation options on any FarmLead
Marketplace offer. Further, we have a
FarmLead user rating for your potential
counterparty that you can see while you
negotiate with them(one could compare it
to an eBay rating). If a buyer that
you're negotiating with is CGC bonded,
it will say directly on the negotiation
page. If they're not CGC bonded, we do a
credit check on the company and a rating
out of 10 is given. This rating is also
impacted by feedback from grain sellers
as to whether or not they complete a
deal outside of the FarmLead Marketplace
after it's been connected on. The same
goes for feedback from a buyer on a
grain seller, which in turn helps create
a seller's user rating. In this sense,
an accountability factor is introduced
so you can decide for yourself if you
want to deal with someone or not.

No matter how many offers you post or
how many counter-offers you make, it
will never cost to you anything to do
so. In that respect, you literally don't
have to put any "skin" in the game to
have be able to play. Taking it further,
we've designed the platform so as to ask
the question "why wouldn't I use it?"
versus "why would I use it?". That being
said, you can continue your normal
marketing (seller) or procurement
(buyer) activities but you literally
have nothing to lose by putting an offer
(or multiple offers) up on the FarmLead
Marketplace.

Should you find the deal that you and a
counterparty like, you then would simply
pay a FLAT connection fee that ranges
between $40-$100 (dependent on the
commodity being transacted on). This
means, no matter the size of the deal,
the Connection Fee is the same - whether
it's 30 tonnes or 300 tonnes. Our goal
is to try & minimize the transaction
costs of a deal and that's why. Once
contact information is exchanged, it's
up to you and your new contact to
complete the deal outside of the
FarmLead Marketplace.

Lastly, I write a free, daily morning
market note on a recap of the last 24
hours of what's going on in the world
that can affect the industry here in
North America. I try and keep it light
and some find it humourous...disagree or
agree, the goal is to inform industry
players of what's affecting them right
now.

Although your eyes are probably getting
tired of reading, to learn more about us
and what the FarmLead Marketplace is,
check out the following links, email me
personally (b.turner@farmlead.com) or
give me a call at 1-855-332-7653. In my
opinion, it's better you get answers to
your questions from the top of the totem
pole.

Frequently asked questions:
http://www.farmlead.com/about

Our Leadership group:
http://www.farmlead.com/page/farmlead-
team

FarmLead Marketplace FLAT Connection
Fees:
http://www.farmlead.com/page/marketplace
-pricing

Our help section that walks you through
some of the process in the FarmLead
Marketplace (including some screenshot
video tutorials):
http://www.farmlead.com/page/help

Hopes this clears the air but again,
feel free to get in touch with me
anytime, including nights & weekends
(everyone knows farming doesn't stop for
the weekend - why should we?).

Best,

Brennan Turner
President & Founder
FarmLead.com

[ColevilleH2S]

jamesb
Is this the only post you have ever made on this forum? How convenient you got that response.

Smells like a set-up by FarmLead.

[FarmLead]

Full disclosure: I don't know who this
jamesb guy (or maybe girl?) is.

The reason I commented on it was because
I talked to a few people who signed up
on the platform today who had mentioned
that they saw a posting on Agriville. I
had to check it out for myself.

Anyone who signs up on the system, I
give a call personally to introduce
myself. We only have 1 James currently
registered on the FarmLead Marketplace
who is from Blackie, AB. Otherwise, I
don't know this individual. jamesb
themselves can confirm if he'd (or
she'd?) like to.

As I mentioned in my previous post,
there's no sense in us trying to be
something we're not. I don't know this
jamesb user although I would hope that
they or you, ColevilleH2S, could
register & you can talk with me 1on1. If
you're apprehensive about registering, I
left my personal email & a toll-free
number to call which I answer. That
means you won't get some automated
telephone service, you get me.

Hope this clarifies things,

Brennan Turner
President & Founder
FarmLead.com

[jamesb]

Coleville, ive got no conection to the comppany. Everybody seems to have a different take on different brokers / middlemen. Just trying to do my homework.