Johnston's in Welwyn

[jdepape]

bucket:
"If you sell your grain to an elevator the freight is prepaid"

You've said this a couple of times. What are you talking about? Are you saying the graincos pay for freight before even getting the cars?

[FarmLead]

Every buyer on the FarmLead Marketplace has an independent credit check performed on them via Dun & Bradstreet before they can be given access to the system, regardless if they are a bonded/licensed company or not.

Further, we get updates from D&B when the buyer's financial situation changes and we update their user rating (completely mathematical-based) accordingly. Case in point, a mid-side Saskatchewan pulse company had their buyer's access removed 2 weeks ago because their credit situation & dropped twice since Christmas (per D&B). Simply put, every company, small or large, bonded or not, gets painted with the same quantitative brush. If they don't meet our financial requirements, they can't use the system. This is why out of the 430 North American-wide companies registered on FarmLead, only 307 can participate as buyers (at this time of writing).

Finally, We've had zero payment issues and about 95% of the deals made through the FarmLead Marketplace have payment terms that are negotiated as either Upon Delivery or Within 7 Days.

Simply put, we manage buyer risk proactively. We prefer quality deals versus quantity (unlike some outfits). Also, you're right! You have to call in to someone to see if the posted price is still available. On the FarmLead Marketplace, you simply make a counteroffer directly to the ubyer (AKA you don't have to call us but our toll free # is 1-855-332-7653 if you'd like to chat) and you can negotiate on price, quantity, freight, payment terms, etc.. That's why farmers are finding anywhere from 10 to 60 cents, on average, better than posted bids elsewhere.

All things being equal, "Figures never lie, but liars figure." - Mark Twain.

[FarmLead]

Sorry - should've also mentioned that each buyer has a credit check re-performed on them every calendar quarter to make sure they're staying in good financial health. If not, they can't deal with any farmers that use the FarmLead Marketplace.

[oneoff]

Sounds like a step in a lot more workable system.

That is one credit check; instead of pretending every seller does their own due diligence. An unworkable solution.

Now if the next step were taken and every seller be compelled to publically post their credit check (if they need to use credit and can't make payment upon delivery) and then like FarmLead claims........payment problems magically disappear.

[oneoff]

And do the math on the (as stated) 430 buyers and and 307 approved credit risks.

Looks like about a one in four roulette chance.

That is why bad situations happen too often. And its not just the sellers that get affected; there are indirect consequences we'd never normally recognize.

Where's the regulator??

[sumdumguy]

Farmlead, can one get a list of Farmlead qualified buyers from you?

The credit checks that you are conducting can be helpful despite their limitations, some being time span between credit checks and quality of information, but for sure from a farmer's perspective, it can only help to screen out the poor quality buyers, and as we all know, not all are the same. When someone offers a lot more than the market, you gotta wonder, "What's Up?"

[Oliver88]

Wow that is a huge percentage of buyers that fail a credit check!!

29% of potential buyers failed credit check.

[Oliver88]

Good for Farmlead for being proactive with this and bringing these stats to our attention.

[oneoff]

I too would like to see who's on the "pass/no go" list.

I would think that farmers seeking a broker firm might just be attracted to services that were actively looking out for best interests of their customers.

And thus; maybe at least once in a while it would be prudent to just ask to see the work that is claimed to being done as a part of such broker services; ie. credit check results.

Would FarmLead care to wow farmers with a sneak preview of those with poor credit ratings??? It just might be a smart business move for FarmLead; or indeed any other competitor who has invested the resources in making such credit checks.

It would appeal to me as an example of smart business advertising.

[farmaholic]

Oneoff, that kind of information would require a subscription....

[FarmLead]

Ha it's free to register your account. Just like we don't disclose your information upfront, we don't disclose buyers' information. This way, both parties remain competitive. If there's a specific company that you don't want to deal with, we have a tool on the backend that makes sure you'll never deal with each other (i.e. User #485 cannot negotiate with User #981).

Simply put, if farmers aren't getting paid, our system doesn't work (between social media & what not, word spreads quick!). That's why we take buyer due diligence so seriously. From credit analysis perspective, we input multiple variables into the equation. These include, but are not limited to average payment terms, previous liens or bankruptcies, credit rating, PAYDEX (a D&B-created index), and even if they're a CGC-bonded company or not).

Ultimately, we don't think we need to expose our exact credit analysis process in any advertising. We've already put a lot of skin in the game. Conversely, you don't need to put any skin in the game either to register, list your grain, and/or negotiate with any of our verified buyers.

Our platform is built on integrity. Even though we're "online" and "mobile", a handshake is still important to us. It's not rhetoric; it's reality. Our company is the only one that blasts the word "transparency" on all our advertising. We practice what we preach. We walk the talk. And we'd love for you to go for a stroll with us: https://www.farmlead.com/register

[oneoff]

Well there's where the crack opens up in your claim that some three out of four buyers fail YOUR credit check.

You use social media; yet don't trust it enough to get specific. You nail down every available buyer and yet aren't confident enough to disclose one exact name.

And of course for good reasons (and I'm not laughing out loud).

What farmers need is confidence in that when they lose possession of their goods (ie. physical product is picked up)....that without any doubt; they will be immediately and promptly paid.

Not 75% of the time and not zero to 100 percent of what is due. Not sleepless nights and not promises that the check is in the mail. Not excuses that the grading results aren't back yet and not that the trucking firm is tardy in sending in the paperwork.

Not that anything is out of the hands of the brokers; or that estoppell is defined that the broker has control.

The system remains damn well broken and all everyone else apparently wants to do is take another cut as a deduction from what is rightfully due in total.

Again where is the regulator?? We absolutely need one when the system remains broken and no one apparently can fix it.

Not even FarmLead will divulge who the failed credit checks pertain to. It would be wonderful if it were truly true that those high risks were known by anyone. Yet any evidence will not be willingly provided.
There remains no evidence that their system is perfect; or that their experts can compile data that can be bought or even obtained for free through the many avenues that are available to those for whom this paid service is supposedly designed.


And don't think for one moment that the purchasers information isn't being logged and used as well. With a large enough database; that will be very valuable .

We need direct deposit at the time that exchange of product control takes place.

No ifs ands or buts.

[FarmLead]

You're talking a fairly macro-level game. We've designed the system to protect the individual farmer and it works. We've also partnered with SGS recently so producers can order grain tests (same cost as normal) and have that independent analysis from a globally-recognized company available to them in their account from any time and any where. Finally, we presented to the CGC executive group and they approved our process (we were actually the ones that suggested they take the producer car application online. Further if you do a producer car deal on FarmLead, the deal's information is automatically sent to the CGC so you don't have to fill out paperwork).

On the cost side, at a fee of $1/MT for the first 80 MT and then $0.25/MT thereafter, we're hardly taking "a cut" compared to the status quo middleman that's existed for the last few decades. Deals on our system have been negotiated to the point where the producer has earned more than $25,000 better than the best local bid and only paid us a few hundred dollars. In our most recent deal this week, a producer earned $1200 more & paid us $108. Most people (and farmers as we're finding out) think that's a pretty good return on investment

We have higher standards than most when it comes to credit assessment (hence why a CGC-bonded company's access was removed recently but because we're North American-wide, some of the companies that we restrict access to, you've probably never even heard of and will never deal with in your life). We are a private company though, meaning our risk management processes are paid for by private dollars. If the governments or producer organizations wanted to pay for all our expenses & costs of doing business, there probably wouldn't be an issue in divulging information. In the meantime though, we provide a due diligence process that would be literally impossible for each and every individual farmer to perform.

Finally, by no means do we suggest our system is perfect, but the last time we checked, the world isn't perfect either. There is no perfect system in any industry in any part of the world that makes all value chain players 100% happy. We play the game in front of us, not the one we're wishing for. We do the best we can, with the resources we have our at our disposal, and we continue to add to that (SeedLead.com for pedigree seed trade has already been established). And it works. Hundreds of deals, tens of thousands of tonnes moved, and growing exponentially. We would sincerely recommend that you check the system out for yourself (watch our tutorial videos, read testimonials, see who's behind the company, give us a call, etc.) before trying to discredit a much better system, one where risk is managed proactively, and all value chain players interests are considered.

[hobbyfrmr]

Farmlead ,
You are on the right track, continue to do the diligence for me. I don't know any other brokers or online platforms who have established what you have described. It's much better than anything I have seen to date.
Thank you for describing his you have your business set up.