Grainster

Based in Conway, Grainster, LLC hopes to change the way farmers have traditionally marketed their grain to end-users. According to CEO Layne Fortenberry, Grainster wants to open up farmers' marketing options to the world through an online grain marketplace called Grainster.com. "Instead of selling to the three to five buyers in the three to five su... rrounding counties, we're hoping to open farmers' horizons up to international buyers," Fortenberry said. This will hopefully keep prices high for the farmers and provide transparency in the marketplace." Grainster aims to connect buyers from around the world to local farmers with crops to sell. Buyers and sellers pay a $500 annual membership to use Grainster's services. Farmers enter an online bid stating where the grain is coming from, how many bushels they want to sell, and the price they want to receive. End-users can list bids for how much grain they want to buy and what price they want to pay for it. The website allows the farmer and the end-user to negotiate terms of the price and make a transaction. Presently, payments to farmers for grain sold on Grainster are paid directly from the international or domestic buyer. Grainster doesn't offer financial backing or logistic solutions although Fortenberry says they're working to provide a " financial engine similar to PayPal" that collects money from buyers and distributes money to farmers. His goal is to have this service running by 2016. But for now, farmers should do their research on people they sell to on Grainster. "Do your due diligence, and make sure you trust that person and have a contract with them," he said.Read More