As we bid farewell to 2023, it’s a good time to reflect on the progress made over the past year. From the launch of Bushel Farm to our second Bushel Buddy Seat Conference, there is no one else we’d want to share each milestone with than the hard-working humans that make up the agriculture industry.
Before taking a closer look at the key highlights that have shaped this past year, we want to take a moment to share a message of gratitude to each one of you – our customers and partners. Thank you for sitting alongside of us as we innovate and break new ground to solve real problems. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to attend Bushel events. Thank you for choosing to be part of our mission to connect the agriculture industry through digitization.
2023 At a Glance
- January – Bushel Buddy Seat educational series kicked off
In January, we shared the kickoff of a new educational series for grain businesses and ag retailers looking to strengthen relationships with their growers and spark ideas for how to take on some of the challenges they are facing today. Modeled after the small seat in tractors and combines that allow a second person to ride in the cab, a buddy seat is a place to share knowledge and stories through family, friends, and farming partners. This educational series aims to have the same conversations and knowledge sharing through webinars and in-person events. Learn more about the Bushel Buddy Seat.
- February – Connecting agribusinesses to streamline business
Bushel Fulfillment within the Web Portal was released in February, enabling merchandisers and grain accountants to view scale tickets and contracts across destinations in one convenient access point. Your merchandising team will have newfound visibility as they are shipping on sales contracts. It will also help eliminate over shipments resulting in spot prices, reduce load rejections, and reduce shipment of off-grade grain that could result in discounts.
- March – The next generation of digital farm management
We launched Bushel Farm, the next generation of farm management software for farmers and their agribusiness partners. Built upon the former FarmLogs product, Bushel Farm offers robust and easy-to-use features and functionality in mobile and desktop applications.
- May – Farmers accelerate adoption of making grain offers through Bushel-powered mobile apps
With the addition of a “Make Offer” button through their Bushel-powered app, customers saw a 13% increase in origination in their first year of turning on Make Offer. It meets farmers where they are at with many offers coming in during non-business hours.
- June – The “best agtech conference in recent years” brought together hundreds of people in Fargo, ND
That’s what we heard from many attendees of the 2023 Bushel Buddy Seat Conference held in downtown Fargo in June. The event brought together 200+ customers, partners, and industry thought leaders to learn and network. In addition, Bushel also partnered with The Grand Farm and Emerging Prairie to produce Fargo’s inaugural AgTech Week during the Buddy Seat Conference, where 700+ agriculture and technology professionals networked throughout the weeklong event. Save the date for June 11-12, 2024, for the next Bushel Buddy Seat conference, as well as the broader Fargo AgTech Week that will take place in Fargo June 10-14, 2024. We’d love to host you!
- July – An “easy button” to securely permission information from the Bushel Network to Bushel Farm
Bushel introduced a new Contracts feature in Bushel Farm in July, allowing farmers to automate the entry of grain contracts with grain buyers in the Bushel Network. Bushel Farm is the only farm management software to offer this type of automation, a ground-breaking functionality that benefits farmers and grain buyers.
Bushel CEO Gives Ag Industry TED Talk: Jake Joraanstad, Bushel’s CEO, had the opportunity to share a vision for the future of agriculture in front of a crowd of 2,000 people in Fargo over the summer. This talk is now available on TED.com and other major platforms.
- August – A total of $26 million in new funding was secured, demonstrating strong investor confidence amid a challenging 2023 capital landscape
Bushel Raises $26M in New Funding: A significant milestone that underscores investor confidence in our vision and strategy. 2023 was not an easy time to raise capital. We’ve stayed the course and our practical approach to industry challenges continues to stand out. We will continue to be here for the long-term serving agriculture and creating more efficiencies to face your labor challenges.
- September – Enabling digital payments, specifically designed for the unique challenges in agriculture
Bushel Payments had its most exciting year yet! We partnered with customers to implement payments in their current workflows while receiving and acting upon feedback to improve and enhance functionality. Farmers can now pay agribusinesses through using the mobile app, providing quicker access to capital and another reason for farmers to come to your app to use other revenue-generating features like Make Offer or eSign contracts.
- October – The North Dakota Industrial Commission awarded Bushel a $3.5 million grant to enhance the sustainability features in Bushel Farm
In October, we received a $3.5 million grant from the North Dakota Industrial Commission through the Clean Sustainable Energy Program. The grant will fund additional functionality in Bushel Farm to improve the farmer and ethanol producer experience related to sustainability program management, verification, reporting, and payment processes.
- November – Bushel network continues ERP partner expansion with addition of Oakland Corporation
After partnering with Agvance and AgTrax earlier in the year to build cash contract creation into their ERP, November brought an integration with Oakland Corporation. Since 2017, Bushel has partnered with more than 15 ERP software companies focused on agriculture. These integrations help manage workflows, and make grain and ag retail data more accessible to farmers through customer online portals, allowing them to view cash bids and manage scale tickets, invoices, fuel and feed prepays, grain contracts, settlements, and more.
- December – Bushel secures top spots on CropLife’s 2023 Best Ag Apps List for Bushel Farm and ADM’s Farmview, Powered by Bushel
Bushel on the List of Best Ag Apps for 2023 Multiple Times: Bushel has been consistently listed among the Best Ag Apps for 2023, reflecting our technological innovation and user-centric approach. The #1 app was ADM’s Farmview, powered by Bushel! #7 on the list was Bushel Farm.Exploring AI capabilities in agriculture and sharing learnings
Bushel CEO Delves into AI’s Impact on the World of Ag: Jake had the opportunity to keynote at the National Grain and Feed Association annual meeting this last December, here’s the follow-up they shared with their organization.
As we look back on these achievements, we are grateful for everyone who has contributed to our success in 2023. We are eager to continue this momentum into the coming year, learning and growing with our farmers, agribusinesses and the ag community.
Cheers,
Team Bushel