The U.S.-China trade war is cutting off farmers from customers and raising prices on supplies, but the use of analytics is empowering farmers and saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Farmers Business Network CEO Amol Deshpande.
Continue Reading Below
The Farmers Business Network is bringing the innovation of Silicon Valley to the farmers’ valley by offering analytics to study and manage more than 23 crops from 180 million acres.
MORE FROM FOXBUSINESS.COM
“We’ve launched our own brand of hybrid seed genetics to give farmers an opportunity to buy products at a much lower price than what they would have to buy from Monsanto or a major player,” Deshpande told FOX Business’ Liz Claman during an interview on Friday.
The Farmers Business Network represents 8,000 farms — culminating in a total 32-million acres — in the U.S. and Canada.
Advertisement
Deshpande said the organization is reaching out to farmers in the heartland through its mobile app and online store.
“We have the most active internet presence in the agriculture sector,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP
Deshpande also said farmers are getting squeezed on all sides, whether it’s the fear of bad weather (the Midwest has seen some of the worst flooding in several decades this year) or the tariffs imposed on the agricultural industry in President Trump’s trade war.
“Weather has been really bad this year for planting. The worst in half a century, but the tariffs compound that problem and make it even worse,” he said.
