FarmCentric is a suite of agricultural services that help agricultural companies communicate.
A product of iNet Solutions Group, FarmCentric is a turnkey website-type of solution that has built in commodity data and quotes that many grain and livestock companies utilize daily to keep up with agricultural markets.
The FarmCentric platform is not only a complete turnkey for people in the agriculture industry, but it also allows users the ability to have their own custom-types of information, including weather and agriculture news, straight to their mobile device.
“We’ve worked with quite a few agriculture companies to build their own specific information into the platform to keep the website updated,” said Chet Slump, President of iNet Solutions Group. “It can also push information to social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook as well as SMS text messaging.”
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Several grain companies across the U.S. use the app to communicate with their farmers. With FarmCentric, they can communicate their grain prices, show their customers specific information about different programs they have, or show how much grain a farmer may have on hand within a given grain elevator.
“It’s basically a set of communication tools that allow, predominantly the farmer, to stay in touch with the grain companies that they do business with,” said Slump.
How FarmCentric started
Before starting iNet Solutions Group 12 years ago, Slump worked for DTN for about ten years. Soon after, he and his team looked to do more customized-type solutions specifically for agriculture companies. They recognized that agriculture businesses were looking for technology, especially in the web and mobile spaces.
“I grew up on a farm in southwest Iowa, and recognized that farmers aren’t sitting behind a desk,” said Slump. “Having a mobile platform that allows [farmers] to check the markets and weather throughout the day, the ability to touch base with customers and to find information solutions while they are on the tractor, combine or pickup truck is best used when mobile.”
Utilizing mobile to improve FarmCentric
As of the last two or three years, FarmCentric has also integrated the website with their mobile app platform, according to Slump. The platform today is not only mobile-responsive, but it also ties the CMS (Content Management System) directly into their mobile app, where they build iPhone and Android phone apps that work in conjunction with the website.
“The FarmCentric platform really allows, someone from a communication standpoint, to update a single CMS, or run information through our CMS, and have it published not only to the website, but then directly to the mobile apps,” said Slump.
The biggest win for the FarmCentric platform has been the adoption of mobile apps according to Slump.
“It’s been a big market for us,” said Slump. “It’s given us the ability to reach out and gain more customers.”
The adoption of mobile not only allows FarmCentric to get more information out, it also gives the platform a chance to collect more data to improve the overall product.
The big vision
Complete with a mobile-responsive website with a robust CMS, the integration of mobile apps, text message and push notification capabilities, advertising modules and tools that integrate with back-office solutions, FarmCentric seems to have covered all of their bases.
“Our vision was to take each of the technologies that are used today and put them into a single solution, and to do it cost-effectively,” said Slump. “I think the big vision is really what we’re already doing.”
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Melanie Lucks is a communications intern for Silicon Prairie News and AIM Careerlink.
