Transitioning to organic farming can be very profitable for farmers, but the process comes with a few challenges. This is why one Iowan is using sophisticated technology and something called blockchain to address the challenges and make Iowa farmers more revenue.
Transitioning to an organic farm can be very profitable for organic farmers, but the process comes with a few challenges. This is why one Iowan is using sophisticated technology to address the challenges and make Iowa farmers more revenue.
Don Wiviott, director of Tomorrow's Farms told us the potential growth and profit in converting Iowa farmland into organic is substantial. Because an organic bushel of corn sells for $10.10 versus $3.67 for conventionally grown corn, it stands to reason, there is a fair amount of additional profit at stake for Iowa farmers.
Currently, only 2% of Iowa's farmland is organic, meaning there is a lot of room to grow into organics. Because farmers make less than $.08 on the dollar for the food everybody eats, Wiviott sees a massive opportunity in agriculture. But the transition comes with its own challenges; Specifically, tracking organic grain and keeping it separate. Wiviott believes he has the solution.
His primary business is in converting non-organic farmland into organic farmland with his own investor network, but throughout this process, Wiviott witnessed a significant opportunity for a software solution that could address the innate challenges potential organic farmers face. Farmers are well aware of those challenges.
According to Doug Cooper, WHO Radio’s farm broadcaster and co-host of The Big Show, one major challenge in organic farming is ensuring certified USDA Organic grain is kept completely separate from non-organics and relentlessly tracked, otherwise the potential for increased profit goes up in smoke. If any non-organic grain mixes with organic grain, the USDA certification becomes invalid. This is a problem because of the fashion the grain is stored and moved.
When a farmer sells grain, they have to go through traders or the local grain elevator and many times their grain may end up in another country entirely. Because any contact with non-organic grain is a problem, failure to track organic grain presents a potential financial loss and failure to hit revenue targets. Also, negligence or even fraud in labeling organic grain can be an issue. Banks can serve as a way to protect your investment if you immediately sell grain, but that's not always the case.
The software platform Wviott has designed is intended to fix this problem in a very clever way, enabling farmers to deal directly with traders, local grain elevators, and buyers within a secure network by tracking the organic grain regardless of the storage location or how it’s handled. Farmers and buyers can conduct transactions with transparency and the platform also provides better clarity on getting organic grain shipped on time. But the beauty of his solution is how it uses advanced technology and blockchain. If you have no idea what blockchain is, you’re not alone.
How Blockchain Can Be Used In Organic Farming
Ian Ray, a software developer out of Des Moines describes blockchain as “a catchall term for business environments where centralized transaction processors (like banks) are abandoned in favor of distributed networks run by self-policing customers and sellers.” Put simply, it’s an internet connected ledger shared between multiple entities with built-in checks and balances.
Each "block" represents an entity, like a farmer or buyer, and the "chain" simply means all entities are seamlessly connected. This means if anyone makes changes to the shared ledger, every entity is made aware of the change, automatically checking for consistency. If it doesn't match everyone else's records, the error (or fraudster) is found out immediately and possibly cut off from the entire chain.
Put in farming terms, if a farmer grows 100 bushels of organic grain and moves them to a grain elevator, both entities update the shared ledger and the entire network is made aware of this change. If the organic grain is moved elsewhere on a truck, a third entity will updated the network and so on. It's airtight, and farmers are guaranteed their organic grain is kept separate and tracked meticulously. The more time it changes hands, the stronger the information becomes.
Blockchain essentially turns every transaction with value into its own kind of banking network. Blockchain is not Bitcoin or a digital currency you hear about in the news, it is an information system that becomes increasingly powerful as more entities are added and more transactions happen and its use in organic farming is apparent.
Wiviott says this platform will allow organic farmers and anyone in the world to trade their goods directly and freely with complete trust, knowing their investment in organic farming doesn’t go to waste.
To learn more about Don Wiviott or his company Vilicus Capital (Latin for farm manager) visit his website.