Bushel Closes on $26M to Digitize Grain Value Chain for Farmers, Buyers

Bushel, an independently-owned and leading provider of technology solutions for farmers, grain buyers, ag retailers, protein producers, and food companies, has closed on $26 million in funding through an oversubscribed round led by The Banc Funds Company. Additional new and existing participating investors included The Andersons, Cargill, Lewis & Clark AgriFood, The Scoular Company, 50 South Capital, and Conti Ventures, an investment group of Continental Grain Company.

Co-founded in 2011 in Fargo, North Dakota, by North Dakota State University graduates Jake Joraanstad and Ryan Raguse, Bushel is working to use digital infrastructure to connect and enhance the grain industry, with the understanding that the industry is “bigger than farmers”. The company cites infrastructure as being the greatest advancement touching the grain industry in the last century, but also notes that digital infrastructure has not kept pace, and lacks standardization.

The company launched its agricultural platform in 2017 providing software that digitizes, permissions, and accelerates the flow of information, transactions, and payments through secure mobile and desktop applications.

Having seen rapid growth, Bushel today is powering more than 2,600 grain and ag retail facilities across the U.S. and Canada with real-time business data for their producers. The platform is used for more than 45 percent of grain origination in North America, resulting in one of the largest tech network effects among farmers and grain buyers in the U.S.

“Bushel’s connectivity with thousands of farmers, grain elevators, and ag retailers presents a unique opportunity to embed digital payment functionality across the granular, paper-based, agricultural industry,” said Christopher Hopkins, fintech portfolio manager, The Banc Funds Company, who through this investment also joined the Bushel board of directors.

“As the agricultural industry modernizes payments, we believe the financial opportunities are substantial, and we are proud to partner with such a dynamic and innovative team as they continue to strengthen the company’s product offerings.”

Since its previous Series C funding round in April 2021 through which Bushel raised $47 million, Bushel has introduced new software services and products expanding its services to address inefficiencies, to reduce costs from outdated payment methods, to drive increased revenue due to more grain procurement offers, and to enhance the customer experience throughout the entire ag value chain.

These advancements include:

~ Launched the digital payments network Bushel Wallet: Eighty percent of grain payments are still paid through paper checks, according to the 2023 Bushel State of Farms Report. Bushel Wallet facilitates fast and secure payments between agribusinesses and farmers leading to modernization of the broader industry.

~ Launched next-generation farm management software (FMS): After its acquisition of FarmLogs in 2021, Bushel Farm is now the only FMS that connects to grain sales data creating fast, accurate, and profitability insights.

~ Improved agricultural offer management: Grain buyers in the Bushel Network receive an average of 42 percent of grain sale offers from farmers placed through mobile devices. Bushel’s usage statistics also slow higher fill rates for these offers via mobile devices than those submitted to grain buyers over the phone or in-person.

~ Expanded its agribusiness and farmer customer base: Bushel has seen a high rate of adoption by leading global agribusinesses as well individual farm operators, with Scoular, The Andersons, and ADM all leveraging the platform to enhance productivity and efficiency.

~ Continued commitment to security: Bushel is SOC 2 Type II compliant, reflecting its dedication to safeguarding confidential information and customer data.

“As agriculture continues its march towards a digital revolution, Bushel is committed for the long haul, serving the ongoing and ever-changing needs of the entire supply chain,” noted Ryan Raguse, president, Bushel.

Bushel explained that the capital gained through this latest round will be used to support the ongoing development of its software products and features. Some of these initiatives include the acceleration of digital payment adoption, including streamlining money movement through settlements, ag lending, invoice payments, and other financial activity; the elimination of manual data entry in its farm management software Bushel Farm; and further value creation through integration and connections between the 100,000 farmers and 2,600 grain and ag retail locations in the Bushel Network.

“We appreciate the strong support of our investors, who recognize the value Bushel is bringing to agriculture,” said Jake Joraanstad, CEO, Bushel. “With this funding, we will strategically allocate capital to maximize our growth and success, further enhancing our product offerings and delivering even greater value to our customers.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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