Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


App could save farmers money

Thursday, March 21, 2013

by BETTEF FARMING STAFF

A new app called AgBids could save farmers money at grain-selling and fertilizer-buying time.

Developed by Guelph-based AgNition for Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), AgBids  complements another GFO app, SellSmart.

Explaining how it works, Erin Fletcher, manager of publications and communications for GFO, says, “you can use SellSmart to see what the price is near you. When you’re ready to sell, then you connect to AgBids which allows you to send an email with sales information simultaneously to the buyers you’re interested in working with.” When you’re ready to buy fertilizer, you can also use the app to contact a number of dealers for the best price.

Peter Gredig, one of the principals in AgNition, says he has found grain buyers tend to be close on price but fertilizer sellers sometimes offer significant spreads on products such as potash.

“Even if you use AgBids once a year when you buy your potash,” Gredig says, “there could be significant difference in the per-ton cost of the fertilizer from one dealer to the next, largely because of when they secured their inventory.”

There are two things standing in the way of AgBids’ effectiveness at the moment. The app only loads on BlackBerry devices with operating systems five through seven. The app for the newest BlackBerry, operating system 10, is built and being tested. It should be available by April. Android and iPhone devices should be able to take the app by the summer, Gredig says. SmartSell downloads on all platforms.

The second obstacle for AgBids is that not every grain buyer and fertilizer seller is listed. Gredig wants that to change.

“We’ve had really good response from the grain trade,” he says, “but there isn’t a very good database for the grain-buying sector from top to bottom.” If you’re not listed in the app, you can change that by going to www.agbids.com. The AgBids download is also available on the site.

GFO has also created a gateway app called FarmCentral. When you download FarmCentral from BlackBerry’s App World, it becomes the folder for all available GFO apps. “It’s just a way of accessing a whole bunch of apps from one central location,” Fletcher says. BF

Current Issue

June/July 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility

Friday, June 27, 2025

Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online

Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost

Friday, June 27, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online

Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top