Purchasing farm inputs can be time consuming, as the options are not always clear for securing the best deal. Yagro solves this problem by connecting farms directly with their suppliers through cutting edge technology, making farm business easier and more profitable.
Farm input purchasing, made easy
“Yagro evolved from dozens of conversations with farms frustrated with the current way of doing their purchasing,” says Dan Jolly, Co-Founder of the farm input purchasing platform. “To procure effectively, farmers have to spend a lot of time shopping around and negotiating with suppliers. They would rather spend their time on what matters – farming the land.”
Based at Eagle Labs in Cambridge, Yagro has also developed the platform so that suppliers can quote for alternative products and alternative delivery dates, giving farmers greater visibility.
Dan comments: “Yagro allows farms and suppliers to do business directly and transparently through a confidential digital connection, giving choice and control to the key decision makers in the process, allowing both parties to find the best deal.
“So a farmer gets access to a range of options when he needs critical farm inputs, leaving him firmly in control of what and when to buy. And it’s all made available in an intuitive, simple interface which our users love.”
Meeting Prince Charles
Yagro has been in use since March 2016, and indicative of its success, attracted the interest of the Prince Charles.
Dan comments: “It was fun [to meet Prince Charles]! We met him as part of a broader technology showcase associated with Barclays, where we have office space. Prince Charles clearly had a personal interest in our work, given the farming context: indeed he was “riveted” by the concept!
“We discussed the challenges and frustrations of farms today, which he knows well, and how technology can be of huge help to them and broader rural business.”
What does the future hold?
So will Yagro now be looking at the overseas market?
“We’ve been delighted to receive a lot of enquiries from overseas, so we’re clearly onto something with much wider application!” says Dan. “Right now however, we’re focused on giving British farms the best possible tool for them.”
Yagro has attended and participated in several Agri-Tech East events, exhibiting their product at the REAP 2016 conference. Dan believes that the company has benefited from membership of the agri-tech organisation.
“It’s always a pleasure to attend Agri-Tech East’s events where possible, as it takes us outside our world of procurement technology and allows us to be inspired by a whole range of other innovators right across the farm,” says Dan. “It tends to give us a much broader view of the industry, as well as challenging everyone to keep thinking of how the industry will modernise over 10 years or more.”
To learn more about Yagro, please visit their website: yagro.com