Category: AgTech

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AgTech

Beyond TP and Sanitizers: Why a Virtual Exchange Platform Serves the Food Industry Year Round

Just because it felt like 40 days of blizzard shopping during the pandemic stock-up this spring doesn’t mean that blizzards won’t send shoppers scrambling again to empty store shelves. And don’t forget hurricane season is here, along with back-to-school season and autumn rife with concerns about ongoing spread of COVID-19. In short, the food industry needs to prepare for any eventuality.

The new Food Industry Exchange, an electronic, subscription-based sustainable marketplace developed for FMI-The Food Industry Association powered by The Seam is a valuable tool in shoring-up supply chains in anticipation of disruption. The Food Industry Exchange launched during the early weeks of the pandemic, when demand at retail was swelling and foodservice vendors were faced with high levels of supplies. Since then, the platform has addressed the urgent needs of retailers, wholesalers, suppliers and, ultimately, consumers.

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AgTech Company News

FMI and The Seam Partner to Create Digitized Food Supply Chain Platform

Food Industry Exchange sponsored by FMI powered by The Seam launches

MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 6, 2020 – FMI—The Food Industry Association and The Seam, a leading provider of commodities trading and agriculture software solutions, today announced the launch of the Food Industry Exchange sponsored by FMI powered by The Seam. The sustainable marketplace was created to immediately address the urgent needs of retailers and wholesalers by showcasing products and services available in a digital space and on an ongoing basis.

The primary purpose of the platform is to bring vast efficiencies to the food supply chain, while also serving as a critical tool in times of need. Retailers requiring additional resources to fulfill needs at grocery stores, are connected with sellers that have capacity of products, transportation services, labor, and warehousing services.

Not only specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform also fills long-term needs of FMI retailers/wholesalers for product discovery and procurement now, in future times of disruption and in good, blue-sky days.

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AgTech Company News

Forbes Technology Council Pros Predict the ‘Next Big Thing’ in Cybersecurity and Encryption

Cybersecurity

Our CEO, Mark Pryor, shared his insight into what’s ahead in cybersecurity and encryption. Here’s what he had to say to the Forbes Technology Council:

“Fueled by the rise of distributed applications, new advancements in encryption technologies allow private data to be stored on public, decentralized networks. Exciting developments in proxy re-encryption (PRE) make this possible, and usability is critical. Data owners can grant or revoke access to their encrypted data without having to worry about the complexities of encryption and key management.”

Read more via Forbes.

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AgTech Company News

Local ag tech firm launches digital platform to transform U.S. cotton industry

At first glance, the goal of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol seems daunting — to reduce the environmental footprint of the industry and make cotton farming more sustainable across the nation.

But, the digital platform usage is surprisingly simple. And it’s laid out, in a way, like TurboTax.

“It’s self-guided, and guides you through, step by step, with progression,” said Mark Pryor, CEO of The Seam. “When you’re keying in your information to do your taxes … they [TurboTax] make it simple. We’re doing that for farmers.”

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AgTech Company News

The Seam delivers U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol to digitize sustainability story for cotton farmers

MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 10, 2020 – The Seam, a leading provider of commodities trading and agriculture software solutions, today announced the general release of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, an integrated technology platform that allows U.S. cotton farmers to assess and verify production practices, environmental footprint and measurement of progress toward long-term sustainability goals.

The Trust Protocol was initiated by the National Cotton Council, which represents all U.S. cotton industry segments, including producers, ginners, warehousing, merchants, cooperatives, manufacturers and cottonseed. The Seam was named technology partner of the initiative in November 2018 by the National Cotton Council and the COTTON USA Sustainability Task Force. Mark Pryor, Chief Executive Officer at The Seam, was also named to the inaugural Board of Directors of the Trust Protocol in December 2019 as an advisor.

“We are honored to play a role in the development of technology that fuels the overall mission and message of U.S. agriculture sustainability,” said Pryor. “Working with the National Cotton Council, our goal was to provide a farmer-friendly platform for the cotton industry that promotes economic and environmental stewardship through quantifiable metrics and insights. We look forward to expanding our platform to other agricultural crops, including peanuts and soybeans, in the near future.”

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AgTech Company News

The Seam Sponsors GiveCamp Memphis

GiveCamp Memphis/Design for Good is a weekend-long event where professionals from designers, developers and database administrators to marketers and web strategists donate their time to provide solutions for nonprofit organizations. Since its inception in 2007, the national GiveCamp program has provided benefits to hundreds of nonprofits, worth millions of dollars of developer and designer time in services.

“After you and The Seam hosted our first-ever community outreach event in November, this was the biggest GiveCamp Memphis we’ve ever had, by far,” said GiveCamp Memphis organizer Lance Hilliard. “We’re on track to continue our growth toward our 2021 event! Additionally, Tammy’s talent for delivering details-aware results with a reliably kind and constructive disposition is nothing short of amazing. Her round-the-clock contributions this weekend enabled countless stakeholders to perform at their absolute best.”

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AgTech Cotton

More Than One Million Bales of Cotton Traded

With much of the trading season ahead of us, the “million-bale” milestone was reached today on The Seam‘s marketplace for U.S. cotton.

Technology continues to play a critical role in facilitating trade between buyers and sellers during fast-moving markets.

One Million Bales of Cotton Traded on The Seam
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AgTech Company News Cotton Sustainability

U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol Names Directors and Advisors

The inaugural Board of Directors and Advisors have been named for the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol (Trust Protocol), a new standard developed to help the U.S. cotton production sector further reduce its footprint by enabling producers to assess their performance against specific sustainability goals. Through robust data inputs, the Trust Protocol will add confidence throughout the supply chain – positioning U.S. cotton as the responsible choice for mills and retailers.

Directors representing the raw cotton industry include:

  • Producers – Matt Coley (Georgia); Ted Schneider (Louisiana); Shawn Holladay (Texas); and Aaron Barcellos (California); 
  • Ginner – David Blakemore (Missouri); 
  • Marketing Cooperative – Hank Reichle (Mississippi);
  • Merchant – Steve Dyer (Tennessee);
  • Cottonseed – Fred Serven (Tennessee);
  • Manufacturer – Jim Martin (North Carolina); 
  • Brands/Retailers are Liza Schillo, Levi Strauss & Co., and Joe Little, Tesco;
  • Suzy Friedman, Environmental Defense Fund; Melissa Ho, the World Wildlife Fund; Marty Matlock, the University of Arkansas; and Garry Bell, formerly with Gildan. 

Trust Protocol advisors include:  Jesse Daystar, Cotton Incorporated; Andy Jordan, Jordan Consulting; Marc Lewkowitz, Supima; Mark Pryor, The Seam; and Mike Quinn, Frontier Spinning Mills.

For more information, visit: http://www.cotton.org/news/releases/2019/trusbd.cfm

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AgTech Sustainability

From Dirt to Shirt & Seed to Shelf: The Importance of Sustainability in Every Part of the Supply Chain

From dirt to shirt and seed to shelf, The Seam acknowledges that traceability and transparency in agriculture production is essential to each step in the value chain.

With innovations in agtech and the implementation and adoption of data standards throughout the supply chain, consumers are now able to trace the source of the agricultural products they purchase providing assurance through digital accountability. Technology has become more accessible, capable and affordable, which lowers the barrier to entry for operations to embrace digitization that will ultimately convey their story of continuous improvement in sustainable farming.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE?

Essentially, it is the ability to produce enough agricultural products to meet present needs without endangering the environment, public health or economic profitability. If food and ag products are not produced with care, future generations of farming will be at risk. The big idea behind sustainable farming is to minimize one’s environmental footprint and enforce good stewardship of the land and natural resources.

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AgTech

What is National Teach Ag Day?

National Teach Ag Day takes place each year on September 19. This day is designed to encourage others to teach school-based agriculture and recognize the important role that ag teachers play in our schools and communities. Every year, the National Teach Ag Campaign hosts a live webcast event somewhere in the country in conjunction with the day. National Teach Ag Day is a part of the National Teach Ag Campaign, an initiative of the National Council for Agricultural Education, led by the National Association of Agricultural Educators.

Who is it for?

National Teach Ag Day is for anyone who wants to celebrate school-based agricultural education, share the story of ag education’s importance and effectiveness in the United States, and encourage students to consider careers as agricultural educators. Anyone who wants to participate can find a variety of resources to help them talk about ag education at www.naae.org/teachag.

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