Unisun joins with AgMA to improve predictability of fresh produce prices
To avoid such scenarios in the future and to help create a more stable, transparent fresh produce market, Unisun Software announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Agricultural Market Analytics (AgMA), a division of the business-information software company, Faceforward Software. Unisun is using AgMA’s open API (Application Programmers Interface) to enable its ENVIO software users in Colorado to share real-time data on potato sales.
“When the government shut down, we lost access to any kind of pricing information, and that made it very hard to do business,” says Jed Ellithorpe, operations and IT lead for Aspen Produce LLC in Center, CO. “By working with Unisun and AgMA, we’re helping build a database that will give us all good information about our marketplace.”
AgMA is starting with Colorado potatoes because all of the major producers and sellers in the state have agreed to share pricing data using a system that aggregates the data to avoid antitrust concerns. A grower, for instance, could see the average selling price in another region, but couldn’t see the price being offered by a particular competitor. AgMA’s statistical pricing and volume statistics are aggregated by size, variety, and region of the country. Growers, packers, shippers, and brokers can use the data like a stock market ticker, with AgMA updating the information every 30 minutes.
AgMA’s broader goal is to provide this same kind of pricing transparency for other kinds of produce. It is actively seeking participation from the lettuce, tree fruit, and sweet potato markets.
“By interfacing with AgMA we give our customers the choice to participate in this project, which is designed for the good of these individual crop markets,” says Unisun Software General Manager Jennifer Ellsworth. “If people have access to accurate, timely pricing information, they can take advantage of sales opportunities. For the small to mid-sized growers, packers and shippers Unisun serves, having access to this kind of information can mean the difference between a good and bad year.”
For more information:
Unisun Software
Tel: +1 (800) 488.2642
Email: [email protected]
www.unisunsoftware.com
or
Agricultural Market Analytics
Tel: +1 (509) 225-3424
Email: [email protected]
www.AgMA.net
