ADM and Farmers Business Network announce joint venture to accelerate adoption of sustainable agricultural practices

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ADM (Chicago) and Farmers Business Network (FBN) have entered into a joint venture called Gradable. The new company will expand the Gradable technology platform originally introduced in 2020 to track sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices and outcomes. The platform allows farmers to more easily earn financial rewards and help buyers get reliable farm-level data to easily identify and purchase grain that help them meet growing consumer demand for sustainable products. Partners on Gradable include ADM, POET, and Attebury Grain LLC.

According to the press release announcing the new partnership, Gradable is the leading grain procurement platform in North America with more than 20,000 farmers across 12 million acres who use the platform. Gradable, they say, has scored over 200 million bushels of corn and soybeans, analyzed 48 million acre-years of agronomic events, and facilitates more than $30 million in financial incentives for sustainable practices each year.

“Gradable is rapidly becoming one of the industry’s leading and largest technology platforms enabling sustainability scoring at scale. We welcome all partners from the CPG and grain buying industries and look forward to serving new markets and more farmers,” said Steele Lorenz, the newly appointed CEO of Gradable, in a press release.

To better meet demand for sustainably produced crops, Gradable will be expanded across ADM’s hundreds of facilities throughout the U.S. and Canada and increase commercial partners and the countries it serves.

“We're excited to partner with an agricultural leader like ADM to launch Gradable, providing thousands of farmers with powerful sustainability solutions,” said FBN CEO Diego Casanello. “By combining our expertise, Gradable will enhance insights, incentives, and support to help growers profitably adopt regenerative practices. We believe Gradable can become the industry-leading platform."

“ADM’s regenerative agriculture efforts enrolled more than 2.8 million acres last year, and we know that’s just the beginning,” added Greg Morris, president of ADM’s Ag Services and Oilseeds business. “The continued expansion of this work requires a strong technology platform that enables farmers to easily participate and provides farm-level data for grain buyers and end customers. This new joint venture paves the way for the continued growth of Gradable, opening the door for even more farmers, commercial grain partners, and end customers to benefit from regen ag practices and the growing demand for sustainably sourced products.”