JOHNSTON, Iowa, March 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Growers Edge Financial, Inc. (Growers Edge) now provides solutions that strengthen the entire agricultural ecosystem. Based on the Growers Analytic Prediction System (GAPS), Growers Edge today introduced an extensive lineup of fintech solutions for growers, agribusiness, distribution partners and institutions to accelerate the adoption of agtech innovations while managing risk.

“Growers Edge has created an unmatched network of technology, insurance and farm partners to help improve farmers’ appetite for novel digital ag technologies,” noted Arama Kukutai, co-founder and partner, Finistere Ventures. “Using fintech to accelerate farm adoption, Growers Edge will empower farmers to embrace a more profitable ag era, while helping technology players and farm insurers/lenders drive more value—all with less risk.”

Growers need to increase farm output by 70 percent to meet 2050 population forecasts. However, suppressed commodity pricing has erased farm profitability with half of farm households currently losing money from farming each year. Despite the billions of dollars invested into agtech innovations with the potential to help farms increase their output, farmers are notoriously risk averse and slow to adopt new technologies on farm.

“Historically, innovation has taken over a decade to deploy on the farm; we need to break down the adoption barriers so farmers can readily embrace ag innovations,” added Sanjeev Krishnan, CIO and managing director, Seed2Growth (S2G) Ventures. “Growers Edge delivers the bottom-line protection and income assurance farmers need to take the leap.”

Machine Learning Platform Derisks Agtech Innovation Adoption
Serving the crop planning and price discovery needs of more than 50,000 platform users across the United States, its proprietary data platform combines data from local growers, agtech vendors, lending and insurance partners. The platform ingests and analyzes: grower-level soil, seed, weather and financial data; agtech field data from technology deployment results;  insurance data including comprehensive yield history and field-level loss causes; as well as lending data such as credit behavioral history.

“Adopting a new technology exposes the farm to financial and operational risk, but Growers Edge is changing that,” said Joe Young, president and COO of Growers Edge. “Our proprietary system brings together the most powerful and comprehensive array of data and allows us to design better solutions and tools for all ag ecosystem players to increase their profits in a time when market growth is increasingly difficult.”

Now offering a mix of analytics, lending and risk management solutions based on its machine-learning platform, Growers Edge helps:

• Growers and farmers get income assurance through guaranteed farming results, risk-free access to novel technology and products, an intuitive comparison-pricing tool and farm-specific agronomic prescriptions.
  
• Agribusiness and agtech players achieve market share growth and pricing integrity through private-labeled products, predictive analytics such as marquee grower identification and a comprehensive AgTech Validation Index with efficacy ratings.
  
• Distribution channels enhance their competitive advantage with software tools such as the Growers Edge Agency Advisor, Portfolio Analyzer and Coverage Price Discovery.
  
• Financial services get a deeper understanding of potential risk through the Growers Edge advanced ag analytics platform and grower risk scoring, which provides a predictive benchmark of farmer behavior.

”Traditional risk pricing has been based solely on historical, farm-level information. Growers Edge allows me to look ahead and easily run ’what if’ profit scenarios for my customers,” said Kevin Hooper, Buckeye Crop Insurance Plu. “It demystifies farm profitability, and it helps set me apart from my competitors so I can close more deals.”

Using advanced machine learning analysis, Growers Edge GAPS uncovers unique insights into grower behaviors, farm profitability and agtech effectiveness to generate accurate Grower Score and AgTech Indexes so farmers can confidently take advantage of its custom Agronomic Prescription Products (APP).

Formerly named Crop Pro Insurance, Growers Edge Financial now conveys the company’s complete vision as it aggressively recruits and builds out its global partner, agency and farmer networks. Growers Edge aims to embolden farmers to solve longstanding challenges by giving them the tools they need to improve their operations and safeguard their future—increasing profit without taking on more risk.

The expanded Growers Edge mobile app is available for download for iPhone and Android. For more details on all Growers Edge data-driven solutions, please visit www.growersedge.com.

About Growers Edge Financial
Growers Edge Financial, Inc. puts grower profits first by delivering grower income assurance through data-driven financial technology products, solutions and tools for the agricultural sector. Empowering farmers to adopt new technologies to increase profitability, Growers Edge solves the financial gaps of farmers by changing how agricultural inputs and services are sold, allowing them to capture more value and improve profits. Led by a proven team of crop management leaders and backed by top agtech investors, the company is headquartered in Johnston, Iowa. To learn more, visit https://growersedge.com.

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Erica Camilo
Connexa Communications
C: 610.639.5644
Erica@connexacommunications.com