Building the Future on Two Decades of Achievement

From the President

Building the Future on Two Decades of Achievement

By Brent Kemp, President and CEO

AgGateway is thrilled to be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It’s an impressive accomplishment given that the Bureau of Labor Statistics says only 20% of companies last 20 or more years. And while we’ve never been an organization content to revel in past achievements, this does afford us the opportunity to look back at two decades of work.

In the years since its founding member companies recognized and acted on the need to align practical, implementable data exchange standards across the chemical, seed, and nutrition segments, AgGateway has grown from a couple dozen members to over 200. Our workload has evolved from large scale, long runway efforts to “short sprints” that deliver quick value to participants. We’ve expanded our geographic and industry segment influence.

This year we will celebrate what we’ve accomplished together in this newsletter, at our conferences, in external communication, and in agriculture media. But as I mentioned earlier, those accomplishments are only context for what matters for us. Today is the important moment; today is the opportune time.

Our member companies face economic uncertainty: fragile supply chains; inconsistent moisture availability; farmers and operators less inclined to invest in technical services for whatever reason. Today we read headlines like, “Farmers Planning to Cut Spending in 2025,” and “Ag Tech Investment in Decline, ” and “Regulatory Landscape Changing for Equipment/Trade/Environmental Reporting,” etc. The decisions you have to make are coming at you fast and furious. You don’t have time to deal with anything that makes you less efficient.

Today is the day your investments in data exchange are paying off. Every order that flows automatically and is acknowledged, every invoice that matches in your system without a human being touching it is time and money saved. Today is the day that planting data transformed to the ADAPT format is loading to your customer’s farm management system without significant manipulation or questions of interpretation. Today is the day that your synchronization with AGIIS sets the stage for a streamlined year of sales and inventory reporting.

Today is the day that, if you’ve not implemented these digital resources and begun using them to your best advantage, you should choose to do so. Your ERP upgrade will be more effective with an AGIIS or business message integration built in from the beginning. Your agronomic platform will be more extensible through integration of in-field product messages, ADAPT support, and other farmer-facing tools. You’ll be able to do more with less, as your peers can attest.

While we celebrate a successful two decades or work, AgGateway is here to be part of your “today moments.” We are hosting the Mid-Year and regional meetings, investing in enhancements to AGIIS to make unique identification more aligned to today’s business practices, and continuing to deploy tools that enable your developers to make faster and more consistent use of the standards you have developed through consensus.

We look back on the successes we’ve achieved along with you. But we’re focused on today. What do you need from AgGateway as you look at 2025?