DuPont has purchased an equity stake in Farms Technology as part of its strategy to create additional value for its customers and grain buyers.

DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred recently began partnering with Farms Technology to develop MarketPoint resource, a new online market service that links corn growers with end users to provide producers with enhanced profit opportunities, greater product differentiation and more convenience.

In February, Pioneer and Farms Technology, which is based in Overland Park, Kan., launched a pilot program for the MarketPoint resource with corn growers and ethanol plants in Nebraska. Growers, representing more than 60 million bushels of grain, have already registered on the site.

“Farms Technology has played a vital role in helping Pioneer develop the MarketPoint resource into a successful Web site that is now having impact on the marketplace,” said Paul Schickler, Pioneer president and DuPont vice-president and general manager.

“The purchase of this equity stake in Farms Technology shows we are making a long-term commitment to this unique and expanding business. As grain markets expand, we see this involvement as a way to help customers increase their income and drive seed sales.”

Farms Technology's applications range from completely integrated electronic hedging platforms, to private cash commodity exchanges, to fully open public cash commodity exchanges. These products have been created to automate farmer cash commodity sales directly from the farm to participating buyers.

“The resources of Pioneer and the automated marketing technology of Farms Technology present growers with powerful new alternatives to improve their bottomline,” said Jason Tatge, CEO of Farms Technology. “Since Farms Technology was formed in 2001, we have worked hard to create a workable, user-friendly automated system that is relied upon today by thousands of farmers for their grain marketing needs. We believe our system, in combination with the Pioneer network and relationships, will create an even more successful business model.”

Available on the Pioneer GrowingPoint Web site, the MarketPoint resource allows growers to post their high-quality grain for sale to local buyers who make competitive bids based upon quality and quantity information posted to the site. In turn, local grain buyers will be able to source this higher value grain to help maximize efficiency, whether it is in their ethanol plants or feedlot operations.

Further information on MarketPointresource is available on http://www.marketpoint.pioneer.com.