I have a friend who went to graduate school for ag economics.  

Smart guy. He’ll claim he doesn’t talk about how smart he is. But if you probably know people like him, they eventually get around to it. 

I call him a “Big Picture” thinker. He prefers a top-down approach to solving problems or answering questions.

With that approach, he makes soybean price calculations based on Brazil’s weather forecasts and macro-analysis.  

He might also look at a state map of farms and say: “That grain terminal should be 50 miles up the river if it wants to make more money.” 

Top-down, big picture is a common way of tackling problems. 

But does this approach really apply to your business and the issues you’re facing right now? 

When you really dig down… when you really think about your harvest and freight challenges… is your problem the same as your neighbor’s or the guy hauling soybeans 1,000 miles away? 

My friend can suggest that river terminal should be elsewhere. But who cares? It’s not going anywhere. It’s staying put, and anyone delivering grain to it has to adapt.

Meanwhile, his approach doesn’t address why many of your challenges exist in the first place. 

These challenges exist because “today” is variable. Things change. New problems emerge.

Tomorrow… who knows what’s going to happen. Will it be a late driver? Will it be that an elevator closed an hour early? 

In this industry, new questions emerge that we didn’t consider today.

So, why are we approaching freight logistics and other industry challenges with this top-down approach all the time? 

We could blame policy if we want. If there’s a new problem in agriculture, a top-down solution from Washington will be in the Farm Bill. 

It might be new subsidies from the sky… or driving around in circles counting corn seeds for weeks.  

We keep using this approach, even though the personal, day-to-day problems that farmers face continue or get messier.

So, let’s try something different for once.

FOB is a bottom-up solution aimed to put an end to individual challenges experienced by farmers as they bring their product to markets.  

Today, several FOB users keep track of their trucks on a daily basis and ensure that their workers are delivering their grain on time to the right facilities. 

Others use FOB as a tool to ensure that they have all of their grain documents on one digital platform. They never have to go search for everything after years of seeing 75% of their documents in handwritten form.  

FOB has a client using the platform to locate drivers who are available to pick up grain today or tomorrow. 

We have independent drivers who are hauling grain on Monday for a large processor and transporting for a new farmer the next day. 

Our shared transportation management platform is eliminating bottlenecks in agriculture, one customer at a time and one story at a time. We’re not interested in trying this old approach to problems any longer. 

It’s the 21st century. 

We believe that FOB’s approach empowers agricultural professionals like you and puts greater control in your hands of your day-to-day operations.

What can FOB do for you?  

Let’s find out together. 

Schedule a demo and let’s have a conversation.