Farm406

33 farm406 A void that farmers have wrestled with is how to compare the cost of farm services and supplies, such as seed and chemicals, needed routinely. Co-founder and Chief Innovative Officer of FBN, Charles Baron, a tech guy from Silicon Valley, observed this difficulty when visiting his brother-in-law, who farmed in Nebraska. Along with the rest of the family, Baron listened to radio reports and learned that the selling price of agricultural commodities were affected by what was occurring in other communities, across the country, and around the world, still farmers were buying agricultural inputs locally at their local elevator or supply store without knowing the prices offered on a competitive market. Charles Baron, Co-founder and Chief Innovative Officer of FBN. To overcome this dilemma, some farmers formed groups to buy in larger quantities. ose who aempted to do pricing themselves spent considerable time on the internet and the telephone, oen without satisfaction due to the lack of transparent pricing. Farmers suspected a substantial disparity in the prices of farming supplies existed, but to confirm it was impossible. Along with partner Amol Deshpande, an owner of venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins, Baron started FBN in the basement of that company located in the San Francisco Bay area. FBN has been in the right position to raise money from Kleiner Perkins and other notable investors, such as Fidelity, and FBN hasn't been shy about asking for funding to expand. "Solving important problems for farmers takes time; building technology also takes time; so having investors who think long A Distribution Center with agricultural input supplies ready for fast delivery.

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