Cargill Introduces Online Contract Signature Capability for Grain Contract Customers

The transaction marks the first producer grain contract electronically signed in the United States using an electronic system recognized for usage for all types of grain contracting, including producer credit-sale contracts.

17/06/08 A Nebraska corn producer earlier this week became the first in the nation to electronically sign a grain contract using the website CargillAg.com. Rick Funk of Clearwater, Neb., used a new online account technology offered by Cargill AgHorizons to sell a portion of his 2008 corn harvest to Cargill’s Albion elevator.

The transaction marks the first producer grain contract electronically signed in the United States using an electronic system recognized for usage for all types of grain contracting, including producer credit-sale contracts.

Available to customers via www.CargillAg.com, an electronic signature capability augments the site’s secure, online account look-up feature and represents a new level of speed and efficiency for producers trying to market their grain.

“We’re proud to be the first to bring this convenient and easy-to-use capability to our customers,” says Dan Dye, president of Cargill AgHorizons. “With this technology, producers have a paperless alternative in determining how they’d like to administer the marketing of their grain.”

Cargill AgHorizons has commenced a series of e-signature pilots in Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois in cooperation with state and federal industry regulators. Upon successful completion of these pilots, the company will implement the program nationally, making Cargill AgHorizons the first in its industry to make e-signatures available for all types of grain contracting customers.

“With e-signatures, farmers can electronically sign and retain all paperwork right from our website. They can do that on their schedule, anytime day or night,” says Jeff Klock, database marketing product manager for Cargill AgHorizons. “This new capability is so convenient that users never have to manually sign a contract, find an envelope, postmark and mail the contract to Cargill. It truly sets the standard.”

Klock noted that in addition to e-signature, CargillAg.com features the most advanced online grain accounting functionality in the industry. “Beyond just providing access to past and future grain contracts, scale tickets, and settlement information, we’re offering tools that will help a farmer establish a grain marketing plan, and then, track their progress towards achieving their goals in that plan,” says Klock. “Today’s marketplace offers some tremendous opportunities. CargillAg.com helps provide tools and insight so farmers are better able to capitalize on those opportunities.”