Agtools recently deployed a new feature as part of its leading software platform, which provides worldwide market data against contract and daily/weekly pricing, helping farmers be even more proficient.

The company also launched Agcapture Live, which makes data available on a small window on computer screens, so those in the industry can quickly and easily see how the market is behaving.

“Farmers and shippers need to adapt to the new world of data management,” said Martha Montoya, founder and CEO of Agtools and a 25-year veteran of the ag industry. “Navigating with them across the sea of potential data solutions created for other industries is becoming an opportunity for growth.”

It was in 2017 that Montoya decided there was a need for a real-time data source to avoid time lags and misinformation among stakeholders in the produce supply chain.

Martha Montoya, Founder and CEO, Agtools

“Farmers and shippers need to adapt to the new world of data management.” –Martha Montoya

“In particular, during the winter season of strawberries, both farmers and buyers couldn’t agree on delivery time and pricing, yet data was providing a completely different point of view,” she said.

That was the genesis of Agtools, a SaaS platform offering real-time intelligence to farmers and buyers across the full supply chain.

By utilizing data, creating new algorithms, and engaging machine learning to manage market volatility, the Irvine, CA-based company has been able to increase profitability for farmers. The software informs farmers about the variables that put their crops at risk and prevents them from paying steep prices for losses between farms and distribution centers.

“Our engineers are all from rural areas of the Americas who have worked in the industry and are now part of our team with computer science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence backgrounds,” Montoya said. “From Washington, California, Mexico, and Colombia, our engineering team is truly devoted to the industry and understands the urgency and positive impact we have made in the produce industry.”

Today, the company provides real-time algorithm deep data services to farmers and industry buyers regarding more than 510 fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, and ornamentals. Agtools counts among its customers some of the largest produce shippers and buyers who are currently overhauling both their IT and financial systems.

“From Washington, California, Mexico, and Colombia, our engineering team is truly devoted to the industry and understands the urgency and positive impact we have made in the produce industry.” – Martha Montoya

“We are moving from one billion transactions per second to one trillion, making the worldwide reach of data faster,” Montoya said. “Having commodity data from across the world in seconds in real time is getting our customers excited.”

For organic customers, Agtools provides info on market growth by region, sub-region, and 76 variables that will impact them now and in the next 12-18 months.

“Trends and variables scrapped, curated, and audited are telling the real story of the organic growth against conventional and the obvious opportunities,” Montoya said. “Data—historical and daily—are crucial to analyze growth, whether it be retail, foodservice, or terminals. The industry has plenty of data on what consumers want; we just need to match it against production to enable both shippers/farmers and buyers to communicate easier and faster to grow the category.”

“Having commodity data from across the world in seconds in real time is getting our customers excited.” – Martha Montoya

Montoya said the big challenge was getting people in the industry to trust data, in addition to dealing with the government’s past-legacy system languages that few could program.

“We have gone extra steps to pull the data from the first source of entry, managed old languages, and then audited it every 30 minutes to make sure our algorithms work closely with the other variables impacting the soft supply chain, such as holidays, labor issues, weather at destinations, etc.,” Montoya said.

Agtools provides business-critical access to accurate, objective, and frequently updated real-time information, along with the performance applications and monitoring systems to provide management with the tools to develop, implement, and monitor business initiatives and results.

The software is now available for Microsoft, IBM, and many other offerings, making the system easier to integrate for users.

“We should be able to also provide it via established value-added resellers soon,” Montoya said. “Our overseas growth is truly exciting, including countries planning growth worldwide. Our patent applications are now done, and I plan to keep increasing our value.”