FARMERSMARKET.COM INTRODUCES FOOD TRACEABILITY SOFTWARE

Mar 11, 2016 | News

CropStalker Allows Farms to Track Plots, Plantings, Inputs, and Harvests for Consumers to See on Traceable Label

Indianapolis, IN – March 10, 2016 – The latest software innovation is being released from FarmersMarket.com, a Indianapolis-based technology company aimed at increasing consumer access to locally-produced foods. CropStalker (www.CropStalker.com) serves farmers by providing an easy-to-use farm mapping and record-keeping solution. And while aiding farmers in their regulatory compliance, CropStalker takes the record-keeping one step further by providing food traceability using those records through a unique CropStalker code that can be placed on food package labels.

The latest regulatory standards in food safety put pressure on farmers—particularly those who grow fruits and vegetables for wholesale—to maintain meticulous records for food traceability. But consumers are applying pressures beyond the regulatory standards—the pressure for transparency into how their food was raised. “Regulation is a poor substitute for transparency,” says Nick Carter, Co-Founder of FarmersMarket.com. “Giving consumer’s access to see how and where their food was grown will be a greater motivator for safe agricultural practices than regulatory measures,” he explains.

Another appeal of CropStalker is the price point. It’s free. “We want to make it as easy and inexpensive as possible for farms to meet record-keeping standards and to offer this kind of traceability to their customers,” Carter said. The company has no plans to charge fees to farmers for using the software. Competing software applications that offer similar traceability and record keeping can cost thousands of dollars per year for farmers to use.

Instead of charging farms for the program, FarmersMarket.com intends to use the data that farmers record to help sell more of the crops produced on local farms. “The biggest problem in local food is not demand, it’s supply,” Carter explained. “When farmers use CropStalker, we can know instantly when a crop is harvested, and how much of it remains unsold. That allows us to sell that crop for the farmer with real-time data regarding what’s available.”

With planting season right around the corner, farmers are invited to sign up for a free account at www.cropstalker.com. Consumers can look for the CropStalker label on local foods starting this summer.

To learn more about the FarmersMarket.com, visit www.farmersmarket.com or contact Nick Carter at 317-401-9338.

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