The University of Missouri has a bold vision: scaling regenerative practices like cover crops, holistic management, tree buffers, and nutrient management, and ensuring that small and underserved farmers don’t miss out. Funding is a big part of the solution that will unlock opportunity, and as a recent awardee of the USDA’s Climate Smart Commodities program, Mizzou is poised to make a big impact. But success hinges on more than funding alone – the university requires a scalable system to implement and manage their program in order to reap the benefits they envision.
FarmRaise provides the technology infrastructure that will make Mizzou’s Climate Smart Commodities grant a resounding success. From simple digital sign-up forms, to a database that securely manages and tracks farmer data, to a mobile reporting tool farmers use to effortlessly track and report their information, FarmRaise’s end-to-end software is mobilizing Mizzou’s climate smart vision.
The first image a farmer sees sets the tone for their participation in Mizzou’s multi-year program. We leverage farmer-centric design practices to build a user experience that plainly communicates the program while inspiring a farmer to further engage. We intentionally craft an application form that is simple, clear, and efficient.
Partners who build with FarmRaise get access to our growing community of 20K+ farmers across the U.S., over half of whom are women and farmers of color. Mizzou will share their grant with FarmRaise’s community of farmers to reach underserved producers across Missouri.
The data farmers share through the digital form is automatically structured and ingested into a secure database that Mizzou uses to track and determine the status of each applications. Our scalable system makes it easy to organize, communicate, and administer applications, whether the funder is managing 100 or 10,000 farmers.
We build tools that work for farmers, and a key design requirement is enabling farmers to engage funding programs from their phones, in the field. With FarmRaise, farmers can seamlessly ingest and organize photos of practices or expenses and receipts incurred and export this data to Mizzou for seamless grant administration. Our phone app works great offline and in the field, making reporting a breeze for the farmer and for Mizzou.
Mizzou is one of a growing cohort of FarmRaise partners, and we’ll continue to share these stories as we build. If you know of a Climate Smart Commodities funding recipient or a farm lender who might benefit from our software, please reach out so we can get the conversation started.