Farmers Business Network

Farmers Business Network (FBN) is a farmer-to-farmer network and e-commerce platform based out of San Carlos, California. The company was co-founded by Amol Deshpande and Charles Baron, and launched as a startup in 2014. Diego Casanello took over as CEO in 2024. As of 2024, FBN has approximately 80,000 farmers in their network throughout the U.S. and Canada. In 2016, FBN launched an online input buying system called FBN Direct. The platform aggregates data on seed prices and performances to assist farmers in agronomic resource management.

The company introduced their first non-GMO corn and soybean seed offerings with F2F Genetics Network in August 2018. Some farmer members have reported saving thousands of dollars through the purchase of FBN seeds. Later in 2018, FBN announced a partnership with Amazon.

In 2019, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue attended FBN's annual Farmer2Farmer conference in Omaha, Nebraska, and gave a keynote speech. The event saw nearly 4,000 attendees.

Anti-Competitive Interference by Incumbents

In February of 2020, a Canadian federal court issued subpoenas to a group of major agriculture companies in order to conduct an antitrust probe based on allegations that businesses cooperated in an attempt to block online farm-supply startup Farmers Business Network, Inc. (FBN).

In 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Canadian Competition Bureau was investigating allegations that Bayer, BASF, and Corteva engaged in anti-competitive practices toward FBN in Canada. The investigation found that certain market players "engaged in communications with the goal of influencing manufacturers or wholesalers with respect to FBN."

Company Growth and Expansion

In 2022, FBN partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund to provide financing incentives for farmers who implemented regenerative practices. In 2023, the company launched an AI agronomy advisor to provide answers to farmer questions, such as combating pests, finding seed varieties, and preventing livestock diseases. Also that year, FBN opened a 198,000 square foot fulfillment center in Saskatoon. In March 2024, FBN surpassed $1 billion in financing provided through its farm operating lines.

Early financial backers for FBN included Kleiner Perkins and GV.