Can an online marketplace work in North American agriculture?

Whether we look at grain or crop inputs, the answer is usually no. But it's useful to understand the "why."

Author

Shane Thomas
August 15, 2025 • Read Time: 4 minutes

Note: This article originally appeared embedded within Upstream Ag Professional in February of 2024. Because I think the overarching takeaways are useful and should be applied to scenario’s outside the specific Farmers Edge storyline, I wanted to republish as a stand alone article.

Index

  1. Overview

  2. Marketplace Frameworks

  3. Oligopolies and Fragmentation

  4. Specificity

  5. ‘Monogamous’ and ‘Promiscuous’ Business Relationships

  6. Commoditized Products

  7. Final Thoughts

Overview

 CommoditAg’s Canadian launch is not just about products; it’s a comprehensive platform that introduces a wide array of products including nutrients, chemicals, equipment and services, creating a convenient one-stop-shop for farmers.

The first thing that comes to my mind when reading this announcement is the following quote attributed to philosopher George Santayana:

Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

Marketplaces in North America have been challenged for over two decades now.

There are bankrupted companies, pivots and struggling organizations everywhere. I have highlighted marketplace challenges extensively in Indigo, Marketplaces & Grain Marketing Tech and Aggregator Marketplaces vs. Platform Enablers in Agribusiness.

I want to be open-minded around this effort because sometimes timing does change what technologies and business models have a fit. So I reached out to Farmers Edge to ask: What novel insight or approach makes CommoditAg uniquely positioned to be successful in North America with a marketplace? 

The response was the following:

CommoditAg stands out due to its mission of including retailers that lack an established ecommerce platform/website, unlike many larger retail chains. In doing so, CAG provides an opportunity for these retailers to enhance their online presence. We also welcome large retailers too who wish to leverage CommoditAg as an additional channel for expanding their online reach.

Furthermore, our platform is designed to offer farmers a broader array of options that were previously unavailable. This includes access to services within their local area, diverse selection of small equipment, parts, other than just crop inputs. Through these offerings, we aim to cater to the specific needs of farmers while facilitating greater convenience and efficiency in their procurement processes.

I’ll touch on some of these comments below.

United States Uptake

In the press release, they state the following:

Following a successful venture in the U.S. CommoditAg brings its innovative online marketplace to Canada

First, I wanted to see what the “successful” venture in the United States looks like.

When comparing the first 9 months of 2022 and 2023, CommoditAg experienced a ~50% decline in revenue from $5.5 million in 2022 to $2.7 million in 2023. They do state “this decline is primarily due to the Company shifting to a third-party business model”, however, I do not think $5.5 million can be considered a success when factoring the CommoditAg business itself has been around since 2017.

Marketplace Frameworks

My friend Janette Barnard, who has also not only written eloquently about marketplaces, but experienced the hurdles in building one in the animal agriculture sector, wrote a great piece called Just say no (to marketplaces). In it, she highlights many factors, including:

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