Draft Email - About AgGateway for Non-Members

Dear (first name),

I hope this email finds you doing well!  I wanted to share some information with you about AgGateway, a non-profit organization focused on eConnectivity in agriculture. I'm hoping we can set up a time to talk about your company getting involved with AgGateway - I'm fairly certain you would see a great benefit.

Our company is seeing more reasons than ever to establish electronic connectivity with trading partners so that we can seamlessly exchange business information and data. As a result we can be as efficient and cost-effective as possible, and better serve customers along the supply chain. AgGateway has made that happen for us. There's no question that the challenge of managing increasing amounts of data quickly and accurately can be problematic. AgGateway has helped us reduce the effort it takes to manage that data, so that we can spend more time servicing our customers and utilizing the data to make quicker and better business decisions. The more companies we can connect with, the better the entire system works – which is why it's in both our interest and yours for you to be involved. 

I'm not sure how much you know about AgGateway – it's a collaborative, membership-driven association with broad representation across many ag segments. It has more than 200 member companies (click here for a listing), including ag retailers, manufacturers of ag inputs and outputs (e.g., seed, crop nutrition, crop protection, feed, grain, and precision ag), and companies in the specialty chemical, crop insurance and transportation sectors, as well as software and data service providers. Both business and information technology (IT) professionals from these member companies collaborate on AgGateway activities. They work together to develop and implement common industry standards and tools. The goals are to:

• Improve business processes
• Streamline the supply chain
• Raise productivity
• Cut costs
• Enhance traceability 
• Allow companies to better meet customer expectations.

Work at AgGateway is done through councils – right now there are eight councils focused on these work areas: Ag Retail, Crop Protection, Crop Nutrition (fertilizer), Grain & Feed, Precision Agriculture, Seed and Specialty Chemical. There is also an Allied Providers Council, which includes companies that provide services to the industry, such as crop insurance, hardware, software, warehousing, transportation, etc. Work of AgGateway and the councils is supported by a Strategic Board and Operational Board, as well as a small staff.

I’m sure your schedule is busy, but if you could find 30-45 minutes to discuss AgGateway and eConnectivity with me in the next couple of weeks it would be appreciated. If you think others within your company should participate in the call, that works fine, as well. I can set up a conference call for us, along with AgGateway's Director of Member Relations Marilyn Hunter. If you're curious about the dues structure and membership information, you can find it under "Join Us" on the AgGateway website. I also invite you to attend one of AgGateway's upcoming face-to-face meetings, as a way to experience AgGateway activities and its networking opportunities. Our two face-to-face meetings this year are:

Mid-Year Meeting:

• June 10-13, 2019
• Prairie Meadow Casino - Altoona, IA
• TBD

Annual Conference:

• November 12-14, 2018
• Sheraton Austin Hotel - Austin, TX
• Website Link for meeting

I hope we can talk soon about AgGateway. It's a discussion that can benefit your company and ours, as well as the efficiency of our industry as a whole – a true win-win. I look forward to hearing from you soon! 

Best regards,