Mountaire Farms operates 13 grain facilities and 6 feed mills, handling between 70-90 million bushels of corn, soybeans, soft wheat and grain sorghum each year. As the fourth-largest poultry integrator in the U.S., Mountaire’s grain team supports both internal feed operations and a growing export business.
Many Mountaire growers are operating on small acreages, often without grain storage. The company’s team of merchandisers regularly works with producers selling partial truckloads or just a few hundred bushels at a time—situations that demand strong relationships and precise communication. Yet, until recently, the grain team lacked the digital infrastructure to serve those farmers efficiently.
“We didn't have a way to share information with farmers. We were spending a lot of time doing things that shouldn't take so much time, like sending bid information across text to farmers. We knew immediately that we had to get a digital tool like Bushel, and we went to work right away.” —Lisa Williams, Director of Agribusiness Contract Management, Mountaire
When new leaders joined Mountaire’s agribusiness division, they recognized a critical gap: farmers had no way to access account information digitally. Every update-bids, contracts, settlements, operating hours-required a phone call or manual communication. With each merchandiser supporting hundreds of farmers, the need for a self-service platform was clear.
The goal was to empower growers with self-service access to contracts, tickets, settlements, and real-time bids-while freeing up internal teams to focus on valuable conversations and better decision-making. That’s when the team turned to Bushel, implementing the customer portal and Trade to digitize grower access and streamline operations.
“The app hasn’t stopped farmers from calling, but they now have more specific questions about something they may have seen about their contract on the app.” —Ashling Murphy, Marketing & Strategic Planning Manager, Mountaire
“Now we all have time for those meaningful conversations and to build that better relationship with farmers.” —Lisa Williams, Director of Agribusiness Contract Management, Mountaire
Mountaire officially launched Bushel in August 2023. Within a few short months, they reached 40% grower adoption—a major milestone made possible through intentional rollout strategies, in-person tutorials, and strong internal alignment. Farmers now have self-service access to bids, contracts, and settlement reports, which has dramatically reduced the number of administrative calls coming into the merchandising desk.
“We’ve increased our communication with farmers by adding our facility managers and merchandisers phone numbers. This has been helpful in streamlining phone calls and reducing misdirected calls. By using our push notifications, we are able to communicate grower outreach events, which is helpful during the busy harvest season.” —Ashling Murphy, Marketing & Strategic Planning Manager, Mountaire
The digital transition has also made a big difference in accuracy and timeliness. With e-signatures replacing mailed contracts, farmers receive agreements within minutes, giving them a chance to verify details quickly.
“We had a huge gap in information transfer, and we found that a lot of farmers would have to call us for pretty much everything. Them being able to self-service for a lot of those things and be able to look at their balances from their combine even, has helped limit some of those administrative phone calls.” —Emily Ennis, Senior Grain Merchandising Manager, Mountaire
The combination of efficiency gains, stronger farmer relationships, and a vision for continued innovation has set Mountaire on a clear path forward.
For Mountaire Farms, adopting Bushel has been about more than technology—it’s been about strengthening relationships, improving efficiency, and preparing for the future of agriculture. By empowering farmers with self-service tools and giving merchandisers more time for meaningful conversations, Mountaire is proving that digital innovation can go hand-in-hand with trust and tradition. As Mountaire looks ahead with their use of Bushel, one thing is clear: they’re building a more connected, agile grain business—one that’s ready to meet the needs of today’s farmers and tomorrow’s markets.
And while the past two years have been filled with change—including leadership transitions, new accounting systems, and a shift toward more aggressive origination—Bushel has provided clarity and connection through the chaos.
“Our marketing manager talks about the future and envisions his merchandisers sitting on the back of the truck with the farmer and being able to do business right there. Share presentations, execute hedging, signing contracts, anything that the farmer needs. And I think Bushel tools are allowing us to get there faster, and we're really excited about that.” –Lisa Williams, Director of Agribusiness Contract Management, Mountaire
