REDESIGNING FLORICULTURE MARKETPLACE & INVENTORY MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR SMALL PRODUCE FARMS TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY AND REDUCE COST

The primary outcome of this PhaseI effort will be a prototype addition of produce offerings to Rooted's existing platform. We will work with faculty and experts at The Experiment Station within the University of New Hampshire's College of Life Sciences and Agriculture to validate the effectiveness of this prototype technology to improve produce farmers' sales, profitability, and quality of life via case studies of a sample of rural farmers across New Hampshire. We will also determine areas for future development and refinement, as well as optimal ways to commercialize this extension to Rooted's existing technology platform. In these ways, our Phase I preparation activities will provide a strong foundation for the Phase II refinement and nationwide scaling project. The envisioned Phase II project would provide the necessary funding to transition our technology from a prototype into a credible product that can be broadly offered across the US.Our suite of farm-driven software will provide significant benefits for small- and mid-size produce farms, analogous to its performance in the floriculture industry. The most meaningful expected benefits include: (1) Lower operational costs; (2) Increased profitability; (3) Increased scalability; (4) Improved networking & diminished marketing expenses; (5) Improved quality of life for farmers and administrators; and (6) Environmental benefits to localizing the supply chain.The primary technical objective of our PhaseI effort is to architect a pilot product and demonstrate useful and relevant aggregation of produce agricultural products, validating increases in profitability and scalability for small- and mid-size farms, analogous to our previous research and market impact in the US floriculture segment.