BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – PlantFind, provider of technology-based business solutions to the green industry, has received a development grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Palm Beach County Agricultural Development Program, a division of the county’s Cooperative Extension Service (CES), awarded PlantFind a USDA grant to purchase additional technology and expand its workforce.
This is the first time a company of this nature has received a USDA grant in Florida.
Arthur Kirstein, agriculture economic development coordinator for the Palm Beach County CES, says PlantFind’s focus on bringing the dynamics of e-commerce to the nursery industry led to the development grant’s approval.
“Because we feel the nursery industry represents a good developmental fit for South Florida, we were impressed by what PlantFind demonstrated they could do to strengthen the development of e-commerce in that industry,” Kirstein says.
Government officials say recognizing the role of technology in agriculture today and rewarding a technology firm generating revenue in providing these services was important.
The B2B firm’s Internet communications and transaction Web portal, founded in 1999, has grown to include more than 270,000 individual line items from more than 1,700 growers and $60 million in plant material requests (RFQs). The Web-based company offers a marketplace exchange that reduces ordering time, a “virtual trade show,” supply chain resources and proprietary business software.
Father-son green industry veterans Frank and Michael Ferraro founded PlantFind in 1999. “Having lived through the frustrations of a fragmented industry of propagators, growers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers, I knew that the Internet held the answer, ” says PlantFind president Michael Ferraro. “Streamlining the $200-billion green industry and making a time-sensitive and efficient marketplace for exchanges of ideas, products and services for more than two million potential users was our dream.”
PlantFind executive vice president Francine Sachs adds: “For the USDA to award this grant to a Web-based business like ours underscores how well PlantFind is being received by traditional agricultural agencies. We are proud to have earned the respect and recognition from the County Extension Service.”
The PlantFind team of industry experts together has a combined 350-plus years of experience in the nursery and landscape industry. The firm has developed alliances with 24 state, national and industry associations, as well as several major trade publication houses – including Lawn & Landscape magazine and its sister publication, Interior Business. For more information, visit PlantFind’s Web site at www.PlantFind.com, send an email to info@PlantFind.com or call 877/473-3363.
The author is Editor of Interior Business magazine and can be reached at acybulski@interiorbusinessonline.com.