The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has teamed up with agricultural technology company FarmRaise to help streamline data entry for cotton growers across the United States.
With this partnership, BCI will use FarmRaise’s technology to help BCI-certified growers and group managers simplify how they manage program information – while also helping them review and update existing farm and practice data each year. The platform also aims to ease the administrative burden of data entry by informing growers about available programs, market access opportunities, changing requirements, and deadlines.
Ashley Barrington, Senior Manager of Better Cotton Initiative’s U.S. program, said: “Today, cotton growers can spend a tremendous amount of time documenting program participation and practice implementation each season. FarmRaise can give them valuable time back by streamlining that process and bringing key information together in one place. We are excited to forge this partnership to make BCI participation simpler and more valuable for U.S. growers and field-level partners.”
FarmRaise, an online platform built for U.S. agriculture, supports thousands of growers across several national programs – including Avalo, USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), NRCS-related programs and conservation and cost-share programs – serving as a centralized foundation for grower enrollment, reporting, and data management.
The new partnership follows BCI’s acquisition of Co:Farm, a digital solution created to help farmers optimize their work, streamline data entry, and accelerate their adoption of regenerative practices.
Following BCI’s announcement that it is now a regenerative standard system, the partnership can also help track U.S. cotton producers’ implementation of regenerative practices, as those certified to produce BCI Cotton are required to introduce improvement plans across at least three of the following areas: soil health, biodiversity and natural habitats, water, pesticides, fertilizers, and livestock.
Jayce Hafner, CEO at FarmRaise, said: “Every day, billions of humans touch the work of cotton farmers without ever meeting them. Our partnership with the Better Cotton Initiative brings that connection closer, giving cotton producers a straightforward way to share their practices and be recognized for the resilient future they’re building. BCI champions the grower’s role in a more sustainable cotton sector, and their global leadership has helped farmers around the world learn, improve, and thrive. We’re honored to build alongside them.”
Todd Straley, CEO at Quarterway Cotton Growers, commented: “For producers, regenerative agriculture starts with what makes sense on the farm, not with paperwork. As we continue to implement and document practices that improve our operations, we need tools that make it easier to track that work without creating additional administrative burden. FarmRaise makes participation simpler while ensuring the progress producers are making in the field is captured.”
Rebecca White, Chief Product Officer at Avalo, said: “BCI’s partnership with FarmRaise puts the grower first. By letting producers reuse the farm data they’ve already entered, it removes one of the biggest barriers to joining sustainability programs and makes it simpler for U.S. cotton growers to show the regenerative progress they’re making.”