B2B Transactions Alive and Well in the Grain and Oilseed Industry

CONTACT:
Jim Wilson, Executive Director AgXML
P.O. Box 34112
Kansas City, MO 64120-4112
816/516-8847
jim.wilson@agxml.org
www.agxml.org

Kansas City, MO-October 16, 2002 - As the XML (eXtensible Markup Language) standards community approaches the first anniversary of the release of the AgXML v1 standards, AgXML, LLC would like to announce the successful completion of the AgXML v1 pilot. AgXML v1 is the premier XML standard created for the transmission of trade documents in the grain and oilseed industry. "AgXML promised to revolutionize how participants in the grain and oilseed industry communicate trade documents and this pilot proves this is possible," says Jim Wilson, Executive Director, AgXML, LLC.

Completed in August 2002, thirty domestic trade documents were transmitted via the Internet between Louis Dreyfus Corporation and Archer Daniels Midland Company. The schema and trade document selected for the pilot, Quality Certificates, represent a sizeable portion of the usual documents traditionally sent via priority mail between trading partners. Taking the schemas out of the development environment, this initial pilot put the schemas into practical use, transmitting actual trade data between two international partners. The schema's versatility and adaptability were proven due to the complexity of the pilot data, which included dual modes of transportation and multiple commodities. The successful completion of the pilot opens the door for the agricultural industry to leverage key information assets across disparate applications. Wilson commented, "this pilot was a huge success and all of the [AgXML] LLC members are really excited about the possibilities."

AgXML, LLC members are confident in the potential savings the AgXML initiative will bring. Given the positive outlook, the AgXML standards have the backing and support of many industry leaders including The Andersons, Inc., Agris Corporation (a John Deere Company), Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill, Central Soya Company, Inc., CHS Cooperatives, E-Markets, Louis Dreyfus Corporation and Perficient, Inc., who are all members of AgXML, LLC. Other companies from the agricultural and grain processing sector providing additional support and contributions include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, RAPID, Inc., CIDX and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.

The open standard set of XML tags, AgXMLv1 and the industry glossary continue to be available on the AgXML website at no charge. The schemas available for download represent those that are commonly used in the grain industry including single commodity grain contracts, bill of lading information, and weight, quality and pricing information. Proposed modifications to the AgXMLv1 schema standards must be submitted in writing on the AgXML website, www.agxml.org. The next meeting for the AgXML, LLC will be held November 13-14, 2002 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to determine the scope of future activity; additional details are available at www.agxml.org. If your organization is interested in attending the next board meeting, contributing to future development or to obtain the XML standards at no cost, contact the Executive Director via the contact information above or visit the website at www.agxml.org.