ERP Software for Agri-Processing
Agri-processing businesses transform raw agricultural commodities into intermediate or finished products at scale. Grain elevators, oilseed crushing facilities, cotton gins, and starch plants face unique ERP requirements: commodity scale ticket integration, multi-grade inventory management, co-product and by-product accounting, forward-contract management, and regulatory reporting to USDA and commodity exchanges. Yield loss tracking, moisture and grade adjustments, and storage-liability management are non-negotiable capabilities.
Compare ERP Systems for Agri-Processing
Select up to 4 ERP vendors to compare side by side. Filtered to show systems with strong agri-processing capabilities.
Key Challenges for Agri-Processing
Integrating grain scale tickets and elevator management systems with ERP inventory and accounts-payable without manual re-keying
Managing multi-grade, multi-moisture commodity inventory and applying grade-adjustment factors to purchase pricing in real time
Tracking co-products and by-products (meal, oil, hulls, germ) with accurate cost-allocation across joint-production processes
Maintaining forward-contract positions, basis contracts, and hedge-account reconciliation alongside operational inventory
Calculating and reporting USDA warehouse receipts, storage liabilities, and grain bank positions accurately
Managing shrinkage, moisture loss, and quality downgrade through the storage and processing cycle
Handling the complex tax and royalty structures associated with commodity merchandising and producer settlements
Best Agri-Processing ERP for SMBs
Recommended for companies with $10M–$250M revenue and 10–200 employees.
Agvance
mid-rangeWidely used by agri-retailers and grain merchandisers, Agvance provides native scale-ticket integration, multi-grade inventory, forward-contract management, and producer settlement accounting purpose-built for the agri-processing sector.
Best for: Grain elevators and agri-retailers under $200M revenue
Aptean Food & Beverage ERP
mid-rangeStrong process-manufacturing ERP with co-product and by-product accounting, lot traceability, recipe management, and quality management for primary agri-processors beyond grain handling.
Best for: Mid-size oilseed, starch, and specialty agri-processors
Sage X3
mid-rangeFlexible ERP with agricultural processing extensions covering yield management, co-product costing, multi-site inventory, and landed-cost tracking for commodity-handling operations.
Best for: Mid-size agri-processors with international sales or multi-site operations
BatchMaster
mid-rangeRecipe- and formula-driven ERP with strong batch traceability, co-product management, and quality control for agri-processors moving commodity inputs into formulated intermediate products.
Best for: Specialty agri-processors producing formulated or blended products
ProcessPro
mid-rangeProcess-manufacturing ERP designed for food and agricultural processors, with strong batch management, formula control, quality testing integration, and regulatory compliance recordkeeping.
Best for: Small to mid-size agri-processors needing deep process-manufacturing functionality
NetSuite
mid-rangeCloud ERP with strong financials, multi-entity consolidation, and inventory management; well-suited for agri-processing businesses with complex corporate structures and significant financial reporting needs.
Best for: Agri-processors with multi-entity or investor-reporting requirements
Best Agri-Processing ERP for Enterprise
Recommended for companies with $250M+ revenue and complex multi-site operations.
SAP S/4HANA
enterpriseEnterprise platform with SAP Agricultural Contract Management, commodity accounting, co-product and by-product cost allocation, and integration to commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) systems for large agri-processors.
Best for: Large grain merchandisers, oilseed crushers, and vertically integrated agri-processors
Oracle ERP Cloud
enterpriseFull cloud ERP suite with advanced supply-chain finance, commodity cost management, and analytics for large agri-processing enterprises with complex international operations.
Best for: Global agri-processing corporations needing full-suite cloud ERP
Microsoft Dynamics 365
enterpriseScalable platform with strong ISV partner ecosystem for agriculture, commodity management integrations, and Power BI analytics for multi-site agri-processing operations.
Best for: Enterprise agri-processors standardizing on the Microsoft technology stack
Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage
enterpriseIndustry-specific enterprise ERP with deep support for process manufacturing, co-product accounting, quality management, and supply-chain traceability across large agri-processing networks.
Best for: Large integrated agri-processing and food manufacturing enterprises
Essential ERP Capabilities for Agri-Processing
Grain scale-ticket and elevator management system (EMS) integration for automated receiving and inventory posting
Multi-grade, multi-moisture commodity inventory management with grade-factor pricing adjustments
Co-product and by-product production accounting with joint-cost allocation methodologies
Forward-contract, basis-contract, and hedge-position tracking integrated with operational inventory
USDA warehouse receipt management and storage-liability reporting
Moisture, shrinkage, and quality-downgrade accounting through the storage and processing cycle
Producer settlement and royalty calculation with check-off deduction management
Lot and batch traceability from commodity receipt through finished product shipment
Commodity price feed integration for real-time mark-to-market valuation
Regulatory compliance recordkeeping for USDA Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), and state elevator licensing
Agri-Processing ERP Cost Ranges
SMB
$30,000 – $120,000
10–40 users
Implementation: $25,000 – $100,000
Mid-Market
$120,000 – $500,000
40–150 users
Implementation: $100,000 – $450,000
Enterprise
$500,000 – $3,000,000+
150–600+ users
Implementation: $750,000 – $5,000,000+
Implementation Considerations
Prioritize elevator management system (EMS) or scale integration as a day-one requirement — any gap here creates immediate data integrity problems at the point of commodity receipt
Map all co-product and by-product cost-allocation methods before configuration; changing allocation methodology post-go-live requires significant rework across historical cost data
Engage commodity merchandisers and risk managers early — forward-contract and hedge-position workflows have nuances that IT teams frequently underestimate
Plan for end-of-crop-year accounting complexity, including inventory revaluation, bin reconciliation, and USDA reporting deadlines
Validate producer settlement calculations with a parallel run against the legacy system for at least one full settlement cycle before cutover
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between agri-processing ERP and a standard food manufacturing ERP?
Agri-processing ERP must handle commodity-specific requirements that standard food manufacturing ERP does not: scale-ticket integration, multi-grade inventory with moisture and quality adjustments, forward-contract and basis-contract accounting, producer settlements, and USDA regulatory reporting. A food manufacturing ERP focused on finished consumer products will lack these commodity-trading and primary-processing capabilities.
How does ERP integrate with a grain elevator management system?
Integration is typically via direct API or file-based exchange between the elevator management system (e.g., Agvance, Bushel, SILO) and the ERP. Scale tickets are imported as receiving transactions that post inventory and payables automatically. The key data elements are commodity, grade, moisture, net weight, and contract number. Middleware platforms such as MuleSoft or Azure Integration Services are commonly used for enterprise-grade integration.
How is co-product and by-product cost allocated in agri-processing ERP?
ERP systems support multiple joint-cost allocation methods: physical-quantity allocation (by weight or volume), market-value allocation (by relative selling price at split-off), and net realizable value (NRV) allocation. Most agri-processors use market-value or NRV allocation to distribute crushing or milling costs across primary products, secondary products, and by-products. The chosen method must be defined in ERP configuration before go-live as it affects all downstream cost and margin reporting.
Can ERP manage forward contracts and basis contracts for commodity merchandising?
Leading enterprise ERPs (SAP S/4HANA with Agricultural Contract Management, Oracle ERP Cloud, and some Dynamics 365 ISV solutions) support forward-contract and basis-contract management integrated with operational inventory. For mid-market processors, many use a specialist commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) platform that integrates with the ERP for financial settlement and inventory posting rather than managing positions natively in the ERP.
What USDA reporting requirements does ERP need to support for grain handlers?
Licensed grain warehouses must comply with USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) regulations and state grain warehouse licensing requirements. ERP must support warehouse receipt issuance and cancellation, grain bank position tracking, storage-liability calculation, annual inspection data submission, and audit-trail maintenance. Some states have additional reporting requirements for licensed elevators that must be configured as ERP reports.
How do I handle moisture and grade adjustments in commodity purchasing?
Commodity purchasing ERP modules apply grade-factor tables to adjust net payable weight and price from gross scale-ticket weight. For example, corn purchased at 20% moisture is discounted to a 15.5% standard moisture equivalent using published USDA discount schedules. These calculations should be native to the ERP or elevator system rather than performed on spreadsheets, as manual adjustments are a leading source of producer settlement disputes.
What is producer settlement and how does ERP automate it?
Producer settlement is the payment process by which a grain elevator or co-op pays farmers for commodities delivered under cash, contract, or deferred-payment arrangements. ERP automates settlement by calculating net proceeds (scale weight adjusted for moisture and grade, multiplied by contract price, less storage, drying, and checkoff deductions) and generating settlement checks or ACH payments with detailed statements. Automating this process reduces settlement errors and the associated risk of USDA or state agriculture department penalties.
How long does an agri-processing ERP implementation take?
Single-site grain elevators and agri-processors with fewer than 50 users can typically go live in 4 to 6 months. Mid-size multi-site operations with complex co-product accounting and forward-contract management should plan for 6 to 12 months. Large enterprise implementations for multi-location agri-processing networks commonly take 12 to 24 months, particularly where commodity trading system integration and producer-settlement parallel testing extend the timeline.
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