Cooperative Ventures, a joint venture between US agri co-ops CHS and Growmark, has announced an investment in OpenTug, an AI-native logistics technology company working on inland and coastal marine transportation.
The agri co-ops says Cooperative Ventures focuses on investing in agtech startups and developing mutually beneficial commercial relationships between startups and cooperative partners that deliver long-term value for farmers, co-operatives and the broader agricultural supply chain.
CHS adds that it is also working to implement the barge management system to build additional efficiency in the company’s supply chain.
OpenTug’s BargeOS is designed to optimise marine logistics by streamlining commercial planning, voyage management, invoice reconciliation and reporting in one unified platform.
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It says this technology enables shippers and carriers to create the most value by reducing idle barge days, improving ETA prediction accuracy and minimizing demurrage charges. By combining integrated barge GPS monitoring with BargeOS Autopilot’s automated ingestion of traffic reports and operational emails, it promises users a “comprehensive, real-time view of barge movements and voyage activity”.
Together, says CHS, these capabilities are helping OpenTug drive stronger customer ROI and optimise the overall grain supply chain.
“Partnering with CHS and Growmark allows us to accelerate digital transformation across one of America’s most critical supply chains,” said Jason Aristides, CEO of OpenTug. “With BargeOS, we’re turning data into actionable insights that help co-operatives and farmers move product more efficiently, reduce waste, and strengthen return on investment. This collaboration represents a shared commitment to innovation that benefits every link in the agricultural ecosystem.”
“Co-operatives rely on resilient, cost-effective transportation to move grain, fertilizer and other key products efficiently through the supply chain,” said David Black, executive vice president and chief information officer at CHS. “OpenTug’s platform offers a digital bridge to improve visibility and coordination across marine freight networks, and this investment will ultimately help our supply chain and the cooperative system become more efficient so we can deliver more value to our farmer-owners.”
The goal is that, with better visibility and coordination, partners using OpenTug’s digital tools will be able to move more cargo with fewer barges. This added transparency is also designed to help co-operatives respond more quickly to disruptions, ensuring continuity in the movement of agricultural goods.
“OpenTug’s platform has the potential to revolutionize how products move through the river system,” says Heather Thompson, enterprise marketing executive director at Growmark. “This investment will help strengthen the supply chains that depend on barges to move product to the right place at the right time, ultimately enabling us to better serve our farmer customers.”
OpenTug joins a growing portfolio of companies within Cooperative Ventures, “delivering solutions that improve productivity, sustainability and profitability across the agricultural value chain”.
