AggregateND.com is a website that will connect people who make and grow things in North Dakota to people who transport them and to people with storage space along transport routes - in other words, a website that helps you organize the carpool and "layover" stops for your produce (and even recyclables).

AggregateND's free listing and search service is centered around North Dakota producers - helping them find distributors so that they can make their own transport arrangements and aggregator arrangements if they need temporary en route storage.

Why Aggregate?

There is a need for an aggregated distribution resource for our smaller producers, whose production levels range in size from backyard gardens all the way to mid-size farms, as well as local distributors (including "Uncle Bob" who has some extra space in his truck) and aggregators.

• Producers - need to be able to say, for example, I produce 10 pounds of veggies or 30 cases of eggs per week, but I have no way to get them to the next county, does anyone know of a truck going there?
  
  
• Distributors - need to say, for example, I have a half-full refrigerated truck going all the way to the next county, is there anyone who needs my driver to pick up and deliver anything along the way?
  
  
• Aggregators (by which I mean people with space to store produce near transport routes for redistribution) need to be able to say, I have an extra 30 cubic feet of climate-controlled storage space, does anyone need to store their produce here to be picked up by someone else?

Producers, Distributors and Aggregators also need to be able to specify whether cargo or storage space is organic, because, in order to keep its organic certification, organic produce must not be commingled with regular produce during storage and transport. Some people are in more than one category (for instance, a producer can also be a distributor and aggregator), so the site will let members use it as flexibly as possible.

Aggregate's Purpose

It will contain a database of producers, distributors, and aggregators, which keeps track of how big or small they are, what producers require to transport or store their goods (such as refrigeration), what transport methods distributors have available, and what kinds of storage space aggregators have available (and what days/hours they are open for pickup/delivery).

The website will be able to aggregate that information and "spit out" results based on selected criteria. It will also have a map interface so that users can see what's available near them at a glance, it will allow users to choose whether they'd like to receive alerts that apply to them, have an automatic way of sending those alerts, a way of letting users unsubscribe or otherwise configure their subscriptions on their own, and a help/feedback component whereby users can submit questions, comments, and suggestions.

Thanks for looking - visit again soon!