Finding help online Click on agretailjobs.com to check out a new Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) Web site that connects employers with prospective employees.

Called America's Best, the site was founded by Sygenta Inc. and ARA and is cosponsored by Simplot, Case IH and Agriliance. Its goal is to notify qualified prospects of ag retail jobs. Retailers can post job openings on the site or search for potential employees. Prospective employees can search for jobs or register to be contacted for work. ARA also has printed recruitment support aids. For more information, contact ARA, 800/535-6272, or go to agretailjobs.com.

AgriClick.com AgriClick.com features the latest news, weather and information from Apply superscript *, Farm Industry News and eight other farm publications as well as daily farm news and market reports. The broad scope of the information allows you to keep up to date on current events as well as get in-depth reports to help in your business decisions. The site features up-to-the-minute news about corn, soybeans, wheat, cattle, hogs and dairy. It also follows major advances in ag technology and new products. Future plans call for discussion groups, bulletin boards, directories and e-commerce.

Need a wizard? After a year of operation, J. Terry Collins is optimistic about the future of AgWizard Inc. The company provides free business-to-business and business-to-customer Web sites for ag retailers.

AgWizard offers two basic Internet platforms. First, www.agwizard.com is a password-protected clearinghouse through which manufacturers sell directly to dealers via the Internet. Second, the firm provides customized e-commerce Web sites targeted to grower customers. The retail storefronts (about 1,200 to date) are flagged via a state/county directory on www.agridealer.com.

"We had a working relationship with about 5,000 retailers through our database management firm," Collins says. "Helping them take advantage of Internet business opportunities seemed logical at a time when other Web sites were attempting to bypass the traditional distribution channel, including dealers."

Over time, agwizard.com has become a site-specific catalog for retailers, based on purchasing history, explains Collins. Clients range from a major chemical company - Bayer Corporation - to equipment makers, parts distributors and other farm suppliers. "We believe we are the only retailer Internet site to date contracting with a major chemical manufacturer," Collins says.

On the agridealer.com site, a local retailer can list an unlimited number of hardware products and personalize the site with telephone numbers, local weather, agronomy notes, commodity prices or whatever.

AgWizard earns a transaction fee from the products and services supplier for each purchase made through the Internet. Retailers with agridealer.com storefronts also earn commissions on products purchased through their own virtual shopping mall. "Dealers aggressively promoting their own Internet shopping mall to local customers can generate significant cash flow," says Collins.

Contact AgWizard Inc., Dept. Apply superscript *, 7900 N.W. 100 St., Kansas City, MO 64153, e-mail: tcollins@agwizard.com.

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