diff --git a/app/controllers/crops_controller.rb b/app/controllers/crops_controller.rb
index a1fa97914..b258ea119 100644
--- a/app/controllers/crops_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/crops_controller.rb
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ class CropsController < ApplicationController
   # POST /crops
   # POST /crops.json
   def create
+    params[:crop][:creator_id] = current_member.id
     @crop = Crop.new(params[:crop])
 
     respond_to do |format|
diff --git a/app/controllers/scientific_names_controller.rb b/app/controllers/scientific_names_controller.rb
index cb65fc999..202c3942c 100644
--- a/app/controllers/scientific_names_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/scientific_names_controller.rb
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ class ScientificNamesController < ApplicationController
   # POST /scientific_names
   # POST /scientific_names.json
   def create
+    params[:scientific_name][:creator_id] = current_member.id
     @scientific_name = ScientificName.new(params[:scientific_name])
 
     respond_to do |format|
diff --git a/app/models/crop.rb b/app/models/crop.rb
index c8506be8a..46eadf535 100644
--- a/app/models/crop.rb
+++ b/app/models/crop.rb
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 class Crop < ActiveRecord::Base
   extend FriendlyId
   friendly_id :system_name, use: :slugged
-  attr_accessible :en_wikipedia_url, :system_name, :parent_id
+  attr_accessible :en_wikipedia_url, :system_name, :parent_id, :creator_id
 
   has_many :scientific_names
   has_many :plantings
   has_many :photos, :through => :plantings
   has_many :seeds
+  belongs_to :creator, :class_name => 'Member'
 
   belongs_to :parent, :class_name => 'Crop'
   has_many :varieties, :class_name => 'Crop', :foreign_key => 'parent_id'
diff --git a/app/models/scientific_name.rb b/app/models/scientific_name.rb
index 919b0639e..56c86b21b 100644
--- a/app/models/scientific_name.rb
+++ b/app/models/scientific_name.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 class ScientificName < ActiveRecord::Base
-  attr_accessible :crop_id, :scientific_name
+  attr_accessible :crop_id, :scientific_name, :creator_id
   belongs_to :crop
+  belongs_to :creator, :class_name => 'Member'
 end
diff --git a/app/views/crops/edit.html.haml b/app/views/crops/edit.html.haml
index 2806be189..135f74a7c 100644
--- a/app/views/crops/edit.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/crops/edit.html.haml
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
 - content_for :title, "Editing crop"
 
+%p
+  Added by
+  = @crop.creator
+  = distance_of_time_in_words(@crop.created_at, Time.zone.now)
+  ago.
+
 = render 'form'
+
diff --git a/app/views/scientific_names/edit.html.haml b/app/views/scientific_names/edit.html.haml
index 493ee3e44..db7f9bf71 100644
--- a/app/views/scientific_names/edit.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/scientific_names/edit.html.haml
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
 - content_for :title, "Edit scientific name"
 
+%p
+  Added by
+  = @scientific_name.creator
+  = distance_of_time_in_words(@scientific_name.created_at, Time.zone.now)
+  ago.
+
 = render 'form'
diff --git a/config/environments/development.rb b/config/environments/development.rb
index 211170993..8386b8486 100644
--- a/config/environments/development.rb
+++ b/config/environments/development.rb
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ Growstuff::Application.configure do
     config.site_name = "Growstuff (dev)"
     config.analytics_code = ''
     config.currency = 'AUD'
+    config.bot_email = "noreply@growstuff.org"
   end
 
   config.after_initialize do
diff --git a/config/environments/production.rb b/config/environments/production.rb
index 08feba071..06952e9db 100644
--- a/config/environments/production.rb
+++ b/config/environments/production.rb
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ Growstuff::Application.configure do
       <noscript><p><img alt="Clicky" width="1" height="1" src="//in.getclicky.com/100594260ns.gif" /></p></noscript>
     eos
     config.currency = 'AUD'
+    config.bot_email = "noreply@growstuff.org"
   end
 
   config.after_initialize do
diff --git a/config/environments/staging.rb b/config/environments/staging.rb
index 24f77f035..75cece50d 100644
--- a/config/environments/staging.rb
+++ b/config/environments/staging.rb
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ Growstuff::Application.configure do
     config.site_name = "Growstuff (staging)"
     config.analytics_code = ''
     config.currency = 'AUD'
+    config.bot_email = "noreply@growstuff.org"
   end
 
   config.after_initialize do
diff --git a/config/environments/test.rb b/config/environments/test.rb
index 6718e2e84..9d6affbe0 100644
--- a/config/environments/test.rb
+++ b/config/environments/test.rb
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ Growstuff::Application.configure do
     config.site_name = "Growstuff (test)"
     config.analytics_code = ''
     config.currency = 'AUD'
+    config.bot_email = "noreply@growstuff.org"
   end
 
   config.after_initialize do
diff --git a/db/migrate/20130821011352_add_creator_to_crops.rb b/db/migrate/20130821011352_add_creator_to_crops.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4da89b8d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20130821011352_add_creator_to_crops.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+class AddCreatorToCrops < ActiveRecord::Migration
+  def change
+    add_column :crops, :creator_id, :integer
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/migrate/20130821073736_add_creator_to_scientific_name.rb b/db/migrate/20130821073736_add_creator_to_scientific_name.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0905a5c40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20130821073736_add_creator_to_scientific_name.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+class AddCreatorToScientificName < ActiveRecord::Migration
+  def change
+    add_column :scientific_names, :creator_id, :integer
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/schema.rb b/db/schema.rb
index 770254e64..5a131b028 100644
--- a/db/schema.rb
+++ b/db/schema.rb
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 #
 # It's strongly recommended to check this file into your version control system.
 
-ActiveRecord::Schema.define(:version => 20130819004549) do
+ActiveRecord::Schema.define(:version => 20130821073736) do
 
   create_table "account_types", :force => true do |t|
     t.string   "name",              :null => false
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ ActiveRecord::Schema.define(:version => 20130819004549) do
     t.string   "slug"
     t.integer  "parent_id"
     t.integer  "plantings_count"
+    t.integer  "creator_id"
   end
 
   add_index "crops", ["slug"], :name => "index_crops_on_slug", :unique => true
@@ -233,6 +234,7 @@ ActiveRecord::Schema.define(:version => 20130819004549) do
     t.integer  "crop_id",         :null => false
     t.datetime "created_at",      :null => false
     t.datetime "updated_at",      :null => false
+    t.integer  "creator_id"
   end
 
   create_table "seeds", :force => true do |t|
diff --git a/db/seeds.rb b/db/seeds.rb
index 91ba3823a..e0f9c3792 100644
--- a/db/seeds.rb
+++ b/db/seeds.rb
@@ -12,9 +12,10 @@ require 'csv'
 
 def load_data
   # for all Growstuff sites, including production ones
-  load_crops
   load_roles
   load_basic_account_types
+  create_cropbot
+  load_crops
 
   # for development environments only
   if Rails.env.development?
@@ -27,17 +28,18 @@ def load_data
   puts "Done!"
 end
 
-
 def load_crops
   puts "Loading crops..."
   CSV.foreach(Rails.root.join('db', 'seeds', 'crops.csv')) do |row|
     system_name,scientific_name,en_wikipedia_url = row
     @crop = Crop.create(
       :system_name => system_name,
-      :en_wikipedia_url => en_wikipedia_url
+      :en_wikipedia_url => en_wikipedia_url,
+      :creator_id => @cropbot_user.id
     )
     @crop.scientific_names.create(
-      :scientific_name => scientific_name
+      :scientific_name => scientific_name,
+      :creator_id => @cropbot_user.id
     )
   end
   puts "Finished loading crops"
@@ -102,6 +104,20 @@ def load_admin_users
   @wrangler_user.save!
 end
 
+def create_cropbot
+  @cropbot_user = Member.create(
+    :login_name => "cropbot",
+    :email => Growstuff::Application.config.bot_email,
+    :password => SecureRandom.urlsafe_base64(64),
+    :tos_agreement => true
+  )
+  @cropbot_user.confirm!
+  @cropbot_user.roles << @wrangler
+  @cropbot_user.save!
+  @cropbot_user.account.account_type = AccountType.find_by_name("Staff")
+  @cropbot_user.account.save
+end
+
 def load_paid_account_types
   puts "Adding 'paid' and 'seed' account types..."
   @paid_account = AccountType.create!(
diff --git a/lib/tasks/growstuff.rake b/lib/tasks/growstuff.rake
index 47a2a0416..8b9a1bada 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/growstuff.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/growstuff.rake
@@ -128,9 +128,24 @@ namespace :growstuff do
       Crop.find_each do |c|
         Crop.reset_counters c.id, :plantings
       end
-
     end
 
-  end
+    desc "August 2013: set default creator on existing crops"
+    task :set_default_crop_creator => :environment do
 
+      cropbot = Member.find_by_login_name("cropbot")
+      raise "cropbot not found: create cropbot member on site or run rake db:seed" unless cropbot
+      cropbot.account.account_type = AccountType.find_by_name("Staff") # set this just because it's nice
+      cropbot.account.save
+      Crop.find_each do |crop|
+        crop.creator = cropbot
+        crop.save
+      end
+      ScientificName.find_each do |sn|
+        sn.creator = cropbot
+        sn.save
+      end
+
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/script/deploy-tasks.sh b/script/deploy-tasks.sh
index 41cd8f50c..c7b85de08 100755
--- a/script/deploy-tasks.sh
+++ b/script/deploy-tasks.sh
@@ -8,3 +8,6 @@
 
 echo "2013-08-18 - reset crop planting counts"
 rake growstuff:oneoff:reset_crop_plantings_count
+
+echo "2013-08-21 - set default crop creator"
+rake growstuff:oneoff:set_default_crop_creator
diff --git a/spec/factories/crop.rb b/spec/factories/crop.rb
index 76fd31433..108aad7f8 100644
--- a/spec/factories/crop.rb
+++ b/spec/factories/crop.rb
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ FactoryGirl.define do
   factory :crop do
     system_name "Magic bean"
     en_wikipedia_url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_bean"
+    creator
 
     factory :tomato do
       system_name "Tomato"
diff --git a/spec/factories/member.rb b/spec/factories/member.rb
index 5e5b7f455..c1be268b7 100644
--- a/spec/factories/member.rb
+++ b/spec/factories/member.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ FactoryGirl.define do
   sequence(:email) { |n| "member#{n}@example.com" }
   sequence(:login_name) { |n| "member#{n}" }
 
-  factory :member, aliases: [:author, :owner, :sender, :recipient] do
+  factory :member, aliases: [:author, :owner, :sender, :recipient, :creator] do
     login_name { generate(:login_name) }
     password 'password1'
     email { generate(:email) }
diff --git a/spec/factories/scientific_name.rb b/spec/factories/scientific_name.rb
index e1bffb5cd..43d9ad74a 100644
--- a/spec/factories/scientific_name.rb
+++ b/spec/factories/scientific_name.rb
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ FactoryGirl.define do
   factory :scientific_name do
     association :crop, factory: :crop
     scientific_name "Beanus Magicus"
+    creator
 
     factory :zea_mays do
       association :crop, factory: :maize
diff --git a/spec/models/crop_spec.rb b/spec/models/crop_spec.rb
index b1363004a..55386a7b4 100644
--- a/spec/models/crop_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/crop_spec.rb
@@ -23,6 +23,11 @@ describe Crop do
       @crop.to_s.should == 'Tomato'
       "#{@crop}".should == 'Tomato'
     end
+
+    it 'has a creator' do
+      @crop.save
+      @crop.creator.should be_an_instance_of Member
+    end
   end
 
   context 'invalid data' do
diff --git a/spec/models/scientific_name_spec.rb b/spec/models/scientific_name_spec.rb
index 7cfe62ea1..98734ec5a 100644
--- a/spec/models/scientific_name_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/scientific_name_spec.rb
@@ -16,6 +16,11 @@ describe ScientificName do
       @sn2 = ScientificName.find_by_scientific_name('Zea mays')
       @sn2.crop.system_name.should == "Maize"
     end
+
+    it 'has a creator' do
+      @sn.save
+      @sn.creator.should be_an_instance_of Member
+    end
   end
 
   context 'invalid data' do
diff --git a/spec/views/crops/edit.html.haml_spec.rb b/spec/views/crops/edit.html.haml_spec.rb
index f8b3a4477..de5503b5b 100644
--- a/spec/views/crops/edit.html.haml_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/views/crops/edit.html.haml_spec.rb
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ describe "crops/edit" do
     render
   end
 
+  it "shows the creator" do
+    rendered.should contain "Added by #{@crop.creator} less than a minute ago."
+  end
+
   it "renders the edit crop form" do
     assert_select "form", :action => crops_path(@crop), :method => "post" do
       assert_select "input#crop_system_name", :name => "crop[system_name]"
diff --git a/spec/views/scientific_names/edit.html.haml_spec.rb b/spec/views/scientific_names/edit.html.haml_spec.rb
index 30e195f52..1b48c51cd 100644
--- a/spec/views/scientific_names/edit.html.haml_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/views/scientific_names/edit.html.haml_spec.rb
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ describe "scientific_names/edit" do
       render
     end
 
+  it "shows the creator" do
+    rendered.should contain "Added by #{@scientific_name.creator} less than a minute ago."
+  end
+
     it "renders the edit scientific_name form" do
       assert_select "form", :action => scientific_names_path(@scientific_name), :method => "post" do
         assert_select "input#scientific_name_scientific_name", :name => "scientific_name[scientific_name]"