Issue 31 - Fram Farmers
Transcription
Issue 31 - Fram Farmers
What’s in this issue: 5. 11. 13. 15. Learning from the experts Ag Chem financed by grain Buy-back contract on Skyfall Maize advice from Grainseed 5 11 13 15 Farmers cooperating Beet Group’s 30th anniversary The Wickham Beet Group in Suffolk, which will be 30 years old in 2014, recently joined AtlasFram to further benefit its Members by helping to contain its operating costs. We met up with Nigel Holland, who was one of the founders and the man responsible for planning its annual campaign since day one. What started as an idea conceived by two neighbouring farmers as a means of reducing the cost of harvesting their sugar beet has, since 1984, developed into a highly successful group involving 11 local farming businesses which collectively grow 3250 acres of the crop. As Members of the Wickham Beet Group they share in the benefits of mutual cooperation, a concept with which they are very familiar as almost all are individual Members of AtlasFram. The Group started when neighbouring Suffolk farmers Nigel Holland and Richard Hayward, who each grew 70 acres of sugar beet, concluded that instead of individually operating their own single-row harvesters they could both significantly reduce their costs by cooperating. That year their respective farming businesses, H.J. Holland & Sons and R. Hayward & Son, invested in a three-row Standen harvester. Immediately, the two originators began to benefit from faster, lower-cost harvesting and others became interested in the concept. Before long Nigel and Richard had been joined by four other local farming businesses, J.H. Kemball, Greenfield Farms, F.C. Taylor & Son and Vernon Wentworth. Between them the six Members grew 1000 acres of sugar beet, all of which was destined for processing at British Sugar’s Ipswich factory. To handle the greater acreage they invested £49,000 in the first six-row Matrot sugar beet harvester to be sold in the UK by importer Melford Machinery. In addition to the significant cost reductions which resulted from the use of a single shared harvester there were other benefits, not least of which was the ability to lift beet at the most opportune time. Members with heavy land wanted their crops lifted early, while those on light land wanted to wait and the Group’s ability to meet these disparate requirements made a significant difference to the individual farms, particularly in a difficult season. It’s a ‘Pick and Mix’ New Year! By Mark Haydon, Managing Partner This year has kicked off with encouraging boosts for the region’s small to medium agriculture linked enterprises through both grants and government help for all businesses looking to expand. However, as we emerge from the dampest winter on record, tax planning should now be almost complete. Let’s look first at those Agri-Tech Grants. They are a welcome double lift for farmers and the local agricultural sector in general with the launch, through the Eastern AgriTech Initiative, of two grant schemes totalling £2.5m. Under the Agri-Tech Growth Fund, grants of between £25,000 - £150,000 will support product development and improve agricultural productivity. The second is a £540,000 Research, Development and Prototyping Fund, to help support R & D of new products or processes. The grants range from £10,000 - £60,000. SMEs like farms, food manufacturers and engineering businesses that support the agricultural or food manufacturing supplychains, are all eligible. Growth Vouchers Whiting & Partners was among the first local accountancy firms to accept the Government's Growth Vouchers, which began last month. We’re excited to be part of the program and look forward to helping local SMEs achieve their aims and objectives. Our specialist and industry sector teams are always searching for government support to reinforce our activities and so reduce costs for clients and non-clients alike. Good opportunities like this do not occur very often. Growth and development assistance is also available through the government sponsored Growth Accelerator Programme. If you intend to move your business forward and grow turnover, staff numbers, capacity or all three, then this is worth consideration. Tax Planning Most of us welcome the coming of a new year on the eve of December 31; some celebrate the Chinese New Year on January 31, and my colleagues in general practice accounts delayed their celebrations until February 1. However, those working on taxation are governed by a series of year-round dates. April 5, less than a month away, is probably the most important. It signals the end of the tax year and a line can be drawn under a number of annual reliefs and exemptions. The new tax year approaches, so it’s time to make sure all of the current year’s allowances have been used. Personal allowance, ISA allowances and capital gains tax exemption are all reliefs that operate on an annual fiscal basis. They cannot be carried forward from one tax year to another, use them or lose them! The annual allowance for pension savings can be carried forward from year to year, but with a time limit attached. And again, April 5 is the key date by which some unused relief must be used or lost. www.whitingandpartners.co.uk Most exemptions operate on an individual basis and this dull month of February lends itself for reviewing your tax affairs and ensuring that you will use up all the reliefs and allowances that might otherwise disappear on April 6. So despite the miserable weather, wintertime blues and the Ides of March upon us, it does seem that we really could have something to celebrate in this the early part of 2014 - so Happy New Year, whenever it may be! Mark Haydon Whiting & Partners Farming Group T: 01354 652304 E: [email protected] Greenwood House, Greenwood Court, Skyliner Way, Bury St Edmunds IP32 7GY Registered to carry on audit work and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of C hartered A ccountants in England and W ales. Founded over 80 years ago, Whiting & Partners now have eight offices across East Anglia with 15 partners and 130 staff. An independent firm, we offer traditional accountancy practice alongside many specialist and niche services. For more information call 01284 752313 CEO Comment Innovation is the key Innovation is at the heart of AtlasFram and a key driver for new initiatives. As your ‘eyes and ears’ we’re always looking out for what’s coming over the horizon, be it something that will benefit your business or may threaten it. Our team of professionals constantly monitor market fundamentals, enabling them to spot and assess changes in trends, which we use to help you stay ahead of the game. An excellent example is the fertiliser pool which we launched in March 2013 to enable you to benefit from highly competitive prices for urea, reduce your exposure to volatile markets and provide guaranteed delivery. It has been a great success and saved some of you £15£20/t, a sizeable benefit that could not have been obtained elsewhere. Now, we are extending the concept to Ammonium Nitrate. Fuel is a major input and the importance of having a fixed price plus guaranteed delivery led to a quadrupling of the volume which AtlasFram purchased at 64.45ppl on behalf of participating Members last harvest. We have just finalised a pilot scheme for longer-term fixed price purchasing which will enable those involved to purchase fuel up to 12 months in advance. More details to follow! On page 11 you can read about the exciting AFG (Ag-Chem Financed by Grain) initiative which will enable those who commit grain to our Crop Marketing Department to purchase your ag-chem requirements now, but delay payment until September, thereby helping cash-flow, so important to Members given the pressures of last year’s harvest. Innovation is also taking many other forms, one of which was suggested by Ian Caley, our Group Accountant, who enjoys flying micro-aircraft. Utilising his extensive knowledge we have invested in a Quadcopter, a small, highly-advanced aerial surveillance/imaging platform to carry out ‘precision field walking’. The Quadcopter is used to ‘fly’ fields initially and quickly highlight problem areas that need to be walked, helping the agronomist to prioritise their workload. We are currently developing a commercial package for this service, so watch this space! At AtlasFram we’re doing some smart things with electronics, an example being our new PDF Hub. This enables suppliers to send invoices as PDF files, which are read electronically and the information entered automatically into our accounts system. This enables us to operate much more efficiently and keep costs to a minimum. Our new Members’ website has been very well received. It enables you to look up previous orders, place orders 24/7, search and book events and track grain traded through our Crop Marketing Department, to name but a few. It’s a massive step forward in interactive technology and puts us ahead in our sector. If you have not already logged on to the Members area, I would urge you to do so. Benchmarking your farm against other comparable farms is essential to improve business performance. AtlasFram would like to hear from Members who would value a group benchmarking service. Given enough demand, we will put together a new benchmarking service, based on anonymised Member data and available exclusively to Members. If you are interested, please let me know. Finally, I’d like to highlight EDGE Apprenticeships in Food & Farming, an innovative initiative which was launched 12 months ago to help tackle the skills shortages and widening age gap in these sectors. This industry-led scheme, in which AtlasFram is a partner, aims to develop and employ young people, equipping them with the skills for a long, rewarding career. By 2021 14% fewer 20-year-olds will be available to work in farming, so if you’re having a problem recruiting staff now it will only get worse, unless we all take action now. That may mean taking on an apprentice so you can pass on your skills or simply using every opportunity to tell those who are not involved in agriculture what exciting career opportunities it can offer young people. Richard Anscombe Chief Executive AtlasFram Group Limited Station Road, Framlingham Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 9EE Tel: 01728 727700 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 01728 727701 Every precaution has been taken to ensure that the material published in Farmers First is accurate at the time of printing. For further details about any of the information featured in this edition please call Ashley Gilman at the AtlasFram Group on 01728 727700, or Julian Cooksley at Kendalls PR on 01394 610022. 3 Member Profile – Wickham Beet Group (Continued from page 1) After four years the Group replaced its original Matrot six-row harvester with another similar model and after a similar period a tanker machine from Holmer was purchased to meet the requirement for greater harvesting capacity. The need for this had come about after more local farming businesses had joined the Group, including Capel St. Andrew Farms, Greenwell Farms, Raymond Herring and Westrope Farming. A.W. Mortier came on board some 10 years ago after they decided not to replace their own six-row self-propelled harvester and were joined in 2008 by F. G. Taylor & Sons. Planning is the key With a number of its Members growing sugar beet on heavy land, planning the harvesting campaign carefully to ensure that all gain maximum benefit is essential. Starting in September the campaign normally runs until December, with each Member entitled to have 40% of their beet lifted by the end of October, a further 30% in November and the remainder in December and January. The key to that lies in meticulous planning and the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. Each year in August, Wickham Beet Group Members provide Nigel with details of their crop, tell him when they will want them harvested and provide a map showing field and clamp locations. Nigel then produces a harvesting plan which is given to each of the Members and the harvesting team. He also visits each site with the British Sugar- appointed haulier to GPS-log the location of every clamp, which helps to minimise any issues that may arise when loading the Group’s quota of 520 loads per four-week period. Equipped with a 28m³ holding which can be discharged in less than 40 seconds via a 1.85m-wide elevator, the T3 also has fourwheel/automatic steering and runs on 900/60 R32 front tyres, with 6020/70 R38 on the rear axle. Higher output Harvesting six rows and operating at 6-8 kph, the £450,000-plus machine has harvested up to 52 acres of sugar beet in a 10.5-hour working day on heavy land and 63 acres in 12 hours on light land. Operating alongside it is a Holmer Terra Variant sugar beet chaser, which greatly reduces the amount of ‘racking’ caused by tractors and trailers running in the field when conditions are difficult, a problem which has even made some growers on heavy land think about giving up the crop. Using a dedicated chaser wagon to cart beet from the harvester to a field-edge clamp, where it is loaded by a Maus self-propelled cleaner loader onto a lorry parked on the road, the system also avoids the problem of tractors and trailers depositing mud on public roads. The Wickham Beet Group operates on a notfor-profit basis and has worked well for its Members. One of the big advantages, says Nigel, is that because it operates entirely for Latest Holmer T3 harvester, driven by David Cunnell who works for Group Member Westrope Farming, is a major advance on its predecessor, delivering 20% greater daily output. 4 the Members it can be very flexible, the aim being to avoid rejections caused by disease or frost. Three years ago, for example, frost was a major problem for many growers and countless beet were either left un-harvested or rejected by the factory. During that period the Group worked together very closely to minimise the impact of frost damage by carefully monitoring crops and then managing the harvesting and clamping operations accordingly. As a result, across the entire Group only two loads were lost out of more than 1500. Having experienced every conceivable combination of crops and conditions over the last 30 years, Nigel has no doubts about the benefits which the Group provides for its Members, some of whom would otherwise have given up growing the crop. He also appreciates the benefits of belonging to AtlasFram, through which all spares and fuel are purchased, generating significant savings in operating costs, which directly benefit the Members. John Taylor, Chairman of the Wickham Beet Group, states: “As individual Members of AtlasFram we all appreciate the benefits of cooperation, which is part of the reason that the Wickham Beet Group works so well. “The biggest advantage has to be the benefits of purchasing fuel and Ad Blue through the Group. Philip and David, who operate the machines, are now responsible for ordering the fuel they need in the field and can do so in the knowledge that AtlasFram are managing both the cost and delivery, which could be to any of the Members’ farms on which we operate. This is a very, very flexible system and means that they only need to make one ‘phone call, knowing that the fuel will be delivered to them on time and in the correct location. “Last year was an expensive season to lift beet, but we have noticed that the new harvester uses a lot less fuel per hectare than the previous machine, added to which AtlasFram are achieving better prices, which is the icing on the cake. Achieving a low cost of harvesting is very important for the group. I am also very pleased with the condition in which we have left the Members’ fields after harvesting their beet, helping to protect following crops.” Next Generation Council Learning from the experts via Twitter, rather than the information which AtlasFram had sent to his father, Tim realised that there was a potential information gap between generations. Talking about it with neighbouring young farmer James Schwier, he realised that this was becoming increasingly common in the farming sector. The Next Generation Council, which was formed to ensure that AtlasFram remains relevant to young farmers, was recently addressed by Douglas Inglis, Farms Director – East Anglia and South East – for Velcourt, Europe’s leading Farming Company. The company’s Direct Farm Management Business, which incorporates 88 clients, 41 business units and 52,800 ha, also has 41 advisory clients in the arable and dairy sectors. One of those who attended was Tim Galloway (pictured), who was instrumental in founding the Next Generation Council. Tim is involved in his family’s business which specialises in whole farm contracting throughout Essex. In addition to their own 250 acres, the business now operates 1800 acres of contract farming arrangements, as well as contract spraying an additional 700 acres and carrying out a large amount of contract Avadex application. Having found out about a forthcoming Pie & Pint meeting To try to fill the void he and James invited AtlasFram’s Group Business Manager Ashley Gilman to visit and from that discussion the Next Generation Council was born. Since then, AtlasFram has also made increasing use of Twitter as a way of communicating information to its younger members. Having studied agriculture at Writtle and Plumpton, Tim has been involved in his family farming business for the last six years. An active member of Young Farmers, most recently as Chairman of Ongar Young Farmers, as well as a number of other farming-related organisations, he values the benefits of AtlasFram membership and is keen to see the Group continue to lead the way. “AtlasFram is very forward thinking in its approach and I like that. To keep it moving forward it will be essential to involve the younger generation so that there is a constant flush of new people coming through who are enthusiastic about the agricultural industry, passionate about their own businesses and willing to contribute their experiences, knowledge and vision. “The Next Generation Council has been going for about a year now and has around 25 members, but interest is really starting to pick up. We have two meetings a year, in June and December, at which everyone is involved in the discussion. There are many people out there who, like me, are reaching the end of their time in Young Farmers and the Next Generation Council provides an exciting, intellectually stimulating environment through which they can channel their enthusiasm for the industry and really make a difference.” Ashley Gilman adds: “It is exciting to have been involved in the Next Generation Council from the outset, helping to get it up and running at a time when succession planning and good management are so important. Earlier in my career I was very fortunate to have worked as a Farm Manager for Velcourt and had the benefit of fantastic support from the company’s highly experienced Farms Directors. Such a structured programme for developing management skills is rare within the farming industry and a key challenge of coming into a farm business is gaining the respect of the workforce. Velcourt are particularly skilled in this area and have an excellent infrastructure for developing their staff, which is why I asked Doug to pass on the benefits of his experience at the last meeting.” AtlasFram is currently organising the next meeting of the Next Generation Council, which will be held in June, include a visit to a farming business and feature a guest speaker to promote further discussion and learning. Future Grain gain EIS approval Future Grain, the Beccles based advanced processing and grain storage facility has received advanced assurance of its EIS tax relief status from HMRC. As a result, eligible farmers could receive a 30% saving on the investment under the EIS scheme. Future Grain, which was awarded a £1 million grant by Defra to build a ‘state of the art’ grain processing facility, will start work on the first phase already in place to increase the size of the facility further. of 10,000 tonnes within the next few months. Phase two will add a further 17,000 tonnes of storage and plans are Future Grain will be a farmer-owned business, with the grain marketing carried out by AtlasFram and Dewing Grain. 5 Supplier Profile – Abel Energy Solar PV scheme improves farm energy security and income With energy prices continuing to rise, the need for energy security has never been greater, particularly in the energyintensive agricultural industry, which is also under pressure to demonstrate its green credentials within the supply chain. To be eligible for the FIT the installation must be carried out by an installer who is registered under the Micro Generation Certification Scheme (MCS). In accordance with MCS, an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) - Band D or above - is required to receive the higher rate of FIT. D J Raker Ltd, a farming business based at Croxton in Norfolk which produces arable crops and vegetables, has been a Member of AtlasFram since 2009 and purchases its electricity through the Group. In the case of D J Raker an EPC exemption letter was required because their system is ground-mounted. Planning permission had already been obtained, a condition of it being granted was that a hedge be planted at the back of the array to provide screening. Due to the size of the system a G59 was also required by the Distribution Network Operator (DNO). A G59 is a consent from the DNO to connect to the national grid, and is required for larger systems. The output of the installation is greater than 30 kW therefore an export meter was fitted to calculate the amount of kWh exported by the system into the national grid. Completed in October 2013, the Raker project took 10 days and involved the installation of 200 JA Solar 250w panels, which were fitted to a MAGE aluminium frame and fixed in place using helical screws. The panels are connected to three SMA Tripower TL inverters which convert the DC which is generated by the array into AC for consumption. The array is connected to a pump housing fuse box. Sited on half an acre of poor agricultural land, the installation has already produced 6502.4 kWh, which equates to £806.29 of FIT income. This output was achieved from October to February, the worst months for solar generation, and the output is set to quadruple during the summer months. At the start of 2013, brothers Henry and Edward Raker began looking at the possibility of investing in renewable technologies to reduce the farm’s electrical overheads whilst making a return on their financial outlay thanks to government incentives. Having looked at a number of technologies, including an anaerobic digester, they concluded that Solar PV was the most attractive option because of its minimal maintenance costs. In June, an on-site survey was conducted by Abel Energy, a preferred installer of the AtlasFram Group, following which D J Raker opted to install a 50 kW groundmounted solar array. Solar PV is eligible for the Government Feed in Tariff (FIT) and although the rates vary based on the size of installation, it is guaranteed for 20 years, retail price indexed and regulated by OFGEM. Combined with the export tariff and import savings, the installation of Solar PV offers a secondary tax-free income with a return on investment which is usually greater than that available from a High Street bank. Henry Raker 6 Not only are Henry and Edward Raker now benefiting from a secondary income but are also able to use the electricity which is produced to irrigate during summer months, without needing to import any electricity. The brothers commented: “The planning process and installation were managed very efficiently. We are happy with the service provided and would recommend Abel Energy to any others who are contemplating installing a scheme of this type.” Abel Energy estimate that during Year 1 Raker’s installation should generate £5937 in FIT, produce £1096 in export income and save £2007 in electricity import costs, a total of £9040, which is equivalent to a return on investment of 15.9%. These figures are based on a FIT tariff of 12.57p and an export tariff of 4.64p Abel Energy is a family run Norfolk based company supplying turnkey renewables within East Anglia. Working with AtlasFram it is able to offer Members a 5% discount on installation. For further details contact Abel Energy on 01953 88 44 86 or go to www.abelenergy.co.uk. Website update The development of the AtlasFram website has created a number of major benefits for members and more will undoubtedly follow. A key advantage of the new website is on-line ordering, which is seeing rapidly increasing usage. Since the service was launched last year we have received an average of 250 orders per month, even through the winter. Once the growing season begins in earnest we expect that number to increase significantly. Over the last 12 months we have noticed that farming businesses are changing their web browser, with many moving away from Internet Explorer to newer products. We have therefore commissioned new development work on the website to ensure that all browsers are supported, including Internet Explorer 8, 9, 10 and 11, together with Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera will all be available from April onwards. More than 50 per cent of Members now use the website to view their accounts or place orders, more than we originally envisaged at this stage, highlighting just how useful Members are finding this service. More than 40% of the orders placed on-line are now made outside of normal office hours. It is important to stress that the motive behind the development of on-line ordering is purely to make it more convenient for Members, allowing you to place orders out of hours, 24/7, and providing remote access to all the information you need to operate your business. It also means that rather than simply being ‘order takers’ the highlyskilled staff are able to spend more of their time more productively giving Members professional advice on the markets and prices, which we regard as being much more of an added benefit. On-line ordering will also allow us to capture and aggregate orders, making processing those orders more efficient. The speed of this process is efficient for Members on farm as well. For example, a farm business placed three fuel orders in under one minute on one particular day. It is a win-win situation, creating benefits for members and enabling AtlasFram to operate more efficiently, which will ultimately allow us to further improve the service and prices we offer. To extend the capabilities of the website we have just commissioned an ordering App which will require only the smallest amount of signal to operate and enable Members to place orders online even when they are out of range of a 3G signal. The FREE App will be available in the Apple and Android stores by June. 7 Supplier Profile – DuPont Had a good wash lately? The focus this spring will very much be on good sprayer hygiene practice such as tank washout. “Don’t cut corners by not cleaning out the sprayer properly before switching crops. Some herbicides require a more stringent washout procedure than others,” says DuPont herbicide product manager Mike Ashworth. “DuPont only support the use of All Clear® Extra with its SU’s and those ALS tank mixes approved on its label as these have all been tested for washout safety. Generic SU’s have not been tested and so cannot be supported.” Growers should always consult product labels for specific washout requirements, he advises. DuPont’s SU herbicides, branded SX, have numerous advantages over the older DF formulations, such as being fully soluble in water, so the active ingredient is available in an optimal form and therefore works more consistently under a range of environmental conditions. Better solubility means there are no particles to settle out in the sprayer, which leads to a much lower risk of washout issues onto sensitive crops. “With the new SX washout procedure, sprayer tank-washout times and washing volumes can typically be reduced by up to 80% compared with the washout procedure for older SU herbicides,” says Mr Ashworth. Sprayer design can also help minimise the risks of cross contamination and washout issues. Here are some tips from Chafer Machinery Ltd to make the most of cleaning a Guardian trailed sprayer with All Clear® Extra. SPRAYER WASHOUT TIPS • Spray nozzles – use clean water to clean nozzle body and tip • Triple/quad nozzle bodies – turn nozzles to remove trapped residue • Purge the spraylines – removes residue left inside pipework and at sprayline ends • Sprayers fitted with low pressure purge (i.e. non air shut off) – open the purge valve and run spray lines at full pressure one at a time • Sprayers fitted with air shut off – purge the spraylines at high pressure • Filter – don’t just rinse. Remove and clean manually with brush and leave to soak in All Clear® Extra. Having a spare filter mesh is recommended. Also rinse bottom of filter housing • Induction hopper – clean thoroughly, including around the rim • Main tank – run rinse system at high pressure and recirculate the wash water • Open agitator jet as this will swirl liquid at the bottom of the tank • Wet tank sight gauges – check sight tube is thoroughly washed. Drain it numerous times • Pump – clean by recirculating wash water. Diaphragm pumps can trap chemical between the diaphragms and non-returns. Drain the hose from the base of the pump as this is an area of possible contamination/sediment build-up • In field sprayer wash down. All new sprayers are fitted with a wash reel for this purpose • Sprayer valves – turning valves to all positions ensures every pipe is cleaned and that all sections are turned on/off separately from each other • Pressure regulation valve – once rinsed on high pressure, make sure pressure is lowered too, otherwise residues may be left on the return side of the valve • Tank drain – open the tank drain valves to make sure some rinse liquid comes out. There is a sediment trap above the ball. Washout – best practice • Always start with a clean sprayer • Ensure sprayer is maintained in good working order and is regularly checked under the NST scheme. • Always follow product labels, paying particular attention to: - compatibility guidance - specific washout requirements • Ensure sprayer is thoroughly cleaned when moving between crops • Ensure all visible chemical deposits are removed. 9 Ag Chem Financed by Grain Scheme Atlasfram launches scheme to help Members’ cashflow Two difficult harvests, lower prices for agricultural commodities and rising input costs have meant that this season’s cash flow is under particular pressure on some farms. To help Members who may find themselves in this situation AtlasFram has launched its AFG (Ag-chem Financed by Grain) initiative. This will enable those with grain committed to our Crop Marketing Department to purchase their ag-chem requirements now, but delay payment until September, three months beyond the normal payment-due date in June. “We are looking to help Members because it fits in with the ethos of the AtlasFram Group, which operates purely to serve the best interests of those who belong to and own it,” explains Andrew Merton, Crop Inputs Manger. “We send out early-order forms for ag-chems in February and products are delivered onto farms in March, April and May. Payment normally falls due in June, so Members have to settle the invoice for these products up to three months before they receive any income from that crop, which puts pressure on cash flow in the run up to and during harvest. “While recognising the fundamental importance of cash flow on our own business, it has given AtlasFram the opportunity to leverage the size of our business and our unique position, as the foremost purchasing and grain marketing co-operative in the UK, to provide another real benefit back to our Membership at a time when they really need it.” Being operated solely for the benefits of Members and with more than £2.5 million of reserves, AtlasFram considered carefully what it could do to take the burden off Members during this period and has taken action. The initiative was quickly taken forward by Andrew and Nick Hindle, our new Financial Controller then quickly given the green light by the Board. “Members will be able to purchase agchems through the AFG initiative based on their commitment to market grain through AtlasFram,” Andrew explains. “Payment will be deferred by up to three months, from June until September, at which time they will have received payment for at least part of their grain. We will work individually with each Member to tailor it to their specific requirements, so those wishing to take up the initiative should contact us to talk it through. “While trade suppliers offer similar schemes, the big difference is in the cost. Whereas they look to make a profit from offering this service, and typically charge around 8% on the balance owed, we are only looking to cover our costs and charge a flat rate of 1.99% over the base rate, an unattainable rate elsewhere for the majority of our Membership. Although our suppliers will be paid at the normal time, participating Members will have an additional three months of finance at very low cost, funded from AtlasFram Group cash, without the inconvenience, expense and delay of having to go to their bank to extend overdraft facilities. “I am delighted that we have launched this new scheme to support our Members, and we expect a proportion of our Members who use us to market their grain to take up this innovative scheme.” 11 Crop Marketing Min-£20 buy-back contract on step-change variety AtlasFram in conjunction with ADM Direct, has launched a buy-back contract for the exciting new RAGT Seeds variety Skyfall, which represents a step-change in the UK bread wheat market. The highest yielding Group 1 breadmaking variety, it will be available to grow through AtlasFram on a minimum premium of £20 per tonne for autumn 2014-drilled crops. Described as the Holy Grail of milling wheat for its combination of Group 1 milling quality, strong agronomic profile and high yields Skyfall looks set to outperform all other Group 1 wheats across all UK regions. Offering a yield of 102% of control, compared with 96% for Solstice, it rivals market-leading G4 feed wheat JB Diego, the strong economic case for growing this new variety is supported by a number of other important factors. Short, stiff strawed and early maturing, Skyfall produces bold grains and has attracted strong interest from endusers. It also offers resistance to Orange Wheat Blossom Midge, has the Pch1 eyespot resistance gene, is suited to lighter soils where high-potential feed wheats struggle and according to Recommended List figures, performs well as a second wheat. wheat market. Skyfall has been added to the 2014/2015 recommended List with a provisional nabim Group 1 rating. Additional baking tests on commercial milling bulk crops have been taking place and results are expected in March to validate this rating. Feedback from endusers has been extremely positive. We identified the potential of Skyfall early on in its development, which allowed us to secure seed at competitive prices before others became aware of its potential. This resulted from the close working relationship between AtlasFram and ADM Direct, a sister company of ADM Milling who work closely with RAGT and are supportive of the variety. In a year when wheat prices have been trending down, the milling premium is becoming more important as a percentage of the price - £20 per tonne is much more important at £140/t than at £180/t! With limited supplies of Skyfall available for sowing this autumn, any Member who is interested in taking up this variety on the min-£20 buy-back contract should contact us as soon as possible. We also offer minimum-price contracts on other varieties of quality wheat. With Solstice being superseded, Skyfall has come along at just the right time and looks like being a variety that the milling sector has been waiting for, so it could capture a significant share of the quality “There has been a high uptake on Skyfall seed already because it looks to be such a promising variety. Although we have a tonnage secured for the Membership I wouldn’t be surprised if we, along with many processors, are sold out in the very near future,” states Annie Buckingham, Seed Buyer for the AtlasFram Group. Further details from Annie Buckingham at AtlasFram. Staff profile - Nick Hindle Nick Hindle joined AtlasFram on 20 January as Financial Controller, a newly-created role which reflects the increasing scale and complexity of the Group’s operations. Responsible for managing the 13 staff in our Accounts Department, Nick was born in Ipswich and has spent his life working in the area. On leaving school at the age of 16 he joined the accounts office at Thompson & Morgan, a large independently owned seeds, plants and garden products company based in Ipswich. After just a year with the company he was promoted to Credit Controller and went on to achieve his Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification. Nick subsequently moved to Mason’s, a leading supplier of paper and board, as Credit Controller, and within a year had been promoted to Assistant Accountant. After successfully completing a number of roles within the business, and completing his CIMA professional qualification, he was appointed Financial Controller, a role in which he was responsible for creating a financial centre for the £500 million Group and the 40-strong accounts team. Having taken on more of an analytical and strategic financial role, Nick left when the Group decided to move its senior financial staff to Northampton. In 2012, Nick joined Bolton Bros., a recycling and waste management business in Suffolk, where he developed the small accounts team, but wanted a larger, more challenging role. Nick is enjoying the challenges of his new position at AtlasFram, which operates in a completely different sector and being a Member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative provides a completely different working environment. Married with two young children, Harvey, 4, and 2-year-old Kaiya, Nick lives in Ipswich and when not working devotes all his spare time to his family. 13 14 Supplier Profile - Grainseed Delivering best seed performance Providing innovative varieties spanning maize, oilseed rape and gamecover mixes that deliver outstanding performance across a range of conditions, is where Eye-based Grainseed have made a real name for themselves in recent years. Members can now not only order the full range of Grainseed varieties through AtlasFram, they can also use the company’s state of the art processing facilities for a range of seed cleaning and dressing services. “For us it’s very much about focusing on what UK growers need, what’s going to perform reliably for them and then working with specialist breeders to develop precisely the varieties that will deliver this,” explains Grainseed’s James Todd. “But it’s not enough just to supply the seed. We’ve worked hard to find out the best way of getting the most out of it and over the years have pioneered many industry firsts, such as our ‘Bred for Britain’ initiative, the ‘Cob Ripeness’ index for maize and the further development of low biomass oilseed rape varieties with enhanced seedling vigour for establishment. varieties such as Ardent and Dualto constantly being introduced. On the Oilseed Rape side, Grainseed’s portfolio focuses on multigene resistance to phoma stem canker and includes popular varieties such as Es Astrid, Es Alienor, Es Cubic and last year’s new introduction Es Alegria. “We select varieties with a robust agronomic package, high vigour, multigene disease resistance and excellent yields. Alienor, Cubic and Alegria are extremely early to mature allowing growers to start combining early and get the rape cut before the first wheats are ready,” James explains. Grainseed seed specialist Rod Clarke, who works directly with AtlasFram, says many more Members now use the relationship with Grainseed to order their seed. “It’s increasing year on year and we’re always happy to offer advice to AtlasFram Members on the best options for their farms. Whether you need grass seeds, environmental mixtures, wild flowers or lawn seed, we stock them all at Eye and can normally deliver next day direct to Members. We are also able to mix and blend gamecover and arable silage as well Rod Clarke, Seed Specialist inspecting Es Alegri WOSR as treat a wide variety of seeds with a range of enhanced insecticides.” Gamecover mixtures include the full Horizon seeds range, with a wide selection of straight varieties suitable for all uses. Also increasingly popular are the Triumph grass mixtures which are carefully formulated every season with the best varieties available. “We are also able to clean and treat farmers’ own seeds thanks to our extensive facilities and years of experience. We can collect your cereal or pulse seed, clean, treat and deliver it back to you and guarantee a rapid turn around at a busy time of the year.” To find out more contact: Rod Clarke on 07768 348049. “Grainseed are well known for their maize portfolio and the ‘Bred for Britain’ initiative ensures that their maize varieties are extensively tested in UK conditions. The company has over 50 trials sites across the country to establish varietal robustness and performance in all situations, with maize varieties now tested for their suitability for AD plants too. Within the AtlasFram regions there are a wide variety of growing conditions, so this level of insight and technical understanding can really help Members to get exactly the right varieties for their farms,” James explains Currently Grainseed’s most popular ‘Bred for Britain’ maize varieties are Picker, Ballade, Marco and Dominator, with new Grainseed’s James Todd 15