Camgrain Updates

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:43:33 GMT

Over the Farm Gate, kindly provided by Henry Reynolds, Farmer Director

My father has been recording rainfall for almost forty years, and he now possesses a bank of data which allows him to produce some fascinating statistics. Interestingly, the freak events we have these days are often no worse than they were in previous years, but what is most telling is how often they now come; events which perhaps occurred once or twice in a lifetime are now hitting us every couple of years. The latest is the continuous rainfall; in the last three months we have received more than half an average year's rain. We have actually had wetter periods (most of which have occurred in the last five years), but the major difference is that, at the time of writing, it has rained every one of the last 38 days. Father's previous record was 18 days on the trot, so it has not just been broken, it has been smashed!

Until recently, the crops had been taking this weather remarkably well. We have good drainage on much of the farm, and close attention to soil management over the last forty years has helped with our ability to infiltrate water. Unfortunately, the plants don't like being wet all the time, and it is starting to hamper growth and to encourage disease. The winter beans have just started to suffer from chocolate spot, a fungal disease where dark brown spots appear and grow on the leaves. If unchecked, the necrosis of the leaves will eventually cause crop failure. It is theoretically simple to treat, but we can't travel with the sprayer because it is too wet, the field is on a steep bank, and typically such applications need to be on to a dry leaf.

Happily, the cereals look much better, but they too will soon need some dry weather, and we need to get on with the first fertiliser application. With waterlogged ground and the risk of further rain, it is not just a question of being able to travel, but the risk of highly soluble, and very expensive fertiliser running off into watercourses is too great for us to be able to justify starting. If it were to stop raining today, we need at least two weeks of drying weather before we can get going. Spring drilling is also likely to be delayed - by this time last year we had finished most of it.

This week we finished the first stage of an experiment on part of our wheat ground. We have grazed the crop with our sheep; a technique which would have been familiar to my grandfather, but one which had not been used in my father's time. The obvious benefit is that it provided some much-needed extra fodder whilst our pastures continued to recover from last year's drought, but it should also benefit the crop. The theory goes that grazing removes the older leaves, which are the ones most likely to succumb to fungal infection, so we should see less disease pressure in the spring.

Plants under duress also tend to pile sugars into the roots, storing them for regrowth, and root growth can be promoted. This should mean a strong bounce-back now the sheep have been removed, so we wait with bated breath - hopefully we have not grazed the crop too hard! The next part of the experiment will be to observe the comparative development of the crop and the disease pressure between the grazed area and a couple of tramlines we left ungrazed - the pictures show the difference as it was when we took the sheep off. One of next week's job then, aside from praying for dry weather, is to take up a couple of miles of electric fence.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:17:23 GMT

Over the Farm Gate, kindly provided by John Jeffries, Farmer Director

What a pleasure it is to once again be in front of my PC writing an article for the Weekly Camgrain Newsletter! I never really understand why the ‘Over the Farm Gate’ pieces stop in the summer/autumn as this is the season when the farmer has the most to write about and the most interesting pictures to share. All I have to share from my mobile at the moment are faint green lines of crops sitting in dull grey damp fields. Let’s hope that we directors can all find the 10 minutes it takes to write a few notes during the summer!

Going first in the new series of the ‘Farm Gate’ piece gives me the opportunity to report upon the autumn drilling season and development of the crops so far ahead of anyone else. The autumn drilling season was brilliant. After the summer heat, the land was very dry, and the autumn rains were gentle when they finally arrived (which took longer here in southwest Cambridgeshire than other parts of the country). The autumn monsoons that have affected us in many of the recent seasons, stayed away. This meant drilling proceeded in excellent conditions. I took the decision to hold back from drilling until mid-October. In fact, some neighbours had finished before I started. The reason for this was that September was still very dry and hot. This meant that the little black-grass had germinated and there was inadequate moisture to activate any pre-emergence herbicides that would need to be applied. These herbicides only last about 2 weeks in such hot conditions, then allowing the black-grass free reign when the rain comes and germination happens.

Here in southwest Cambridgeshire we avoided rain (not by choice) until mid-October. This meant that I had no opportunity to get black-grass to grow before drilling. However, as the temperatures were lower and adequate moisture was present, I have got excellent levels of control of black-grass from the herbicides, significantly better than the early drilled crops; but delaying drilling is a real test of patience, especially when you stand there watching 100s of acres being done daily in the local area.

Another reason for delaying the drilling of the crop is climate change. Our winters are getting shorter and softer. I wanted to avoid having an over developed ‘forward crop’ in the spring as experience shows me that these can be hacked back by the hard frosts that our dry springs seem to bring. I remember one awful experience. I had some early drilled wheat that was chin high at the end of March, when over 15cm of snow fell on it. I swore never to do that again as the crop turned to mush.

Elsewhere on the farm it is the normal round of routine work, with one exception. My combine will be fully serviced and ready for work by the end of the week, the drills are prepped and ready for spring drilling, the fertilizer spreader is primed and field ready. The exception of winter work is pigeon control on the Oilseed Rape. There are no pigeons feeding on the crop. This is such a relief, especially after last year. I am sure one of the reasons for this is that last autumn produced a massive crop of acorns, which the pigeons are still busy eating. I have also heard that the pigeon population may have been seriously hit from bird flu, either way, it is so good to see the Oilseed Rape growing so rapidly and strongly.

Another big win for me this autumn is the level of control I have achieved of brome grass. I had some significant patches of this (linked to the areas of Oilseed Rape that were badly pigeon affect last year). I was faced with a choice as the herbicide requires temperatures of 8°C to work. It was late November. I could either spray immediately and risk the herbicide not working if the temperature dropped or leave it until the spring when the chances of the higher temperatures were better (but the grass would be bigger and harder to kill). I took the chance, and the winter stayed mild for the fortnight or so that I needed. Then the frost came and finished off the job. The brome grass is now yellow and rotting. It is rewarding to see the green lines of wheat growing through the large yellow patches of dead grass. It was a gamble, but it paid off.

I have decided to share this lovely picture of a barley crop that I took in May 2024. Hopefully we will again see the sun soon!!!

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 11:48:52 GMT

Over the Farm Gate , kindly provided by John Charlesworth, Farmer Director

It’s a cold wet day on our farm in Warwickshire but it is January! so what’s happening on our farm.

We have had a great autumn for sowing the crops and we have wheat, barley, rape and beans all looking very well, it was the best autumn I can remember and we are hoping for a favourable growing season so that we can achieve good yields.

Our ewes had a difficult summer because we didn’t have enough grass for them; the lambs were fattened by feeding them throughout the summer with most of them sold by the end of July. When the lambs were weaned, the ewes were very thin, but by the autumn with plentiful grass, they gained weight. They still have plenty of grass now as shown in the photo.

Our 250 ewes are due to lamb at the end of February and at Christmas they were scanned (using ultrasound) so that we know how many lambs each ewe is carrying. This has two main advantages, firstly at lambing time we house the ewes in pens according to how many lambs they will have which helps when they lamb. Secondly, we can feed the ewes according to the number of lambs they are carrying, so the triplets have the most food and the singles have the least. This means that the triplet lambs are a good size when they are born, but the singles are not too large.

The cattle are all inside now, we have 93 calves which were born in August; they will go out to graze in late April, spend the summer at grass before returning inside next November. 51 of these calves are Aberdeen Angus cross Friesian and are shown in the photo below they are registered for Tesco’s Aberdeen Angus beef scheme.

The rest of the cattle are British Blue cross Friesian, and these black and white cattle are shown in the photo below.

We also have 98 cattle which are 18 months old, these will be sold in the late spring for beef. We brought them inside in early November, but unfortunately, due to the dry summer, they did not weigh as much as in previous years. Therefore, we are feeding them more barley this winter to try and increase their weight gain. Some of the older cattle in the photo below:

The winter weather has not been good for cattle with the fluctuations in temperature and high humidity giving them mild pneumonia, fortunately they have been vaccinated and so far all the poorly cattle have recovered.

The final aspect of our business is selling hay to customers with horses. Due to the dry summer our supplies are limited and we are running out. To ensure that we can continue to keep all our existing customers supplied we are having to import hay from France!

Let’s hope that yields are better this year.

CAMGRAIN'S AGM

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 10:47:48 GMT

Camgrain's AGM

In December, Camgrain held its Annual General Meeting which was well attended and positively received by our farmer members.

The AGM provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on the year, share positive updates on the business, and engage directly with our membership.

We also took the opportunity to recognise and thank Jo Robinson and Simon Ingle, who are retiring from their roles as directors. Both have made a significant contribution to Camgrain, and we are extremely grateful for their commitment and service over the years.

Post-Harvest message from the Camgrain Chairman – Carl Driver

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 08:24:03 GMT

Post-Harvest message from the Camgrain Chairman – Carl Driver

Dear Members,

I hope my message finds you well and that your harvest has been safe and productive. While yields have been lower than many of us would like, I trust field work is progressing well and that you’ve been able to take a well-earned break before we begin the next farming cycle.

We are all acutely aware of the challenges facing grain producers i.e. low prices, reduced yields, the loss of subsidies, and increasing import pressure; these issues affect every one of us. Please be assured that both the Camgrain team and I are working harder than ever to ensure our society continues to deliver value for money and supports you in every possible way. At times like these, the strength of being part of a cooperative really matters - we are in this together. To anyone who hasn’t yet paid their annual storage and handling invoice, prompt payment would be appreciated!

Looking at my own harvest, results have been disappointing against long-term averages but, in the context of such a difficult season, performance has been respectable. Crop quality has been encouraging which helps to offset the yield losses. From the combine seat it was clear that soils with a stronger history of organic matter and heavier ground, generally held up best. Conversely, late-drilled wheat on lighter land, particularly after sugar beet, delivered some of the poorest results I have seen. Fields with drainage issues also struggled after wet drilling conditions. The clear lesson is that ongoing investment in organic manures and drainage continues to pay dividends in resilience.

On a positive note, this year has seen a much lower incidence of ergot. This has allowed the Camgrain team to focus on segregation by quality rather than by ergot levels. Plans are in place for blending to extract as much value as possible from our collective harvest. Once again, our stores are at full capacity, a testament to the continued trust members place in the cooperative.

Our cost-reduction programme also remains a priority. The team are carefully balancing efficiency with effectiveness ensuring that we do not cut corners but, equally, that no unnecessary costs remain. We recognise the reality that farmers cannot afford excess in their operations, and nor can Camgrain.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the entire Operational team who have, once again, risen to the challenge of harvest. Under Dan Parrott’s leadership, the last 18 months have seen excellent teamwork and commitment, and I am proud of what they have achieved. Also, as harvest draws to a close, thanks to the membership team who have now seamlessly booked and administered almost 10,000 member movements so far this harvest.

I am also delighted to inform members that the Board have agreed to co-opt Henry Reynolds from Reynolds Famers Limited (Northampton) onto the Camgrain Board. Henry has already made a strong contribution to the Marketing Committee, and I look forward to seeing his skills and insights benefit the wider society. As per our society rules, Henry will stand for formal election at this year’s AGM which is due to be held on Tuesday 9 ^th December 2025.

As Chairman, I am determined to make sure the Board continues to evolve to ensure it is relevant, practical, and rooted in the day-to-day realities of running farming businesses.

Finally, and most importantly, I thank you, the members. Your continued support through these past few years of change has been the driving force for me, the Board, and the Executive team. As a farmer myself, with no diversifications beyond my core business, I know first-hand just how tough the current environment is but, by working together, we strengthen our position and face the future with greater resilience.

We are, truly, in this together. As always, I welcome your feedback and ideas, or if you simply want to talk, please do not hesitate to call.

With thanks and best wishes,

Carl Driver

Chair, Camgrain

Tel: 07774 128074

Email: Carl@driverfarms.co.uk

Marketing Report 2024-2025

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 14:08:34 GMT

Marketing Report 2024-2025

Please click HERE to view our latest Marketing Report that contains details of payments for Annual, Biannual and Late Pools.

What's in the boxes?

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 13:54:24 GMT

What's in the boxes?

We are delighted to announce the delivery of not one but two new ‘state of the art’ colour sorters from Cimbria. These colour sorters will be central to our new cleaning plant meaning Camgrain members never have to worry about ergot, problems with admixture or costly rejections.

Announcement - Appointment of David Brooks - Independent Non Executive Director

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 12:51:01 GMT

Appointment of David Brooks - Independent Non Executive Director

I am delighted to announce that David Brooks will join the business on Monday 1st July as an Independent Non-Executive Director.

David has a huge wealth of experience supporting businesses as a Non-Executive Director and has worked extensively within food supply chains both as an Executive and as a Non-Executive expert, he is also financially qualified.

As a Mutual Society operating on behalf of its members it is vital that we have independent constructive challenge, financial oversight and help in developing proposals on strategy. I am confident that David has the required attributes to fulfil this role, support the Board and act on behalf of our members.

After an initial induction period he will take over the Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee with responsibilities including scrutiny of performance against agreed goals & objectives, satisfying the Board on the integrity of external financial statements and auditing, and ensuring that Camgrain has controls and risk management systems which are robust and defensible.

David will attend the next Audit & Risk Committee Meeting on the 9 ^th July which will be chaired by Jo Robinson as normal.

On behalf of all Camgrain colleagues, I would like to welcome him to the Society, and we look forward to working with him to continue our journey of evolution to support our member’s needs in an everchanging marketplace.

On appointment, David stated:

“ I am absolutely delighted to have this opportunity to join Camgrain and work alongside a committed team to support the farming communities we serve. There are always challenges ahead, but there are always opportunities too. The sector is evolving at pace and it’s vital it’s support network, including Camgrain, evolves with it and I look forward to an interesting and beneficial journey together ”.

Carl Driver

Chairman

Over the Farm Gate

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 11:15:36 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Adam Driver - Farmer Director

Harvest is not long away, and the feeling of excitement is in the air. Crops are a mixed bag generally, after all the poor weather. We have some wheat crops full of potential, but where they were established later and therefore thinner and patchier there has been a lot of Blackgrass emerge this spring. A continual problem that I wont drone on about, we just have to try and manage it. Spring Barley is about half the size of the Spring Oats and have been the poorer cousin all spring, struggling with the variable weather. Winter barley looks well although I fear the lack of sun is affecting grain fill so I am not expecting anything special on that front. Winter beans look really good this year, I have never seen so many flowers and they are beginning to pod up well. Winter Triticale is about 10 days away from being harvest, this is done with a forage harvester and they remove everything which is then sent to an AD plant. This is new to us but allows us to spread our workload and offer an alternative Blackgrass control option. The theory is that most of the Blackgrass seed should be removed at harvest as it wont have fallen off yet. After its harvested we can plant a summer cover crop then follow up in early October with milling wheat.

Due to the wet weather disease in crops is much more of an issue than in recent years. This has meant higher investment in fungicides, however I believe they will pay back. My father always mentions the late Chris Green (agronomy extraordinaire) in this scenario who always used to say farmers spent too much money in dry years and not enough in wet years on disease control.

Harvest prep is ongoing here, as it will be at Camgrain. We will be running health and safety meetings for the team ensuring everyone is up to date and any concerns or ideas addressed properly.

Stay safe and see you on the other side!

Over the Farm Gate

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 10:58:05 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Andrew Maddever - Farmer Director

Since my last Farm Gate in March there has been a tremendous amount of work carried out across the farm. At the start of spring the task of drilling all spring crops, applying all of the crops nutrition and applying any necessary pesticides seems an insurmountable job.

The spring drilled crops of marrowfat peas, malting barley, oats and sugar beet were largely planted into good conditions. We all know three weeks after drilling when the ideal time to plant was, too early and the heavy clay we farm has the consistency of plasticine, too late and it can form into hard lumps, either way it seems difficult to establish an ideal seedbed, a fellow director and I shared these thoughts while both preparing sugar beet land!

All of the crops have had their nitrogen fertiliser applied in two or three splits, the first dose applied to spring crops of barley and oats is usually applied in the seed bed at the same time as drilling the seed, I believe having “food” available for a seedling is vital in its early few days of life. The malting barley crops have received a total of 110kg / ha of Nitrogen this year, this is slightly lower than in previous years. With the large area of barley planted nationally I suspect any slightly high nitrogen loads will end up as feed, the lower applied rate should help me achieve the required standard. The oats have also had fertiliser applied in 2 doses although this year I have increased the total applied rate to 135 kg / ha. After over feeding a few fields 4 years ago and having a large area of flat crop I think we have been under- feeding recently, time will tell if we have got the strategy right this year but I can tell you we are currently spraying a very robust PGR ( Plant Growth Regulator) on these crops to help to shorten the straw and risk them falling over!

Henry has been exceptionally busy spraying all crops whether it be weed control in sugar beet, fungicides in wheat and barley crops or trace elements and fungicide in bean crops the sprayer doesn’t seem to stop at this time of year.

Crops generally look very good from the road and have certainly benefited from warm weather and the frequent rain, it is very easy to expect great yields from crops that look good from the field edge although these are the same fields that were extremely thin throughout the winter months, unfortunately I am not expecting a vintage wheat harvest, with luck the spring cereals and sugar beet will go someway to helping balance the books.

I enjoy reading the weekly newsletter and hearing about the activities at each site. As a farmer director I am greatly reassured by the excellent health and safety culture throughout the business and thank you all for maintaining these high safety standards.

Over the Farm Gate

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 12:34:24 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Jo Robinson - Farmer Director

At the moment it seems like every third day is a Friday, the weeks are just ticking by so quickly.

The crops are developing well, it seems to be an early season. My first crop of Oilseed Rape in 8 years is just coming off flower. I guess 90% of it is good. The winter barley continues apace and I would expect to see the first awns appear within a fortnight.

My wheat crops are very diverse. Some early drilled wheat look absolutely top notch. My October drilled wheat, we’ll see below…., the wheat drilled on a wheat November day is ok but the wheat drilled on a frosty December night is by far the best. We can only really judge the quality of our decision making in farming in hindsight and this season has stood convention on its head. If I had the capacity to have drilled the entire farm on those few frosty nights then that would have been the choice.

But the October drilled wheat. Farming convention says drill wheat in early October. This should allow you time to control some blackgrass before drilling and is optimal timing both for the development of the crop and further control of blackgrass with herbicides. I have a field that was drilled on 8th October into prefect conditions. It was rolled and then the herbicides applied, again in ideal conditions. However, that is where it ended. About a week later, just as the seed was germinating, the first of the named storms arrived and delivered about 60mm of rain. A few days later another storm topped this up with a further 50mm. The rain washed the herbicide down to the seed and this had a significant effect upon the germination and emergence of the crop. It also sadly washed the herbicide away, most likely into the North Sea.

The outcome of this was a very poor and slow establishment of the crop and virtually no effective control of blackgrass.

Over the course of the late winter and spring I have been tearing my hair out. I purchased winter wheat seed in the hope I could re-drill on a frost in Jan/Feb. No frost came. I tried to re-drill during a dry spell at the end of January, but soil conditions were still too wet. I then got distracted by planned spring drilling and nurturing the crops I already had in the ground.

So this week I turned my attention back to this field. An honest assessment of it goes something like this

10% bare ground

10% just straight blackgrass

50% wheat chocked with blackgrass

20% wheat with moderate blackgrass

10% wheat that you might be pleased with.

This photo shows the extent of the blackgrass. All the narrow spikes leaves are blackgrass which is choking the broad leafed wheat.

A reasonable yield estimate for the field would be 5t/ha. In other words a total disaster, agronomically, financially and environmentally (bearing in mind where the herbicide went). So this week the whole field has been sprayed off, including the 2.5 ha corner where there was a good crop. The seed return from the blackgrass would have been so huge that it would have taken 5 to 8 years to get the field clean again, if ever. The hope is that I will be able to establish a crop of linseed in the field. I just need the dampness of the drizzle to disappear.

Beyond that my attention is firmly fixed on a 3 day motorbike trip to N Yorkshire and whether or not Ipswich Town can achieve the 3 wins they require for promotion to the Premier League.

Over the Farm Gate

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 12:27:38 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - David White - Farmer Director

Where did the last 6 weeks go? I was recently reminded by Director J. Jefferies of the remark I made in a board meeting last autumn. We were discussing the difficult autumn drilling season and trying to maintain my glass half full outlook on life I said I’m not too worried yet as I have until next April to drill my farm. Little did I bank on us having the spring from hell, and now approaching mid April I still have a few acres left to sow!!!

Please be aware as members deliver their commitment next harvest that every load over the weighbridge will have been very hard fought for. Growing crops is not an easy way to make a living. The spring wheat, oats and barley that was been snatched in earlier between the showers is now showing nice green rows and they have all had some nitrogen to get them up and running as quickly as possible. Usually this would have been applied as either liquid or granular product but due to the relentless strong winds this spring throwing granules with any accuracy would have been difficult, so all my bags remain in the shed and the liquid tank is now empty! The usual merry-go-round of fungicide and growth regulator spraying has also only just got going.

The beet harvest of 23/4 finished for my neighbour on March 31st. It was a very long campaign this year having started when the factories opened last September. The season’s record rainfall has meant it’s been a real slog for lifting contractors. The beet harvester got bogged in wet holes on more than one occasion on the neighbour’s field. It’s a 6 wheeled machine that weighs 34 tons before you liberally add any mud to it or fill its 30 ton capacity holding tank with beet. It took 3 tractors and a telehandler to extract it from the mire. I’ll spare the blushes of all by not posting a picture that popped up on a WhatsApp group. It’s now doubtful that the field will be suitable to establish a cereal crop for harvest 24 meaning any beet crop profit will need to be spread across two years. The damaged soil could take longer to recover.

We still have 120 sheep grazing the winter wheat and nutrient strip field. As they merrily go around they are eating the older diseased wheat leaves recycling them into nutrition for the crop to live on in its next growing phase. Sheep poo combined with the bi-crop bean element should mean we can produce milling wheat on 80kgs (against a standard of ~230kgs) of applied synthetic nitrogen. Leaf samples from this crop are sent to a laboratory in Holland for sap analysis to help plan the application timing strategy for maximum NUE (nitrogen use efficiency).

Outside of attempted field work, as the newest planted hedge springs into life the laborious task of removing old hare guards from “one we planted earlier” is taking place. It’s an important job to do as otherwise the guards become plastic waste in the countryside. What a shame they are the wrong type of plastic to be recycled, and instead must go into landfill! Hedgerows form an important element of the farm landscape, a nature link-road between other natural features such as woods or ponds. To establish a record of what we have living on the farm the first of several visits was made this week by our local Wildlife Trusts East person. Even though it was a wet and windy morning she was excited by what she recorded. Her visit was arranged through our local newly formed farm cluster group, something I would encourage other farms to get involved with if they have the chance.

Over the Farm Gate

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 08:45:36 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Jo Robinson - Farmer Director

I last wrote in December 2023 and not a lot has been done on the arable land since then sadly. Made worse by coming the board meeting this week to hear “I’m drilled up or finishing off drilling”

I am glad to say what wheat we have is growing well and has had its nitrogen and herbicide but I wonder being so late whether we will be able to control some bad black grass in one field. We will wait and see. Controlling Black grass is important because its more competitive to wheat and will shed 1000’s of seeds should it be allowed to go to seed. Which will then plague us for years to come. It is better to control black grass by growing spring crops but particularly Maize and one can use different chemical ingredients (one can easily get black grass which is resistant to chemicals if same one used regularly. We’d normally of sprayed the black grass in the autumn when black grass were smaller and more susceptible to chemicals

Next we need to plant the Skyway spring Barley , around here its no good putting seed in the ground in wet and cold conditions so with the rain going through this week hopefully we will get a chance over or after easter. Our harvest is always 10 -14 days after those around CAPC

We have just planted our poplars (3000) for the wood chip boiler In 15 years as in picture. It is so wet no tractor could be used to draw a trench to plant into. We will spray the bases in next few days.

We will shortly start making a new track around the farm building to make a one way system for lorries. Hopefully stopping lorries reversing in or out of our yard which is a safety concern

I’m taking on bets for how long the drought will last when it comes???

Happy Easter

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 14:14:22 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Carl Driver - Camgrain Chairman

Spring has finally arrived with the early morning bird song along with Ducks, Partridges pairing up for Spring. Hares are again more visible around the fields with their mad march boxing.

The day length and temperatures are increasing but the rainfall has not reduced significantly yet to start Spring sowing of Malting Barley and Milling Oats.

The winter cereals are now starting to race through their growth stages and have had 2 applications of nitrogen and sulphur. We are working our way through the backlog of spraying jobs when the weather allows. At this stage we are applying growth regulator, micronutrients and bio-stimulants to crops.

Crops are a mixed bag with about 70% looking good. The other 30% are patchy in places due to wet, slugs and herbicide damage. Driving around the local area and around the country yields are going to be significantly down on average. There is a lot of poor crops out there, and spring drilling is quickly getting past the optimum timing for yield and quality. It is however the difficult years like this where you learn the most, this is important to keep improving what we are doing without getting too comfortable. It is important to take the positives forward and not just dwell on the negativity, which can easily done in farming.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 13:21:42 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Andrew Maddever - Farmer Director

Firstly, apologies, I failed miserably in getting my last two Farm Gate reports completed. I would love to say this was due to me being far too busy on the land, unfortunately this was not the case.

We have continued with ditch maintenance over the winter but have not really completed quite as much as I had first planned. As mentioned in previous reports, properly functioning ditches and drains are the cornerstone of growing crops on heavy land. Most of the land we work across has an underground drainage system that was mainly installed in the 1970s with small amounts of work carried out ever since. We did put a compete new scheme in across 35 ha last autumn at great expense, the speed at which water leaves this area is noticeably better than other areas, consequently we shall be spending more on drainage over the next few years.

We did have a brief period when we could get back onto the land in January for a few days by utilizing some frosty days. During this period, we drilled 100 ha of winter beans (3 months late) which are now well emerged and looking full of potential, we managed to get fertiliser applied to all wheat and barley crops and patched up some of the thinner patches of wheat.

Today all cereal crops have received 120 – 130 kg of Nitrogen largely in the form of Urea, the first dose appears to of been utilised by the crop and hopefully with some warmer days to come soon the second dose will also continue to build crop biomass. We will aim to have all Nitrogen applied to the winter cereals before the end of March other than a late top up for milling wheat to boost protein.

We have 560 ha of crops to establish this spring, a mixture of barley, oats, peas and sugar beet, we drilled 20 ha of low input barley on some sand on Friday 8 ^th March as part of a stewardship scheme, unfortunately with the rain lashing down again today any further drilling looks a long way off. Now I am not terribly concerned that most spring crops remain in the bag, however I will be if we don’t start drilling until April. We have entered the Sustainable Farming Incentive on our own farm and will be developing this further over the next 2 months with added options, we are also doing the same on contract farms. At the moment we have removed very little land from production although I am hearing of very large areas going into stewardship agreements, the recent wet autumn, wetter spring and low commodity prices will very likely see a different landscape in the coming months and years.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 14:11:10 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - John Jefferies - Farmer Director

Spring is now 3 weeks old and much seems to have changed from winter. For me the seasons are 13 weeks long centred on the quarter days of the year. So on the 7th February the sun actually is closer to the spring equinox than the winter solstice, so the season changes.

After a dry January the relentless rains have continued. There are some interesting little facts that contribute to this. For every 1C warmer the atmosphere is, it’s ability to hold moisture increases by 7%. If an airmass is 4C warmer then it holds up to 30% more water. Climate change is kicking in and we often see unseasonable hot weather. In my opinion this undoubtedly leads to the intensity of the rainfall that we have seen over the past 5 months. The land is truly saturated and the water struggles to percolate through. This means the water runs off quickly into the water courses and causes flooding of the rivers. In my local town, St Neots, the river Gt Ouse has burst its bank 3 times in the past month, leading to lengthy road closures at 1 of the 3 crossing points and total traffic chaos as drivers have to find alternate routes. On one occasion the road surface was washed away to expose the original cobbles beneath.

But, that aside. I did actually manage to drill a very small area of winter oats during the dry interlude in January. A couple more days of drying would have given me the opportunity to drill spring barley and spring oats. But that plan was foiled. It was lucky that I did drill the oats in preference to going fertiliser spreading, as had I done the latter task I would have seen my investment washed into the rivers and sea.

I spent 10 days away from the farm and the crops coped well without me. They all grew nicely, benefiting from the longer days, the stronger sunshine and the even higher temperatures of the spring.

Back to the rain and the prospects of the coming growing and harvest season. Wet soil limits the ability of the plant to root well in the soil. We really do need a break in the weather. However, there factors that influence our climate do not seem to indicate this. The sea surface temperature in the Equatorial Atlantic are at never recorded levels. In February they are 1.5C higher than the long term average. That warm sea powers the temperature of the atmosphere and the amount of water that it can hold. This would suggest a continuation of the rain. The warm sea and air is caught in both the jet stream and the Gulf Stream and brought across the Atlantic to our shores. However, one indicator seems that it might work in our favour. This is La Niña, the east/west ocean current in the Pacific. It seems that La Niña might return in the coming months, which would help to draw that moisture across Central America rather than it swinging up into our latitudes. So, I think we have 2 possible outcomes. A wetter harvest than last year or one similar to last year.

Back to farming. After a long term break from cropping, I am drilling winter oats in a field that has had a grass/clover mix on it for the past 5 years. In some ways I regret doing this as the clover had such a huge environmental benefit, but I wished to experiment to see what happens when you bring a field back into production after a long term break.

Beyond that, I am farming grants. I am in the process of applying for funding from LENS, SFI and the forestry commission.

Also, I have taken the opportunity to install an owl box in the past few days. I have frequently seen owls hunting in a hedgerow adjacent to this oak tree. The gentleman who is helping me is a lifelong “birder” and works for the RSPB. He is confident that this is an ideal location and that the tree is also the ideal tree with plenty of cover and many branches for both the adults and the new fledglings to perch upon later in the summer.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 14:01:29 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - David White - Farmer Director

The “February fill dyke” maxim has been accurate this year, in contrast to last year when it was a very dry month. My tally is 104mm and counting. Little land work has been achieved to date here other than drilling a small area of spring wheat/bean bi-crop. With the soil in the fields at full water capacity I see no point in spreading expensive nitrogen which would clearly be at risk of leaching into water courses or worse running off with surface water. However, with longer days now winter crops have at last started to green up a little which is nice to see.

In preparation of the main drilling spring session oat seed has been cleaned, with Planet barley still to be done. Both have been lab tested by NIAB to check for seed borne diseases and received a clean bill of health so will be sown naked of fungicidal dressing. My harvest 23 bi-crop wheat was separated by my 1950’s era sieve dresser machine but the seed crops are now going through a new Polish air curtain cleaner which has the ability of off-taking 8 grades + dust (see pictures below). Grade one is heavy objects like stones so doesn’t yield much. The others can be amalgamated into good and screenings at whatever proportion I’m happy with. The beauty of this machine is its ability to clean anything from tiny Phacelia seed to beans by simply adjusting air volume/speed. Having proven successful as a pure cleaner, I will now add a “pre” single screen element to spilt bi-crops.

I’m lucky that I fall within the LENs (Landscape Enterprise Network) fund area so have been looking at options to enhance what we do on the farm. Many of the measures available have been covered by my, at last accepted, Defra SFI (Sustainable Farming Incentive) application. Others are very similar to what I’m proposing to do in an additional Countryside Stewardship application. However, the LENs innovation section does offer some capital grant opportunities around being a demonstration farm and being able to host groups for educational type events, which I will pursue. I’m really pleased Camgrain has been able to help facilitate this initiative with Nestle CP UK.

This year I have already been working with the Soil Association Exchange through LENs and this week we finished my farm Carbon Footprint measurement and did a farm soil and biodiversity benchmark assessment. This may be very useful when the supply chain starts to reward us through a premium payment for how their ingredients are being produced!

The two small flocks of sheep I’m hosting are coming to an end of the area I planted for them but may yet be folded onto some winter wheat if ground conditions dry up a little. Grazing wheat with sheep was a recognised thing many decades ago. The thinking behind this practice is that by removing the old possibly diseased growth they act as the first plant fungicide, which could be just the thing on my no “cide” fields.

Season 23 hedge and tree planting has at last been completed and The West Field Belt has been protected from the deer damage with a strand of electric fence. Hedges and trees now have carbon and biodiversity value. Farmers years ago, would have scoffed at the suggestion of a financial gain being possible for having hedges and trees on the farm (through SFI and Stewardship), so is the thought of getting a premium for biodiversity assured Regen farmed wheat ingredients such a far-fetched idea?I’m lucky that I fall within the LENs (Landscape Enterprise Network) fund area so have been looking at options to enhance what we do on the farm. Many of the measures available have been covered by my, at last accepted, Defra SFI (Sustainable Farming Incentive) application. Others are very similar to what I’m proposing to do in an additional Countryside Stewardship application. However, the LENs innovation section does offer some capital grant opportunities around being a demonstration farm and being able to host groups for educational type events, which I will pursue. I’m really pleased Camgrain has been able to help facilitate this initiative with Nestle CP UK.

And finally….

Can I put in a plug for the film ‘Six Inches of Soil’. I have been involved in the fundraising for this film following taking part in an earlier one made by Director Colin Ramsey and the team. I’ve seen ‘Six Inches of Soil’ develop from the first rough cut through to the fabulous, finished item it now is.

I would urge you to try and see it if you can. Screening dates are being added all the time https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/screeningdates see March 19 ^th for anyone near Cambridge. Often (but not always) it’s introduced by those staring or involved in the production, so it not only entertains but offers the audience chance to ask further questions raised by the subject, i.e. how is our food produced and what is its intrinsic link with the environment.

Keep safe, roll on spring!

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 13:54:17 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Robbie Dennis (Camgrain Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Marketing Committee).

Not a huge amount happening on the farm this week. We had been perilously close to starting spring drilling a week ago, but the rain has put us back to square one. With rain forecast this weekend, the earliest we might be drilling is a week or so’s time. It is still early so no need to panic…yet.

Early fertiliser has got into the backward-looking crops and have picked up nicely. Barleys look much better than a month ago. Wheats are still suffering, especially those that established poorly in the autumn. The latest batch of rain not helping. We will go again with fertiliser as soon as conditions improve.

The outlier is Oilseed Rape which looks very good, an unusual feeling in recent times. There is very good crop cover and much lower flea beetle larvae than in recent years. However, OSR has the ability to deceive so I’m not going to declare a vintage year just yet!

With the land being too wet to work, a lot of time has been spent on estate maintenance. We have coppiced kilometres of hedges and cleaned ditches. Water management is so important to farming. Been able to deal with this wetter climate is essential and having a properly functioning ditch network is key.

We are looking forward to some drier weather and getting back on the land. Cleaning ditches is great, but we all enjoy being on the fields and progressing the workload. At this time of year, we always sit waiting for the inevitable spring rush. We don’t know quite when it will come, but it will, and we’ll be happier farmers when we’re busy in the fields!

Over the Farm gate

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 13:50:29 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Adam Driver - Farmer Director

We started fertiliser spreading on the 15th January, the first date of the “open period” under NVZ rules. We focused on second wheat and wheat after oats to start with, and since then we have done winter barley, some first wheat and some winter triticale. We tend do go early with the first dose of fertiliser to kick crops on and retain tillers, once ahead always ahead!

Wheat is the worst looking crop this year, it seems to have suffered from the winter rainfall more than others. This is surprising as usually barley and beans suffer more from the wet. It has highlighted yet again the importance of early drilling. The closer you get to the big October rain events the worse crops look; this is the case all around the area.

We used the frosts in January to re-drill a few thin areas of wheat, the drill went really well in the frost but did mean some very early starts.

We are out loading some wheat on farm and have had one ergot rejection so far. Ditching continues at a pace and we will be wrapped up with that this week.

The next jobs to do are to continue fertiliser spreading and prepare the drills for spring drilling. We were nearly tempted to drill some spring oats this week but decided against it because of the huge amount of rain forecast and cold weather incoming.

Thanks to Karen and the team for the successful recent BRC audit, very well done

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 13:29:00 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Adam Driver - Farmer Director

I am happy. The farm looks pretty good considering the rain. We went drilling early this year again and it has paid off, I think. All the pressure from every angle is to delay, delay, delay. I can safely say that the one year we tried to delay and got caught out (2019) cost us more money than 10 years of some scruffy non yield robbing weeds. It also made for an extremely tense few months between me and my father. (He would go drilling in august if he had his way!). Although this wasn’t just blind luck or a complete gamble on my part. We have spent a couple of years playing around with a small inter row hoe, this goes in-between the roe of crops and mechanically, and rather crudely takes the weeds out. It has worked well however the output was too small. We took delivery of a 12-meter wide, camera guided, all singing and dancing Horsch hoe in September. Knowing we have this machine in our weed control arsenal gave me the confidence to happily pull the trigger on planting two weeks earlier than most, in the knowledge I could salvage a weed disaster if it happened. I think it has paid for itself many times over before it’s even been used! However due to the wet weather the pre-emergence herbicides have worked very well and there is little black grass so far. However, in places the herbicides have worked too well and damaged the crops, this becomes more evident as the planting date gets closer to that apocalyptic rain in October. I am putting a positive spin on this, but it isn’t all perfect. Winter oats look poor and 20-30 acres that need re drilling with spring oats. There is also about 40-50 acres of wheat that will also need re drilling with most probably oats or barley. This is mostly due to sheer amount of water and where I have not kept a close enough eye on slugs.

Ditching continues at a pace, very important this year. Drainage is key.

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 11:50:33 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White - Farmer Director

My turn to write this seems to come around very quickly, I wonder if much has actually happened on the farm or in my life in the interim, but of course it has.

Cropping.

Since my last missive the winter beans were sown and sprayed with a residual soil acting herbicide, �� not sure that sounds right when we should be aiming to have soil with more life in it! *more later. On the plus side here, if things go like last year (other than for some nutrition) that sprayer pass is likely to be the last until the bean crop is harvested next August. The other crops here (light soil) look very well other than for the winter barley which looks a little sick as it suffered from the undesirable combination of A. heavy rain and B. *you’ve guessed it, a soil acting residual herbicide��. Massive damage from strong herbicide mixes (or “stacking” using more than one which increases effectiveness) is reported very widely this year, in some cases resulting in total crop loss. We need to learn to manage weeds differently. Bloody hate cides ��‍☠️.

France.

Off farm. In mid November I went on the Base-UK farm study tour to France. During 4 days, over 1700kms were driven through a very wet French landscape (and Paris��) in a big anti-clockwise circle down to the Loire and back. We met humble, but very clever inspiring farmers with beautiful farms, and dined in unassuming rural village restaurants serving simple locally sourced food, beautifully prepared, fit for a King. Bloody love France ��.

Farm Walk.

Last week I hosted a Base-UK farm walk. Not as exotic as France this time for our Farmer-to-Farmer knowledge exchange organisation group perhaps, but they did lunch in my unassuming rural watermill on a simply served locally sourced joint of smoked ham and “cide free” Wildfarmed bread, which I believe even Charles III would have enjoyed.

After a short introduction and presentation Now you’re Regen what next? which covered on farm small business collaboration, diversification and marketing. The group of 33 had a cold but dry walk around the farm, either baffled, bemused, or perhaps inspired �� at some of my “practices”. It’s always a pleasure to spend time with this positive open-minded group that never exhibit any of the current agricultural gloominess. Bloody �� Regen farmers.

Food Bank

On my invitation to the farm walk I asked for donations for the Cambridge Trussell Trust food bank. We are all very fortunate in that in reality we lack very little, but we must be aware, particularly at Christmas, many people feel pressure to provide more than they can afford. So, I’m really pleased to say people either gave ��very generously or donated �� on-line. I was able to fill my car boot and deliver a huge pile of essentials to the collection centre.

Sheep.

Bang on cue as we walked up a mown ally through a cover crop beside an electric fence the sheep arrived ��. Livestock integration is one of the 5 principles of Regen Ag and up until last week I was really only a Conservation Ag farmer (so 2 ^nd division). Although we had cattle on the farm until the early 70s (and returning soon) I don’t believe there have been sheep here in living memory. Even though I’m only the host not the owner I visit them every day like an excited new parent ��.

We have started the annual round of planting new hedges and in addition this year a belt of trees. This will be planted using 15 different UK tree species interspersed with Norway Spruce Christmas trees, which will provide Gen 2.1 (my daughter) and Gen 3.1, .2 & .3 (grandchildren) Christmas trees for the house for years to come. The hedge will consist of 8 different species (��diversity) and both will hopefully be LENS grant funded through Nestle��. Whether the grant works out or not the planting will take place as the answer to the question “when is the best time to plant a tree?” is either today, yesterday or 20 years ago. No time to waste ��.

Camgrain Awards

It was a pleasure to zoom in and listen to the nominations and winners of the awards. Well done to all involved. It showed both the strength and supportiveness in our colleague community. Without this the business can’t grow strongly as it has in the past and will continue to do in the future. You are all winners really and what you all do for the business does not go unrecognised. ❤️

And Finally

��Christmas��

I don’t really want much for Christmas, but if the Defra computer could un-glitch itself so my SFI application could get accepted before they re-set their system on Dec 31 ^st , meaning we have to go through the whole submission from point zero again, I’d be really pleased��.

Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.

David White.

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 11:14:51 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Robbie Dennis - Vice Chairman

I thought I’d try to avoid talking about the weather, but there’s not much going on thanks to the weather, so I’ll have to moan about it! We have had one of wettest autumns in memory (certainly since I joined the farm) and that has left the countryside looking rather sad. Crops that were drilled into good conditions have gone backwards and anything drilled after the second week of October looks awful.

We are planning work for the Spring, and it looks like there will be a lot to do. The sick looking crops will need fertiliser as soon as the application window opens. We also have a fair amount of spring drilling to do, most planned, but some due to crops failing to establish due to the unrelenting wet conditions. As soon as we are able to in the New Year, cover crops will be sprayed off. A large part of our spring acreage will be direct drilled having cultivated ahead of the cover crops, but we also have ploughed land that will need further cultivation before drilling with spring crops. Spring crops on our farm are spring barley and oats, which come to Camgrain, and sugar beet.

Winter is a good time for estate maintenance. Tasks involve hedge-cutting, tree shearing and ditching. Drainage is a topical issue at the moment, and we are reviewing fields to see where drainage can be improved. By maintaining hedges and ditches we can ensure that drains run freely and take the water away. Once we know ditches are working properly then we look to see if existing drains under the fields are working, or need repair. In some cases, the drains are very old (we have some hand-drawn maps from the 1930s! see picture) and the drains are at the end of their lifespan. If that’s the case we will compile quotes for replacement schemes. Working drains are very important on our land. Although the cost of new drains is high, it is one of the best investments that can be made on a farm and can turn fields that under-perform into high yielding areas. It is also the case that we need our land to be able to cope with the increase in extreme weather events. Well drained fields are better able to cope with the torrential downpours that seem all to frequent at the moment.

With Christmas around the corner, we are all looking forward to some time off and to enjoy the company of family and friends. I hope that everyone at Camgrain has a great Christmas and New Year. As farmer director I am incredibly grateful to the Camgrain staff that work tirelessly all year to provide a service that greatly enhances our own business. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 11:01:19 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Jo Robinson - Farmer Director

It was a relief to have some dry cold weather for a change! That was short lived as we return to wet conditions yet again.

We still have 40 acres of winter Wheat to drill, I’m not sure if this will happen at the eleventh hour or not? If not, we will put some spring Barley in possibly, last time we had a wet autumn and tried spring wheat it was a disaster. On the other hand, the new government scheme allows us one or two year grass ley. So planting options still remain for the spring but are less than ideal. We have had a contractor in with a 360 digger to clear our boundary and brook (beginning of river Great Ouse). The prime reason is to prepare two grass field for planting of 3500 popular rods that will develop over 15 years to be harvested into wood chip for our biomass boiler. These rods come as 6ft rods (like a walking stick) and you put 6 inches into the ground and they grow in to trees. The 360 digger was clearing debris, thorn and pollarding willow trees which typically lean over, or large branches snap off. We have therefore pollarded a section of our grass fields leaving more space for trees to grow without being obstructed by old ones. The timber removed will be processed through our biomass. This is all done under licence from the Forestry Commission

We will continue to do more planting next year to hopefully make us more self-sufficient to run the biomass boiler.

I am sure some of you will be thinking of Christmas now we are in December, wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas. A special thank you to those of you coming in during the holiday period to keep the wheels turning.

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 10:46:56 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Latham - Farmer Director

This is my last chance to write this piece to all you who work at Camgrain and before I stand down as a director of Camgrain at our AGM this month. I thought I would take this opportunity to write a little about my time as a director and how the business has evolved.

Here at Waltham Hall Farms (our family farming partnership), we were a little slow off the mark as we only became members in 1992 some 9 years after it got off the ground. Our farm grain storage was old, inefficient, and not fit for purpose and we were persuaded to try Camgrain as a solution by my predecessor as Chairman, Hugh Wiseman. We quickly came to a view we should be storing all our crops with Camgrain and what a good decision that proved to be as we continue, to this day, to receive a fantastic service from the business whilst maximising the value of our crops.

Back in 1992 Camgrain was handling around 35,000 tonnes of member crops through its site at Linton. In 1994, I was approached to see if I would be interested in putting myself forward as a director and was duly elected. I had very little idea what that would entail or indeed how it would affect me, but what a tremendous experience it has turned out to be!

In Camgrain’s early years, including before my time on the Board, the business set a clear strategy to grow and help achieve some economies of scale and that remained a key strategy when I joined the board. Over the next 20 odd years the business grew to its current 4 site operation handling over 700,000 tonnes of grain and with a storage capacity of nearly 500,000 tonnes. Quite some growth! This was all made possible by the support of a growing membership of farmers, its associated business partners, but above all else, the commitment of its management team and staff that offered such an effective service to its membership.

All through this time of rapid growth, Camgrain was fortunate to have had Philip leading the business and utilising his enormous energy, expertise, and dedication to drive the growth and development the Board had wished for. Philip also understood well the strategy that would deliver value to the business and was a great help in guiding the business and the Board through this period of its development. The business would not be where it is today without Philip’s drive and ambition for the business in those earlier years. Philip’s enthusiasm for the business proved infectious and he and I had many years working closely together to help the business grow and develop. Thank you, Philip.

By 2016, the business had come to a point where it wished to restructure the way it operated and to strengthen the management capability it had at its disposal. Simon joined as Group CEO whilst Philip continued in his role of overseeing all operations within Camgrain. Simon has been a great introduction to the business as Group CEO and I have really enjoyed working with him over the last 6 years. More recently, the Board agreed the position of Group FD and we now have Steve fulfilling that role. We are fortunate to have a hugely capable Executive team with a wide range of management skills which leaves the business in an excellent position to move forward and meet the aspirations of the Board and more importantly our farmer members. Whilst stepping off the Board, I am looking forward to watching how the business develops in the future under our current Executive team and Board leadership.

With this strong and capable Executive team, the business and its Board had the confidence to initiate more diverse business opportunities and in December 2018 the Board asked Simon to evaluate the possibility of processing member oats which ultimately led to the formation of the JV, Navara Oat Milling Ltd, of which Camgrain is an investor shareholder alongside Frontier Agriculture. The growth sought by successive Boards over the lifetime of the business was now paying dividends due to its scale and the management expertise it could call on within the business. Our investment in the clean wheat plant, the decision of Yelo to come alongside our Stratford site are other examples of how Camgrain has benefited from growth, development, and expertise within the business.

Camgrain today is much changed to the one we at Waltham Hall Farms joined in 1992. It has been an amazing journey for me to have been a part of this business and I now step down as a director feeling hugely proud of what we all have achieved here at Camgrain. It has required the support of its farmer members, associated businesses, advisors, management, a little government support and importantly all my fellow directors who have given up so much of their time in making sure we make the right strategic decisions, but crucially, through the commitment of all who have worked at Camgrain both past and present and for that I would like to thank you all. Keep up the good work please!

It just leaves me to say I hope you all continue to enjoy working here at Camgrain and support your fellow employees, management, Executive team and Directors, in particular our new Chairman, Carl, and Vice-Chairman, Robbie, and in helping make Camgrain a continued success. I wish you all well in your endeavours and thank you for supporting my time as a director and Chairman of Camgrain. I will miss not being at the heart of the business.

I hope to find the time to visit all the stores over the next few weeks and catch up with as many of you as possible and look forward to our upcoming AGM next week.

Oh, and finally, it’s stopped raining! Enjoy the weekend.

All the best, John

Over the Farm Gate

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 13:11:34 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Andrew Maddever - Farmer Director

I cannot remember when I last wrote a piece for Farm Gate but I suspect we were wrapping up harvest and starting to drill next year’s crops. I was quite possibly full of optimism for next year too. Looking around most of the farm now saps my optimism! The awfully wet last 2 weeks of October and most of November has hugely impacted on the autumn drilled crops. Headlands of most fields have varying degrees of crop loss from little to total write offs and anywhere drainage is lacking or needs repairing tells a similar story. Fortunately, we did drill a large area of winter barley relatively early which has escaped most of the issues from wet weather and the odd fields of early drilled winter wheat are also looking remarkably well.

After a two-year break from milling wheat, we have decided to grow some Group 1 Crusoe again; Crusoe is perhaps not the highest yielding variety and does lack some disease resistance that other varieties have, however, Crusoe always delivered a quality product when we used to grow it and we managed this with lower total quantities of nitrogen fertiliser than we have used on Skyfall and KWS Zyatt. All of this Crusoe will be coming to the store straight from the combine, obviously at 13% protein with zero ergot!

Harvest still continues at RH Maddever Farms with 105 ha of sugar beet remaining to harvest. We are really pushing the limits growing beet on our land type, in a dry year we can do very well with the crop, in a wet year however harvesting can be delayed as the harvester cannot travel across the fields. We tried harvesting a field yesterday, within 30 minutes of starting the trailer was stuck, unfortunately we have abandoned harvesting for another few days. The upside of sugar beet is the current price of £40/t, with yields approaching 100t/ ha the margin from beet makes all other crops look rather poor.

I try not to use the Christmas word too early but as this will be my last piece before the big event, I will wish you all and very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you all for your huge efforts throughout the year, I can assure you that this is appreciated by everyone.

Over the Farm Gate

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 11:55:34 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Jefferies - Farmer Director

Harvest 2024 has already gone down in the chronicle of farming as ‘an absolute stinker’! Currently not much positive can be said about it. Taking the crops in turn.

Oilseed Rape:

Looks OK, but increasingly riddled with cabbage stem flea beetle larvae. Pigeons making a start on the thinner parts of the field.

2nd winter wheat:

Drilled into perfect condition. Pre-emergence weed control applied within 3 days. A couple of days later a deluge of rain (60mm) washed the herbicide down to the germinating wheat which has wholly struggled ever since. The crop is thin, patchy, struggling to grow and had a yield potential of barely 5t/ha.

Winter barley:

Mauled in after that 60mm of rain. No opportunity to spray blackgrass herbicides (fortunately given the above experience) but the crop is now riddled with blackgrass. Further heavy rain followed drilling of the crop and the headlands of the field look awful. The only hope for this crop is the hoe I have on order and the hope that conditions will allow me to use the hoe!

1st wheat after beans:

‘Drilled’ after 150mm in 3 weeks. I did well to take the opportunity to get the field drilled. It went well considering the conditions and the fact the I had recently had the field drained, followed by mole draining was the deciding factor in the ability to drill the field. The crop is not germinating.

Winter Oats:

Seed still in the bag. Might be able to drill on a heavy frost (goodness knows when that will happen; it is very mild and I have yet to resort to turning the central heating on).

No other news. Some of you might recall my little experiment with trying to grow a second crop of ‘summer barley’ after an early harvested winter barley. This failed. The crop looked OK but was totally battered to the earth by storm Babet and will not now see a combine.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 13:10:47 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White - Farmer Director

It wouldn’t be a Camgrain Farmer Director’s piece without mentioning it so here goes – ‘The Weather’. Moving right along, autumn sowing here is nearly complete with just a 1ha wheat trial plot to do and then some winter beans. All autumn cereals have been sown to include companion seeds of vetch, peas and beans which qualifies me to claim a Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) payment. I also promise not to deliver any pulse or legume seeds into store with my cereals next harvest as they will be controlled with a herbicide next April or May when they have achieved their aims.

The purpose of the companions is to meet one of the following: act as a trap crop for pests, help supress weeds, provide a habit for birds, invertebrates and pollinators, help manage nutrient efficiency and protect and improve soil. This alongside other payments for not using insecticides, to have cover crops on overwintered land, to establish some flower margins and in-fill and manage the maintenance of hedges on a rotational basis are the main obligations I’ve signed up to …. and why wouldn’t one want to do this anyway?

All this means that my government environment support payments will largely replace what I used to receive as my Single Farm Payment. There will be some costs involved in carrying out the ‘work’ to meet the requirements I’ve signed up to but much of it I would have been doing as a Regenerative Farmer anyway, Yay!

I recently hosted an event for our customer CP Nestle who were entertaining buyers from one of the large supermarkets. They were promoting the breakfast cereals we supply clean wheat for plus some other new product lines. Consumption of cereal type breakfast products has fallen in the UK and in the USA of late but the good news is the consumption of oats is still rising, again, Yay! It was a full sales day for all but did include, as you would expect, a field walk to demonstrate the good practices that we use now to produce our crops and manage our environment. They were introduced to the worm and insect population in a flowering cover crop and the stark contrast of the brown worm free full tillage field over the hedge.

Off farm: Last week I had the privilege to give a presentation to an AIM-Progress member meeting - Just Transition (bringing people into business’s environmental strategies), a 3-day event. Their membership includes most of the major global food companies and AIM-Progress very much focuses on human rights of those involved in the (very diverse) food supply industry around the world. We had presentations from tea produces, chocolate manufacturing, dairy supply companies and others, discussing things such a women’s rights and child labour as well a nett zero carbon ambitions. As the event was hosted at Peterborough by AB Sugar, delegates had a visit to a beet field being harvested. People always enjoy having to put some wellies on and getting outside.

My given title was “The intersection between people into business’s climate, nature and regenerative agriculture agendas”. This meant that as well as espousing about Regenerative Agriculture, I had the opportunity to talk about the important people aspect of our industry, including illustrating the pressure on farmers and where it can come from. Some of this will be from the procurement, processing and supply chain industry (in the room) as well as the retail sector, all of which comes on top of the weather, legislation, inflation, and a host of other things. Additionally, I talked about the longevity in farming and the personal responsibility of sustaining what had been built by the previous generations to be handed onto the latest (in my case) 5 ^th generation, my grandchildren. I doubt the delegates in the room stayed in the same position for more than 5 years! These pressures are, of course, exhibited by the dreadful suicide numbers for farmers, mental health issues (88% of farmers under 40 rank poor mental health as the biggest hidden problem facing the industry) and the appalling fatality and accident record of our industry, very often caused by all people on the farm working under undue pressures of all kinds. People need to be aware of it to manage it, we must do better.

And finally, on a lighter note I’m looking forward to going on a BaseUK farm study tour to France. Our French hosts are always happy sharing their latest farming thinking, proud to show us their farms and crops, and insist that lunch in an always fabulous rural restaurant should take at least an hour and a half …. I can’t wait!

The future ….

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 11:09:17 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Robbie Dennis - Camgrain Vice Chairman

On a wet October morning it is, with some relief, that I write having finished most of our winter drilling. Most of the drilling campaign has been relatively benign this year with dry weather enabling us to get most crops drilled in good time. However, the weather seems to have turned and drilling will be more testing from hereon for those still with crops to drill.

A few weeks ago, the most difficult decision was deciding what not to drill as the weather was kind and we were conscious of getting maximum weed control. Some wheat fields were left for a further ‘chit’ – this is when we allow weeds to grow so that we can spray them off prior to drilling. The theory being that there will be less weeds in the subsequent crop if they are killed before the crop is drilled. Theory is great, but it’s quite stressful when you leave fields undrilled, and the weather turns. On our cold, wet clay, once the ground gets wet in the autumn it rarely dries until the spring. However, the gamble paid off and we have managed to spray off some good flushes of weeds and get the crops drilled into decent seedbeds.

Slugs have been at unprecedented levels in the seedbeds. Slugs will nibble at the newly emerging crop and can cause a lot of damage. We have therefore been applying slug pellets when drilling and topping up where necessary to limit damage to the recently sown crops.

Once the crop is drilled, it is essential to get a pre-emergence spray on in a timely manner to control weeds that will emerge with the crop. If applied at the right time, in the right conditions, these pre-emergence sprays can be very effective. However, where they don’t work, we will be fighting an uphill battle against weed control for the rest of the season.

Thoughts now turn to sugar beet, which is being lifted this week, although the weather has currently put a halt to proceedings. Beet is lifted and delivered straight into the factory at Bury St Edmunds, so we don’t have to worry about storage, which is a welcome break from harvest logistics! On heavy land beet is a slightly risky crop due to the ground being very reluctant to dry out and a right old mess can quickly be achieved. However, when all goes right the crop is profitable, is very good for blackgrass control and provides a useful break from cereal crops. Weather permitting, we may drill some wheat behind the beet, but we won’t lose sleep if we have to park the drill up until spring.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 10:00:49 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Jo Robinson - Farmer Director

It is frightening how the months are zipping past; my last newsletter being harvest time and now we are mid-October on a blustery day - not ideal for groundwork.

The picture (below) is of volunteer oilseed which we have sprayed off and it just remains to apply slug pellets prior to drilling. I have not used slug pellets since stopping growing oilseed rape and it just proves how they love to thrive in the crop. Another reason negative to growing it again this year!

I am glad to say last week we completed harvesting a good crop of maize, which has gone to a local AD plant. So now all our first wheat ground is ready for drilling when the weather permits next week hopefully.

We must leave it so late one to allow black grass to chit and also to clear the maize off.

Yesterday I attended the risk committee at NAPC which was looking tidy and the Navara building now complete looked very impressive. I hope members and staff can have the chance to see inside soon.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 09:49:25 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Carl Driver - Camgrain Chairman

We are now in one of the two best times of the year. One being completing harvest and the other planting next year’s crop and seeing the new seasons crop emerging well. We started drilling on 15 ^th September planting Craft winter barley into extremely high levels of trash with one of our direct drills. There is large volumes of straw this year so where we haven’t removed it through baling, we had to drill early because as soon as it gets wet it is nearly impossible to drill in to. Thankfully we do not have much of this scenario. Another thing to watch out for in these situations is high levels of slugs, which can decimate a crop overnight. Again, the early drilling allows these crops to get away from the slugs quickly meaning less use of slug pellets.

As of now, the beginning of October, we have about a third of our autumn drilling campaign left to go; this is to let more blackgrass grow before planting. We must take a pragmatic approach to drilling dates. In an ideal world everything would be drilled on the 12 ^th October, the reality is this rarely happens; 2019 is an example where trying to drill everything late caused vast amounts of crops not to be sown and huge amounts of money lost. In terms of Aphids, another threat in the autumn, which can also be a problem with early drilling, our local trap has caught eight Aphids so far! They can transmit a virus called Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus. It is important to regularly check crops for these bugs and spray an insecticide, if needed. We have not done this for many years, but never say never!

I have had excellent feedback from members on the high level of service Camgrain has provided them this harvest, with many saying they couldn’t run their businesses without it and all of you keeping the ship running. Well done and thank you!

Over the Farm gate

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 13:16:43 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Jefferies - Farmer Director

Here at Fullers Hill, harvest 2023 started quite early - 7 ^th July and ended relatively late on 22 ^nd August. It seemed a never-ending assault course of difficult weather and the occasional machinery failure. The most notable breakdown was a split hydraulic hose on a tractor which resulted in oil being spread across the road for a distance of about 1 mile and a drawbar breaking off a trailer resulting in grain being split on the road, together with the recovery of the trailer onto a low-loader. In both cases each incident could have been far worse had they occurred on the A428. Luck was on my side!

The winter barley and winter wheat crops were good but the beans and spring barley were disappointing. I think the reason for this was the swing between various extremes of weather that we now seem to have. I can’t remember a recent growing season when we have had the mixed bag of English weather that was normally connected to our climate. As a farmer, I feel our industry is at the coal face of climate change - although the use of ‘coal face’ in that analogy seems perverse.

I have a number of AB9 wild bird food strips on the farm and these have thrived over the summer in the warmth (yes it has been warm) and the moisture from the damp weather. The amount of growth and flower of these crops has been astonishing. When I looked at them earlier this week they were brim top full of pollinating insects. There were many species of bees; some very small, some larger, Hover flies and bumble bees too. The food supply that these areas provide are already hugely benefiting the local environment.

Seeing these pollinating insects working hard also takes me back to the reason why the beans on the farm were so poor. They yielded 50% of expectation and the reason for that was they flowered during that horrible cold spell at the end of May and early June; a period that lasted almost two weeks. It was so cold and windy that the bees simply decided to stay home and not to venture out to forage in the crop. A stark reminder of how important pollinating insects are to our food supply. This poor pollination period was then followed by about a week of fair weather before the temperature soared to 30°C. The high temperature dried up the remaining bean flowers. The beans only had a week or so of good weather during flowering. This also serves to illustrate the potential consequences of climate change on farming.

But the prime reason for these AB9 areas of cropping is to provide a food source for small birds during the course of the winter. In past years we have observed up to 3000 linnets, 300 yellow hammers, 300 chaffinch and about 100 corn bunting on this farm. A friend who is a department director at the RSPB and a keen birder said to me ‘you have the entire Corning bunting population for 25 miles around on this farm’. But for me, having 300 yellow hammers, which are one of my favourite birds, over-wintering on the farm is astonishing. Yellow hammers are on the RSPB red list. The numbers above are pre-bird flu. Let’s hope the survivors can find their way back here for this coming winter.

The next month or so will see the planting of the crops for harvest 2024. Some have already been done. I have a couple of fields of Oil Seed Rape that are fighting off an onslaught of slugs during the wetter weather and an equally vivacious onslaught of cabbage stem flea beetle in the hot sunny weather. The next month or so will show if we have a crop here or the expense and trouble of planting something else. The crop below seems to have cleared these two hurdles but will still need quite a lot of management to get it to harvest. The rapeseed is the dark blueish/green leaf and everything else is either a companion crop, a barley volunteer or blackgrass.

Over the Farm Gate

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 10:05:35 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Latham- Farmer Director

Here at AWT Farm Services we finished harvest at 10:00pm on Tuesday 5 ^th September having started on 7 ^th July.

It has been quite a protracted affair this year as we finished on 23 ^rd August last year which was a much drier affair! We are doing 2,000Ha (5,000 acres) with one combine having moved away from running two machines a couple of years ago.

We grow a mixture of crops including wheat (milling and ‘cleaned wheat’ varieties), barley (both feed and malting), spring milling oats and Oil Seed Rape. This year we will have harvested just under 14,000 tonnes and, apart from some seed retained on farm, this will have all moved into Camgrain.

Strategically, Camgrain is at the heart of how we run our six family run farms that utilize AWT. We operate a ‘Share Farming Agreement’ which means all six farms share the input costs to include the Fixed Costs (labour and machinery) and the Variable Costs (seed, fertilizer and sprays) and in return we get to share the returns from our crops in store at Camgrain depending on the % of land we contribute into AWT. It feels a bit like ‘The Six Musketeers’ in we are ‘All for one and one for all’!!

Our membership of Camgrain means we can maximise the efficiency of the operation by only growing one crop on each of the farms (there are 9 land parcels). We manage with the minimum of equipment and labour and can cover large acreages with our machinery as we are not moving from farm to farm too much.

At harvest time we have very little holding capacity for grain and therefore rely on the swift uptake of crop and into store by Camgrain and it is the fantastic service we get from you all at Camgrain that makes our business of AWT work so well and efficiently. So yet again, a big thank you to you all for making it happen so well.

One aspect of harvest which slowed us down was some flat oats on our headlands where the fertilizer overlaps. With a combine with a 13m header this can cause harvesting rates to drop very considerably!

The farms will remain very busy until we have all our autumn sown crops safely in the ground. We have dropped oilseed rape from the rotation (again!) as we struggle to make a profit with this crop due to the much talked about flea beetle and the risks involved in growing this crop.

I have enclosed some pictures of harvest and one of what we all see on our phones while harvesting is ongoing (harvesting behind the CAPC- see red lines).

Over the Farm Gate

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 12:50:02 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White- Farmer Director

My harvest is all tucked away in the bins.

A big thank you to everyone at Camgrain whether they man the telephones, sit behind a computer screen, in front of a control panel, an Infratec or have a broom or spanner in their hand in one of the yards. Everyone is equally important in making the intake go smoothly and safely – Thanks again to you all!

Whilst again here in the East rain delayed progress more than we would have hoped, many areas have had it much worse with some farmers reporting that they have had to dry every grain they harvested and commenting that it has been the most difficult harvest for many years. Yields here have, again, generally been average with a couple of highlights and no disasters - the hot dry June and wet July taking the blame for this. The spring oats have been particularly difficult; they are known to have ripe harvestable seed heads on top of green straw which our combines don’t like. This results in having to leave very high stubble and put less of the green damp material through the machine. This year the moist ground has made the problem of them not wanting to die much worse; this, and some patches being laid flat by July rains, has necessitated in a change of stubble management involving mowing it down low post combining.

Moist ground has its pluses and minuses. Whilst OSR and cover crops have germinated well, the soil for many will have suffered damage from weighty harvesting equipment and will need more remedial cultivation than usual. Slugs also like the damp conditions and have been feasting on newly emerging OSR thinning the plant stand and, in some cases, causing the need to reseed. One of my cover crop mixes has been designed to feed sheep. To my certain knowledge there haven’t been sheep on this farm for 65 years but they could form an important part of my new organic(ish) rotation - so I’ll be looking for a well behaved

flock to host for a while in the spring!

It's amazing how much wildlife treat our crops as a home or a playground these days. We have always had rabbits and hares but of late the number of foxes, deer (several types) and badgers have increased dramatically - they particularly like the tall crops such as beans and oats but now, in the evenings, wander around the trimmed off fields looking a little lost.

Cropping plans for next year are being made. My GP1 blend will be having Crusoe added as a 4 ^th variety. Planet spring barley may be changed to Laureate, which I hope will hold its heads up more reliably than Planet which has weak straw once ripe dropping its heads down low making them unretrievable by the combine which can result in large losses.

The final change may be to grow some Ryeans, I’ll leave you to guess ….

Over the Farm Gate

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 12:43:25 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Jo Robinson- Farmer Director

No harvest is ever the same! It has been a difficult harvest, and many are not yet finished with it. What is clear is ‘THANK GOODNESS for Camgrain’. Thank you everyone for clearing up all our wet grain in such an efficient and well organised way. Camgrain’s service has been excellent which is a great relief and essential for working in a catchy harvest.

The contractors I use (different on each farm) have been only too pleased to combine my crops and have them lifted out of the way by Camgrain. Unlike their home where they are bunged up with wet grain and have no room until the dryer has caught up!

We have been pleased with what we’ve harvested in terms of yield and quality, but the problem bits are still to be combined on one farm. Some spring Barley heads necking over and a lot of green straw in Oats which are still standing nicely.

Around here in the Midlands with Livestock about, the straw is going to be very valuable especially last years if one has any left over. This year a lot around here has been chopped or is of poor quality. Any crops now left standing will produce a lot of dust!

When our contractor has finished combining elsewhere, we will have to make a final decision whether we plant oilseed rape or not. Like Adam in last week’s newsletter this is a difficult decision, basically do you gamble you can beat the pests and the price will rise? I think our decision will be to leave it as I hear of numerous crop failures due primarily to slugs eating the seedlings. The wet weather has meant there is an explosion of slugs, ones only got to look in the garden!

A lot of soil compaction has shown up this harvest which is surprising since last year was so dry. We will have to do more moling than usual to help excess water in the field move to the drains laid deeper in the soil. A tractor pulls a leg behind with a piece of metal rather like a rocket through the profile of the soil across the drainage system. In clay it should leave a tube like a mole would do crossing your lawn!

Camgrain allows farmers to move onto field work more quickly because one is not stuck around the dryer for days or testing grain etc. in a shed of wet grain.

The weather forecast looks as if after a weekend of rain, we will get some more settled weather next week. Let’s hope next week allows everyone to get finished with harvesting.

I appreciate Camgrain never sleeps and will be conditioning our grain - Thank you.

Over the Farm Gate

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 12:38:10 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Adam Driver- Farmer Director

Harvest is in full swing and thanks to Camgrain we are now 59% completed as of this morning (Thu 10th). We now have 462ha of wheat left to harvest and 270ha of beans. All the other crops are finished.

So far yields have been pretty good and quality all intact

It has been frustratingly stop / start, and feels like harvest has been going on forever since we started winter barley at the beginning of July. However, I have not found it particularly stressful, having our investment in Camgrain is paramount to timely harvesting meaning we can get on with following operations with excellent timeliness. Once behind you are always fighting an uphill battle but this simply does not happen because of all of the hard work everyone at Camgrain does for us. Social media is full of panicking farmers at the moment, I cannot help but feel a little smug as its years like these where Camgrain really stands head and shoulders above anything but the absolute best on farm storage.

We are currently mole draining and have done 700 acres so far. This keeps the fields dry and is essential when direct drilling, it was too hard and dry last year for it to be effective, so we are catching up this year. We are cultivating fields which are unlevel and need attention, this is going nicely. Cover crops are going in today with a shallow cultivation pre-spring oats and barley.

The ground is fairly wet, so as we direct drill all our winter crops with no cultivation it is essential that we keep to our controlled traffic farming system. This means we only run on 15% of the field as opposed to 70-80%, picture below will demonstrate that.

A big pat on the back to Carl, who drives the combine. He has achieved some huge outputs so far with our best day being 89 hectares (210 acres) in a single 12-hour stint on some decent Isobel oats and dawsum wheat. He seems to be getting better at thrashing output from a combine with age!

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 12:07:22 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White- Farmer Director

Predictably, as the crops got ready to cut the weather took a down turn! Its years like this that really show the benefit of Camgrain membership. With no winter barley my first crop was early sown Planet spring barley. Moisture varied from ~15% at best to something worse, but as some of the seeding/fertilizer over laps were flat and with an unsettled forecast it needed cutting whatever. Later spring barley and spring oats aren’t ready yet so last thing on Wednesday I started some Gleam wheat and managed to fill a trailer load before the rain hit. Not sure how the spring barley yield finished up as I’ve been too busy to look on the portal but combine tank got filled on a single round on a smallest fields so that’s ok with me.

Less than ok is the fact that the combine developed a occasional issue feeding the crop into the thrashing drum so its now in bits for investigation as to why this is. Worst than that my bean to cup coffee machine has developed a fault and despite spending 1.5hrs taking it apart in the workshop this morning its still not delivering essential harvest caffeine and it will need taking to the “man that can” ☹️ .

Brighter news, as I try and be cup half full my cover crop seed order came today and I have already got seed I had in stock sown behind some of the spring barley and it is emerging nicely in the lovely damp soil.

Wishing you all a safe stress free harvest

David White

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 08:46:14 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Jefferies- Farmer Director

It’s here!!!!

Harvest has started. Exciting times. A farmer is able to get all of his toys out of the shed and use them all at more or less the same time.

Harvest is also the culmination of a full seasons work. Where you get the opportunity to see what has worked well and what has not. I often think that driving the combine is the “king of jobs” as you have the best view of the incoming crop.

For me harvest stared last Sunday afternoon and a friend came out to the field and captured this photo during the evening. I first cut some hybrid barley, which produced a rather disappointing 7.4t/ha. However, the conventional 2 row barley has been coming off at 9t/ha, which is very pleasing. What I now need to do is try to work out why that small field of hybrid (luckily it was only 2.3ha) was so poor. I might have a clue in a further field of barley. Here the drill (or drill woman) missed a 12m strip. This was spotted and in mid October was patched in with hybrid seed. This small area of hybrid made the yield monitor on the combine dance up to 10.5t/ha. The only differences between this small area and the small field was the 3 weeks later drilling date and not using a plant growth regular called Terpal. I suspect it is the latter of these two possibilities that cause the 7.4t yield. In which case the lesson is to drill later and not use the growth regulator.

Elsewhere I have an exciting little project. As a 22 year old I worked in Australia for a very short period of time. My travels were cut short by my fathers untimely passing. However, I worked on an irrigated farm in New South Wales, where it was possible to grow 2 crops per year. Wheat followed by Soya beans. Ever since then I have always wanted to grow 2 crops per year. So this is the year I am trying. The scene was set as the barley came off quite early and as there is ample moisture (from all these showers) and as I had 350kg surplus spring barley seed. So on Wednesday evening it was drilled. I see 3 possible outcomes.

1. A harvest of a good crop of malting barley in late October

2. A harvest of a poor crop of feed barley in late October

3. Sheep grazing in November.

I hope for outcome 1, but expect outcome 3. Updates to follow. But a mere 30 hours after drilling, the barley has germinated.

In other news. As part of the mid-tier conservation scheme I grow small areas of wild bird food. This was drilled into crisp, bone dry soil at the end of June, just before the forecast rain. It is now doing rather well and will feed a good number of birds this winter.

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 12:45:48 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Robbie Dennis- Vice Chairman

This is the best time of year on the farm. Fields are full of potential, we have long evenings, and the stress of harvest is not imminent! The sunshine has been very beneficial for crops and will help grain fill, hopefully assisting the potential that this growing season has created. Final doses of nitrogen have gone on milling wheats. The aim of the final dose is to push up protein levels to achieve milling spec, which is +13% protein. We use two methods to achieve this, one is applying solid fertiliser and the other is applying liquid fertiliser through the sprayer. We have had success with both methods in previous years, however, the dry spell this year may have limited uptake of the solid fertiliser.

Thoughts are now turning to harvest and whether fields are desiccated. A couple of weeks of sunshine has driven the winter barleys to a point where they will largely be ready to desiccate next week. The signs of a ready crop are that the grain is hard enough that you can’t squish it between your fingertips, but just soft enough to take a dent from a thumb nail. The other key sign is that top centimetre or two of the stems immediately below the ear will turn from green to yellow, at this point there is no longer any nutrient flow into the ear so the crop may as well be sprayed off. Desiccation helps to even up the field along with preventing late regrowth and assists combining.

Once we’ve sprayed off the start of harvest is set for 2 weeks’ time. With that date in mind, we must finalise preparations on the farm. Stores will be cleaned, and machines readied. Careful thought must be put in to ensure that we are ready since once harvest starts, we become incredibly busy and there is no let up until it is over! Now is the time to have some R&R as well. It is very important to go into harvest feeling well rested, and now is a popular time for arable farmers to take time off, maybe even get away from the farm for a bit.

I hope harvest preparation is going well for everyone at Camgrain. As farmers we look forward harvest and it is always exciting to finally see whether the crops that we have nursed since autumn last year can pay their way!

Finally good luck to those taking on the Three Peaks Challenge. Looks like you’ll have cracking weather for it.

Winter barley ready for desiccation:

Over the Farm Gate

Wed, 03 May 2023 12:30:39 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White- Vice Chairman

Farming

The crops are slowing growing now with some occasional warmer and (always!) longer days. Other than some cover crop seed areas all my main sowing is complete with all cereals in and up, this includes Planet barley after failed OSR. I’ll have no rape to cut this year which will be a first for a while. I travelled up to Scunthorpe yesterday and was heartened to see many fields of OSR in flower, some of that I’m sure destined for the silos at Woldgrain that I passed close by on the A15. Big grain stores are always so impressive. There were still many brown fields to be seen on my travels, these mostly were being planted with potatoes, sugar beet or maize. Winter beans here are starting to extend in height thankfully and will start to flower soon and my wheat has had its first spray application (called T1). This comprised of two fungicides, a growth regulator and some trace elements. I have no idea what the fungicides were as the brand name gets changed every year with tweaks to the chemical mix percentages and depending on which distributer supplies them. I’m sure this is to confuse us simple farmers and discourage us from attempting to do our own agronomy and for me anyway it works!

Next jobs here include thinking about grain shed cleaning which means all the various part loads of remaining seed heaps need delivering to store or bagging into ton bags so I have some stock for next year. I have two farm walks planned for late May and early July which always requires the farm and barn to be clean and tidy, no bad thing. The combine has had its pre-service check-over and pleasingly again there is very little that needs attending to.

My Basic Payment Scheme paperwork has been prepared for submitting to the RPA with the help of Brown & Co whom with advice from others will be helping to make a plan for my next Environmental Stewardship Scheme application as the current five year one comes to an end this year. Planning what I’m prepared to sign up to for the next five years and how it will integrate with other proposed new schemes, all with different start dates, is a nightmare. I’m sure this is to confuse us simple farmers and discourage us from attempting to claim too much money! The way I’m farming now should mean there are many simple wins (and financial rewards) but alas the red tape that sits behind the application and loss of freedom in how I manage what suits me and the “natural capital” areas of the farm year to year may mean the need for a simple life wins and I’ll be happier in my peasantry.

Ingredients

Our ex Director and still dear friend of the business David Reynolds never missed the opportunity to remind us that we need to be in the business of providing ingredients. He of course was right and now with two consumers placed next door to two of our stores, and a long-term relationship with Nestle Cereal Partners we are providing just that. His other favourite topic is Pearled Barley, which we’re not onto just yet David! Anyway, on the subject of ingredients the purpose of my visit to Lincs yesterday was to meet the lovely people at McArthur Agriculture. These guys supply all sorts of farm and commercial grain store infrastructure (conflict of interest warning!) so storage, handling, drying, and more interestingly cleaning and processing machines, inc dehullers. I took three samples to put through their “grain lab”, one my heritage wheat to clean to a milling standard to mill in a local windmill to supple artisan bakers/farm shops. The second was to test drive the cleaner to clean weed seeds from a companion mix of 3 seed sizes ie winter peas, vetch and beans and finally to check sieve sizes required to split my Boats, so beans from oats. We succeeded on all three tasks but the icing on the cake was to then dehull the oats to produce groats from Boats! These were rolled in my “food standard”? farm workshop last evening to produce oat flakes for my porridge this morning. Home grown ingredients to make David R. proud and my production beat Navara by several months and a few fewer £s of investment ��.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 09:52:19 GMT

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Robert Dennis - Farmer Director

Writing my first ‘Over the Farm Gate’ I don’t want to fall into the cliché of a moaning farmer, so I will
start with the good…

Winter crops look very good with a lot of potential. Wheats have had their T0 spray and will be
approaching T1 one timing within the next couple of weeks. There is a lot of septoria in the wheats
and we will using a ‘robust’ (aka expensive!) fungicide programme. However, with strong yield
potential the investment should be worth it.

Early fertiliser looks to have got into the winter crops really well and we will be going with our
second liquid (and third overall) on wheats very soon. Winter barley fertiliser is all finished so that’s
one less job to worry about.

Sugar beet has gone in slightly later than we’d prefer but the seedbeds are good and there is plenty
of moisture to help them get away well (very different to a year ago when we hadn’t had any April
rain by this point). Sugar beet is grown on contract for British Sugar and the contract price has been
significantly increased this year (£27/t - £40/t). Sugar beet suits us as a good break crop for cleaning
up blackgrass and the margin is currently looking to be in line with a first wheat. However, my
positivity may have diminished when I’m sat looking at wet rutted fields in mid-November!
Now on to the not so good…

Oilseed rape has really struggled in our region, and we have had to abandon some crops. Out of
100ha drilled we are left with approximately half that will make it to harvest. This is due to an
infestation of cabbage stem flea beetle larvae and cabbage stem weevil larvae throughout the
winter and early spring. We have found that crops haven’t got going this spring as we would usually
expect. Previous experience of such scenarios is that, if there is still green leaf once the days get
longer and milder, the crop is able to overcome the larvae and grow away. However, the poor areas
have continued to suffer and plant loss is still occurring. Late drilling due to last summer’s drought is
a significant reason why the plants aren’t strong enough to cope with the larvae burden.
We have re-drilled some of the failed fields with spring barley which, although going in quite late,
should produce a small margin rather than the loss we were looking at with the poor OSR fields. On
another block we have drilled some ryegrass. This is more of an experiment than anything but the
plan is to get some haylage made then continue with our rotation of first wheat after OSR. If there’s
time, we’ll put some sheep on it in before drilling to provide some free fertiliser.

Robbie

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 08:38:40 GMT

Over the Farm Gate - this week is kindly supplied by Adam Driver - Farmer Director

Since I last wrote we have had 110mm of rain, which is quite something considering it had been so dry all winter. I guess things are balancing themselves up.

Spring planted crops are generally looking good. The oats are romping away although the spring barley is slow, it tends to be more affected by wet weather. I am pleased we got drilled up early as there would have been very minimal chance to drill since then. We are now in the middle of April and would have suffered a huge yield penalty if drilling in the next couple of weeks.

Winter crops are romping. We have a large list for the sprayer once the wind and rain stop. Due to the amount of wet and warm weather disease is more prevalent in crops than we have seen for many years. Chocolate spot in beans and septoria in wheat are especially noticeable, even on highly resistant varieties. Careful planning of spray programs and logistics will be needed over the coming ten days in order to ensure we are treating what is most pressing. We will continue using foliar nutrition in order to help with this as well as the usual fungicides and growth regulators. We have been reducing our usage of fungicides in recent years, however they have been low disease pressure seasons and if the weather continues as is, attempting to reduce too far could end up extremely costly. We have to be remain rational with our decision making on what is happening at the moment, as opposed to what we want to achieve in the future and what has happened in previous seasons. We need to play what is in-front of us which sometimes goes against our own self interest in terms of farming systems and protocol.

However, we are now into our sixth year of using zero insecticides. The main threat is barley yellow dwarf virus, which is transmitted by aphids in the autumn. The farming press and social media is always awash the pressure stories that essentially frighten people into spraying. This virus can have a huge knock on effect to yield, and with insecticides being ludicrously cheap it is a real internal battle not to spray. However when you do spray you kill off myriad of beneficial insects which we are trying to increase. This year our levels of BYDV are incredibly low yet again, mainly just very small occasional patches in warm valley bottoms under trees. I am pleased again that we didn’t spray and have another year of boosting beneficials under our belts. Recently, the new Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme announced they would pay farmers £45/ha not to use insecticides, which is not and insignificant amount money on our area. I essentially see it as a tax of cheap insecticides and genuinely think it is a positive towards better farming systems and a healthier on farm ecology.

Over the farm Gate

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 12:42:16 GMT

Over the Farm Gate- this week kindly supplied by Jo Robinson, Farmer Director

How the year is flying by so fast, we are at Easter weekend already! It seems an age sine we drilled our Spring Barley with dust around the drill at the end of February. Since then we have had low temperatures averaging <7 degrees and 110mm of rain! We do not normally get our Spring Barley in the ground until late March, upon reflection it was lucky we did put it in with the weather we’ve had in March. Those farmers around who have not drilled their spring crops yet will be flying about this weekend planting and applying some very expensive fertilizer and sprays. Many farmers may show some good profits for last year with high value grain sales but next years will probably be ghastly unless they were clever or lucky! High in put costs , fertilizer in particular up 134% and now falling grain prices mean prospects do not look good particularly with a further fall in farmers area payments. We still have to plant our Maize later this month for a local AD plant producing gas into the gas main.

Arable farming is becoming a riskier business with so much volatility in the market and I hope it does not drive too many farmers to consider less risky options as are becoming available under schemes the government have introduced recently. These schemes will replace the area payments farmers receive by 2027

We are growing oilseed rape after 3 years break and it has not been plan sailing but I have to say our crop is looking really good currently and is about to come into flower. We have plenty of buds appearing and this recent cold weather has meant another problem often as this growth stage is beetles in the flower but they seem to have disappeared. With the current fall in Oilseed values I’m not sure I will plant again next season unless values increase soon which is rather concerning.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 13:02:05 GMT

Over the Farm Gate- this week kindly supplied by Andrew Maddever, Farmer Director

Spring, where did that go? Following the wettest period we have had for a very long time I can only
reflect at how pleased I am that we made the decision to drill all of our spring cereals in early
February. Both the oats and barley have established exceptionally well and with at least 50 % of
their nutrition applied at drilling they will take no harm in the short term. Unfortunately I still have
peas and sugar beet to plant, historically peas drilled in April can do well, beet however need to be
in the ground very soon to reach their potential.

The winter cereal crops of wheat and barley are all looking well despite the prolonged wet spell,
these crops are ready for their first growth regulator to help prevent lodging ( falling over ) and to
encourage tillering, we would expect to include a fungicide with this application.

As I write this at 8:30 am on Monday the sun is shining and a good day is forecast before more rain
for the remainder of the week. Henry is applying growth regulator to the best winter barley and later
today he will start applying a weedkiller targeting blackgrass, Ian is backing the sprayer up with a
bowser today to maximise output during this very brief fine period.

I, along with a strong contingent from Camgrain attended the Central Stores meeting at Silverstone
on Wednesday of last week. This was a well-attended day by many of the central stores from right
across the UK. The overall feeling was very much one of collaboration where once competition may
have been the feeling between stores. Hopefully this will progress to a structured regular meeting as
there are many positives for us all to gain from.

Lastly if any of you could dance for some sunshine and warm weather, please crack on!

Have a great weekend.
Andrew

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 11:01:03 GMT

Over the Farm Gate- this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Farmer Director & Chair of the Member Services Committee

In 1978 a man called Paul Harvey came up with a now famous quote “we owe our existence to six inches of topsoil and the fact it rains”. So, let’s deal with the latter half of that quote. Rain.

In recent weeks we have had rain, sleet and snow. We have had lots of rain, sleet and snow. Seemingly endless.

The new year had been very dry and by the end of February most farms had more or less completed their spring cereal drilling into some very good conditions. Also, fertiliser spreading was well advanced with up to 60% of the nitrogen applied to some crops. The run of recent dry springs weighing heavily on the minds of farmers and the change to having to apply fertiliser early so that it is available to the crop after the drought hits. I received around 75mm of rainfall in recent days. But the rain falling on top of the snow and melting the snow just served to increase the amount of water that needed to percolate into the soil. This was an overload. In my area there was significant surface run off and ponding in some fields. Luckily most of my nitrogen is still in the shed, with the exception of 60ha that had about 100kgN applied. The question now is, how much of this valuable fertiliser was moved into the soil before the runoff started and how much was simply washed away. Next week I will carry out some soil nitrogen tests to try to establish what has actually happened.

The other side of this equation is that the land is currently far too wet to travel upon. I have some winter barley crops that received 30kg N in January and are now looking very hungry. These had a big top up of fertiliser on Monday (almost regardless of travelling conditions). Apart from this, the wheat on the farm, some of which have had no fertiliser at all look in fantastic health. The potential for a good harvest is certainly there. As ever it is now up to the climate and whether (or not!) we get a summer drought or adequate rainfall for a full crop.

Dawsum wheat with zero fertiliser to date

At the recent directors away day, that was beautifully facilitated by Karen and Stewart at Stratford, a few of us had a conversation about inter-row hoeing of cereal crops. The conversation was about the technology (satellite and CCTV) needed and type and size of kit needed as well as the economics of buying this kit. It was fascinating, especially as a few weeks earlier I had come across some old cine film of inter-row hoeing of bean crops here on my farm.

In the first clip you see 2 fine gentleman who I have so much respect for. They are Frank Sherman who worked here for about 40 years. He is driving a Model A John Deere. The hoe is called a steerage hoe and was operated by William Sherman (known as Son, who worked here for 50 years) who was Frank’s Son. You might note that Frank is looking to the left and Son to the right. I can only assume that this was to take out any steering error and not to accentuate it. The clip continues to show Son drilling in the spring. I can assure you that the tractor was not fitted with RTK auto steer satellite technology, but those drill lines do look unerringly straight. I doubt many farm workers under 35 years could match this accuracy unaided by modern tech. Next we have a load of thatching straw being loaded. That looks like hard work. Our farm produced thatching straw well into the 1980s. Then Son Sherman features again. This time on a Field Marshall popper crawler, before Dick Sewell finishes off with some harrowing.

https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AA1HH1l5cGgppUc&cid=28B58704C9F45272&id=28B58704C9F45272%2163618&parId=28B58704C9F45272%2163616&o=OneUp

The second clip is equally fascinating, although I would suggest that H&S sits down with a strong coffee. H&S certainly did not feature within this one. Again, we are hoeing beans and I would date this at 1961 as my elder brother appears to be about 3 years old. Progress was made, as the hoeing task was reduced to a one-man operation (Son Sherman driving) with the advent of a Fordson major and a front mounted hoe. The same tractor is then driven by Barry Sherman, (Frank’s Grandson, Son’s nephew), whilst he is ridging up some potatoes. Barry worked on the farm for almost 60 years, until May 2020. I think it is quite an accomplishment that 3 members of the same family have worked on this farm for my family for 150 years total.

The final clip is a crop of beans, which clearly failed to pollinate, being rotovated in. Halcyon days of the past!!!

https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AJtJKhLkFVOUG0Q&cid=28B58704C9F45272&id=28B58704C9F45272%2163617&parId=28B58704C9F45272%2163616&o=OneUp

The John Deere Model A was my grandfather’s first tractor. It was purchased in 1942 via Collings Bros and has a serial number of 717 on their nameplate that they put on all tractors they sold. Below is a photo of the tractor that would have been taken in the 1960s. A one owner, 3 farmer machine.

New Paragraph

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 13:59:24 GMT

Over the Farm Gate - this week kindly supplied by John Barker, Farmer Director and Chair of the Risk & Audit Committee

Firstly, I would like to congratulate Carl Driver following his appointment as our new Chairman. It was great to have applications from so many capable members for the board to consider, which showed a good level of engagement and reflects the desire members have to see the business continue to thrive and the prestige the job role is held in. Our board strategy day following Carl’s appointment crystalised there is a lot for us as a business to be proud of. At the same time, we there are lots of things we can improve on and aspire to achieve as we develop and grow, we all look forward to delivering a challenging vision for the business together.

Turning to our farm on the Norfolk, Suffolk boarders we have had a wet and very blustery week! We are fairly well up to date with our land work following the very dry spell over the past few weeks giving us the opportunity to get spring cereals into good seedbeds and our first dose of fertiliser onto the crops.

Generally I would say they look well, with lots of yield potential. Probably the highlight is the earliest sown cereals put in at the beginning of October which have tillered well and are really starting to motor in the sunshine. On the other end of the spectrum, I have some Winter Oats which are a little patchy where in places the pre-em herbicide back in the autumn seems to have hit plant populations anywhere there was an overlap with the sprayer on the ends of the field. Something to improve on for next year! I am currently researching adding on GPS auto shut off onto our sprayer which should significantly improve this in the future.

When the weather allows, we will be getting the land ready for sugar beet drilling. The crop was very disappointing this year following the summer drought and then frost damage in the autumn and very poor weather conditions at lifting making establishing the next crop very difficult. We hope for a better season this year! Farmers blind optimism! We shall see.

John Barker

Over the Farm Gate

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 11:44:52 GMT

Over the Farm Gate - this week kindly supplied by David White, Camgrain Vice Chairman, Hawk Mill Farms, Cambs.

February is usually referred to as the “fill dyke” month. This year it will stand out as it being exceptionally dry however. After 60mm of rainfall in January we’ve only had 7mm in February with the first measurable amount being on the 23rd. Unless things change very quickly this will be the first winter that water hasn’t flowed under the watermill next to my house. The flow usually (sadly) ceases at some point during the summer but always returns during the winter when the ground water-table rises again. Climate change (variability?) combined with ever increasing demand for water by the burgeoning Cambridgeshire population is the reason. Its hard to believe that the mill was fully operational into the 1930s and the reliable flow of water turned a turbine generator post WWII, how green was that!

If we are in for a drought then the kind February weather has at least enabled farms to get the spring drilling underway, or in the case of some, completed. Early drilled crops have a longer growing season and usually will have a better developed root system enabling efficient scavenging of moisture and reliable yields.

The kind weather has also enabled an early application timing of nitrogen on the winter cereals which have responded with some new spring growth and look a lovely shade of green. What doesn’t look so good however (at least around here) is the OSR. Whilst looking capable of producing a reasonable yield in January, justifying an application of nitrogen, it has since largely died on its feet due to being eaten internally by a combination of Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle larvae and Winter Stem Weevil.

This ordinarily would not be the end of the world as we would re-plant a failed crop with a different crop. However the soil acting combination herbicide used on OSR (AstroKerb) is so effective that it precludes planting just about anything else this growing season! This does make me question just what we are being advised to apply to our soil and its destructive effect on the soil food web (see below), also see https://youtu.be/uAMniWJm2vo

This thought was also echoed by organic farmer member, John Pawsey, Slough Hall Farm LLP ,in his excellent piece Putting farmers back in the driving seat in the East Anglian Daily Times last week where he said “The heady mix of active ingredients I was loading into my sprayer on the advice of my agronomist, had made me feel unqualified to make even the most basic agronomic decision”. I think we need to get back to the basics of husbandry and away from arrives-in-a-can (chemical warfare) solutions.

Is there a different solution? I’m about to find out. An area on the farm has been moved into a new regenerative rotation and will be added to over the next two years. It has been planted to a blend of spring milling wheat and will receive no delivered in cans “cides” which includes the total herbicide glyphosate. Organic then, not quite as I can use a small rate of synthetic nitrogen if justified by plant sap tests that show the planted bean companions haven’t fixed enough free nitrogen from the atmosphere for the crop’s needs. One of the most often asked farming questions is how are we going to farm without glyphosate (if the misguided “greens” get it banned), there’s only one way to find out……..

So the farm slowly changes with a regenerative rotation, using no ag-chems, bi-crops, no OSR crops and potentially even some woolly livestock grazing on nutrition building herbal grass lays going forward. OSR is a much-needed break crop in the arable rotation and will need to be replaced here. The other options of peas, beans and linseed are not especially reliable. However, the payment rates for stewardship scheme options have increased of late and at least the fallow (non crop) type options will show a margin compared to unreliable break crops that can ultimately fail.

Farming practices are changing, it might be just for the minority or the attraction of DEFRA monies might turn it into a wider trend. Just looking at how some of the Camgrain farmer directors are thinking and farming now has changed over a very few years. As Camgrain celebrates its 40th anniversary year we need to be prepared to adapt to changing times, member and customer requirements, and work hard to maintain our relevance into the next decades.

David White

Vice Chairman

Message From Carl Driver – Camgrain Chairman

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 12:22:33 GMT

Message From Carl Driver – Camgrain Chairman

As your new Chairman I am delighted to be able to write to you all with a brief introduction and to detail some of my priorities for our Society.

I have been a passionate member of Camgrain for 30 years and a Camgrain Director for 28 years. Our own farm and those we collaborate with as Driver Farms are heavily invested in Camgrain and I am committed to the successful evolution of the business.

Driver Farms has grown from a small farm to one that covers a large area for numerous landowners in various agreements including a Joint venture, contract farming agreements and rented land. Our business has grown alongside Camgrain, which has been vital to our own growth. Our own success is therefore entwined with the success of Camgrain, both in the past and looking forward into the future.

I joined the Board in 1995, at the same time as our previous Chairman John Latham. Together we have over the years seen huge growth within the Camgrain business. We have seen the expansion from Linton into the Cambridge site, then latterly the merging of Stratford and the store being built at Kettering; projects driven by Philip Darkes drive and tenacity.

More recently the Navara Oat Milling project beside the store at NAPC has been added to the business. This is an extremely exciting venture on both a personal level and for the Members. John Latham has led the business through these expansions with passion and integrity. Together we have had some brilliants times and I feel very proud about what John and the various Board members over the years have achieved. Thankyou John for all the work and dedication you have put into the society. I really do value your support both now and into the future.

We are now at a crossroads in UK agriculture. Subsidies are going, input-based agriculture is changing, and the financial pressures are growing. Like all farmers are looking at everything we do both at home and within our business with ever closer scrutiny; this includes our grain storage and marketing. Grain storage is a large cost in the overhead of all farming businesses and marketing, especially in these volatile times affects a business’s output to scary levels. Sadly, I cannot tell what the future holds for farming in the UK. However, what we can all do is ensure every aspect of our businesses are running as professionally and efficiently as possible. This includes Camgrain, which for Members is an extension of their own business.

Camgrain is a Safe, Strong, and Stable business, but as with any business we must ensure we are fit for the future and do our utmost to support our members by staying true to our core values and driving performance in all aspects of the society.

The future of Camgrain is exciting and we are now in a new stage of our evolution. Therefore, together with the Camgrain Boards there are many important projects, priorities, and objectives on my agenda, these include:

Transparency and trust - We must be able to prove where we are adding value financially to Members crops and what our costs are. This will build trust within the membership that Camgrain is working for them.
Communication – Continue to improve how we communicate with Members. Listen to Members grievances and takes criticism on board. Ensure no Member feels like they don’t have a voice.
Sweating our assets – Camgrain has large but under-utilised assets. We need to drive value from these assets whether that is getting more processors onto our sites, investigate more commercial grain storage/conditioning services, explore options unrelated to grain storage or total divestment of land assets.
Accountable marketing – It is important that the Marketing Committee hold the marketing partners fully accountable of the decisions made and drive performance through benchmarking and analysis.
Costs analysis – Ongoing reviews of the costs within the business to drive performance. Ensure Camgrain is competitive in the marketplace against on farm, commercial and other central storage options.
Succession – It is paramount that the next generation of Camgrain Members start to get involved with the running of the business and we are looking at a succession plan for the Board over the next few years.
H&S – Colleagues to embrace and own a Health and Safety culture throughout the business. Keeping each other safe.
One Camgrain – Creation of a shared ethos between Members and colleagues; that we are all part of an exciting business that we are driving forward together in a new stage of the evolution of Camgrain.

I also firmly believe that Camgrain must be an enviable place to work and that retaining our excellent team and attracting the best talent into the business is a priority. Colleague safety and happiness is paramount as this leads to improved performance within the business. As your new Chairman I am committed to supporting Simon Willis and the Executive team to not only ensure that Camgrain supports its members but that our colleagues feel proud to work for our business.

Our customers must see Camgrain as the “go to” place for securing their product through consistent quality and outstanding service and I would like to see further relationships like the ones we have with Hovis, Nestle CP, Navara, Yelo and Boortmalt develop.

Most importantly for our Members Camgrain must be true to its core values and mission, providing the best value grain storage and service available while maximising returns to our farmer members. We must prove our added value USP’s and ensure the society is working for the Members to the highest standards.

If any Member or colleague would like to talk, please feel free to contact me. Your thoughts are important and welcome. 07774128074.

Carl Driver – Camgrain Chairman

Driver Farms
www.driverfarms.co.uk

A message from your retiring Chairman

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 11:52:27 GMT

A message from your retiring Chairman- John Latham

For 22 years I have had the pleasure, responsibility and privilege to have chaired our two Societies. During this time the business has grown and developed beyond what I thought was possible when I took the on the role back in 2000. I recently took the opportunity to look back at the minutes of the board meeting when I was first elected as your chairman and it surprised me to think back then we were a single site store with a commitment of 65,000 tonnes and about to start a period of rapid growth and development founded on the platform that the original directors had so ably built. All credit to them for forming the business and attracting farmers to join and the structures/articles/rules have stood the test of time and remain largely unchanged in substance. Our objectives remain unchanged too, albeit ambitions for the business by management and board has meant we now have further reach into the supply chains we service for the benefit of our members.

All of this could not have been achieved without the confidence the board has had in all you who have worked for us members over all the 40 years of Camgrain’s existence. As your retiring chairman I again thank all who have and continue to work for Camgrain. Each and every one of you should take credit for the success that Camgrain is today. You make it happen. Thank you so much.

There are not many businesses that I know who have retained the same manager/executive director for 40 years and who continues to work with the level of commitment that Philip continues to do today. Philip is an incredible individual and I look back fondly on the many occasions where we discussed/argued/agreed/disagreed but ultimately set an idea/vision for the business that the board could rally round and agree, albeit often after lengthy debate. Those years of rapid growth showed what could be achieved when you have capable and ambitious management and a board that ultimately supports those ambitions. It would be remiss of me not to thank Philip for the journey I have had with him over my years as chairman. There have been many successes, the odd setback and some sadness along the way but Philip’s grit, tenacity and determination is probably the main reason we find ourselves where we are today and still Philip continues to serve our interests well with his more recent involvement in overseeing the build out of the Navara oat milling business at our Northampton site. Thank you Philip. We could not have done it without you.

With the development of Camgrain into a multi site business it was inevitable the business would need to bring in additional management expertise at some stage as one man could not possibly take full responsibility for the oversight of a business like Camgrain had grown into. Therefore, in 2017 we brought in Simon Willis as our Group CEO and so a new era started for Camgrain with Simon joining the business that October. He rapidly made his mark within the business and it was his successful introduction that gave the confidence for the board to investigate the Navara project currently underway. Simon too is a huge asset to our business and again I would like to thank Simon for making my role as chairman such an enjoyable one since joining the business five and half years ago. Thank you Simon.

More recently, the board created the position of Group FD and Andrew Lawson joined our business and like Simon, Andrew has come in and made a huge contribution to the business. We have a finance and administration department that is working exceptionally well and helping the management and development of our business as we move forward. Andrew’s high standards and integrity have made a tremendous difference and contribution to the business. Thank you Andrew.

There are many other people I could write about, indeed I would have liked too but space precludes. You all know who you are and again I thank you all.

There are others who have helped me during my time as chairman. I have been fortunate to have served on a board of directors who have had the belief in me over the 22 years and their advice, encouragement, guidance and support I have really appreciated over the years. An effective board is one that makes good decisions and has the necessary skill set to do that. Thanks to all the present and past directors for all you have done in helping me and the business. It is really appreciated.

Although I have seen changes in who Camgrain Ltd market our crops with, we now have a very capable and secure principle marketing partner in Frontier Agriculture and without naming names there have been times when there help, support and guidance have helped me and the board enormously. They again know who they are and I very much appreciate what they have done particularly at the more challenging times. Simon Ingle too has been on the journey over the majority of my time as chairman. Marketing grain can at times be a thankless task but Simon has proved himself time and again and with great fortitude. I will always remember the occasion when Simon came to the board requesting to protect the pool by protecting prices on offer shortly after harvest when he was convinced the market would collapse from high prices then on offer. They did. Happy days Simon.

I would like now to turn my attention to our new chairman Carl Driver. Carl and I have enjoyed the same journey. We joined Camgrain at the same time. We joined the board at the same time and we have enjoyed the same journey over the years. Carl is unbelievably passionate about Camgrain. A true believer in all we do collectively and very committed with his and his farming clients investing into Camgrain over many years and this continues to be the case. Carl has given me tremendous support over the years and has had a very similar vision for the business as I have had. I have no doubt that Carl will come in as our new chairman with similar ambitions to when I did and will want to make his own mark on the business. It is now my job, as it is for all of us, to give him our full support in his new role. Good luck Carl, I am not sure you will need it as you have great knowledge of the business and a desire to do the best for our members and the people who work for us. You have my full support.

John Latham

Retiring Chairman

New Chairman Announcement

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 09:08:25 GMT

New Chairman Announcement- Carl Driver

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Carl Driver as the new Chairman of both Camgrain Stores Limited and Camgrain Limited.

Carl has been a Camgrain member since 1993 and on the Board since 1995. He farms land south of Bury St Edmunds, operating Driver Farms.
He is a passionate supporter of Camgrain and has a strong desire to lead Camgrain through the next phase of our evolution.
On behalf of all the Camgrain team I offer Carl our full support and wish him every success in his new role.

I would also like to thank John Latham for his long service and dedication to the society throughout his 22 years as Chairman. John steps down with Camgrain in a safe, strong, and stable position with a Board and Executive team focussed on fulfilling our mission statement ‘to maximise returns to our farmer members’.

John will remain a Director of Camgrain to support the Board and ensure a smooth transition in leadership.

Simon Willis
Group CEO

Over the Farm Gate

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 08:55:44 GMT

Over the farm gate – this week kindly supplied by Adam Driver, Driver Farms, Suffolk

I am not sure if this is a false spring or not, despite the cold weather the ground is drying quickly.

Crops are looking well coming out of the winter thanks to the easy autumn. We managed to keep planting winter crops so have less of a burden this spring.

We tentatively started planting spring oats yesterday but decided, with the good forecast and only a thousand acres to drill that we can give it a few more days to dry. We can cover 500 acres a day drilling if we have both of our drills going so, we thought it best to let conditions improve slightly. It will be lovely to be drilled up in February and make March less of a hectic month.

As I write (in a tractor because I haven’t been in the office for days!) I am spreading fertiliser and all winter crops will have had a dose by the end of today. Our fertiliser spreader and logistics wagon allow us to hit really high outputs. Hopefully by the end of today I will have spread fertiliser over 3000 acres of winter cereals averaging around 1000 acres a day.

Timeliness is everything, and in order to keep the high attention detail we demand over a large area we need the best kit available to us. I’ve attached a picture of our fertiliser spreader and tractor set up.

Well done for all the hard work ongoing in stores, I recently had a look around CAPC and met some of the guys in the control room. Really impressive work going on.

Adam

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 14:08:39 GMT

Over the Farm Gate - This week kindly supplied by John Barker

The past few weeks have already been challenging here on our farm in the Norfolk/Suffolk boarders! Our agreed plan was to have our sugar beet lifted in good time so that the land could be drilled into Winter Wheat by early December. Unfortunately the delayed start to the Sugar beet campaign due to the drought in the summer pushed the lifting window back a week or two, which then hit a very wet, followed by very frozen spell before Christmas. As a result our first lift was four weeks late and our second lift did not happen until the New Year.

With the seed in the shed and having been successful with late drilling in the past we decided we would go ahead and get the fields drilled. Both have been done, however the seed beds are a long way short of the standard I would expect and we have some rutted tramlines where we got the pre-emergence sprays on which are going to be felt every time we drive around the field for the rest of the year. The beet return from the first lift has come back with some disappointing yields – in line with every other grower in our area, as well as low sugars, again a common theme. I recognise that we can have good years and not so good years in almost every crop we grow, however sugar beets place in our rotation is definitely up for review at the moment.

Along a similar theme we are growing Winter Oats on the farm this year for the first time to see if they have a place in the rotation. With the new Navara Oat Mill nearing completion and through Camgrain the opportunity of value add contracts on the horizon I am optimistic about the potential. The two fields we are growing have established well, I hope we can get up the learning curve quickly, learning how best to grow them on our soils and system. Time will tell!

We were delighted to be included in two of the new Camgrain Sustainability group projects which are getting underway in the New Year. In common with so many other farmers we are keen to learn more and become more efficient with our inputs and growing practices to deliver for the environment, our customers and our own financial sustainability. I look forward to getting closer to my own data and gaining new insights in the months ahead.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 13:37:01 GMT

Over the Farm Gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Member Services committee chair

At this time of year the farmers mind slips to two things, planning the spring work and skiing. The family ski trip is all planned and neatly coincides with school half term. It will be my girls first every trip to the mountains and their first skiing. Exciting times.

Planning the spring work on the farm comes with an air of excitement as the crops look fantastic. The autumn weather pattern was so kind to the re-gen/sustainable farmer. The chopped straw mulch from harvest retained moisture I late summer/early autumn the autumn. On cultivated land this was soon lost to evaporation in the high temperatures and windy days. I was able to use a tine drill to cut the seed into the moist soil beneath the mulch. Very good levels of germination and emergence followed.

The hot autumn conditions (I call 8-10 C above average hot, regardless of the month of the year) allowed the crop to establish perfectly. The recent snows and severe frost had little affect upon the crop. Indeed, the snow cover protected the crop from the hard frost. Here is a photo of my SY Insitor 2 ^nd wheat after the snow melt on 20/12/22. The crop has since grown rapidly in the hot winter conditions we have recently had.

I have a couple of fields that have a particularly severe Wild Oat problem and for what every reason the wild oats gods were certainly upset this year. I had had good control of the oats in the past few seasons but following a linseed crop and the hot dry summer the seed bank decided to cash in its chips and the oats emerged in numbers I had never previously seen. A flush of oats was sprayed off pre-drilling and yet couple of days later more were emerging. The plan was then to spray them off with Glyphosate before the wheat emerged. However, due to a couple of reasons this spray window was missed. Upon checking the crop the morning of the planned spray day I found at least 50% of the wheat crop was emerging. If I sprayed the field, I would kill the Oats and the wheat. I then had to find a plan B when none seemed to exist. Luckily, I did find the plan B and I think it has been 100% successful, as the photo below shows. Below the red line is an area that I left unsprayed and above the red line in the photo is the treated area. The green between the rows of wheat is Wild Oat and this population of Oats would completely swamp the wheat crop next summer. I now have an untreated strip in the field that is 6m wide and 30m long. I will leave this until next summer to monitor the effect the wild oats have on the crop and make an estimate of the benefit that the successful control of the oats brings.

And finally, the Christmas season. I had a lovely extended break with my family and have only really now got back to work. One of the highlights of the season was the Croft Farms turkey supplied to me via Camgrain. The bird was truly delicious. After Christmas this was complimented with gammon that I had boiled in Cider (rather than water) and then studded with cloves and roasted with a maple syrup glaze. Together with homemade pickles and homemade sloe vodka our “leftovers” were also delicious.

In terms of planning the spring work and getting back into the fields, I can’t wait. I am looking forward to managing these crops through to harvest and with the help of a kind climate (no drought, no flood and no excessive heat please) then we can also look forward to a good harvest being delivered into store this summer.

John Jefferies

Member Services committee chair.

Over the Farm Gate

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 12:03:58 GMT

Over the Farm Gate - this week kindly supplied by David White, Hawk Mill Farms, Cambs

As we move into December things quieten down on arable farms. Sugar beet lifting will be continuing, and the harvesters will still be followed by ploughs and harrow/drill combinations planting late wheat or even now early crops of spring barley. The varieties we are planting these days such as Planet really haven’t seen any hard weather in their growing history so we are unsure how they may fare if they have emerged and then have to withstand a spell of prolonged frost. This can set crops back so the benefit of a longer growing season from planting early is then lost as the vigour of those crops is damaged and is detrimental to yield. Crops of barley planted now will be harvested next August, 2023 then possibly not delivered out of store until September 2024, that’s 21 months from start of the growing cycle to production of malt demonstrating what a long term business food production is.

The autumn crops that are up look well due to the kind spell of weather we had to establish them and the view from the farmers around the Teams “room” at this week’s marketing meeting was universal in that their crops look as good this year as they ever have. We may need weather issues elsewhere in the world such as the drought in Argentina or a low sown area in the Ukraine to create demand for a bumper UK crop 2023 if that’s what we get but we don’t know what the weather Gods may throw at us yet! The last autumn crop to emerge here are the winter beans which are just popping through the soil surface.

The current spell of colder weather and frosty nights will be good for cooling the grain bulks in store but mean our crop sprayers now need tucking up in warm buildings or filling with a little liquid nitrogen which acts as antifreeze. The next spraying job will be a comprehensive herbicide application (to kill grasses, broadleaved weeds and companion species) called AstroKerb on the OSR which needs to be completed to be a legal application by the end of January. The product is in my store here already as timely supply of some ag-chems can be less reliable than in the past. Another other job will be the early spray desiccation of over wintered cover crops with glyphosate. This is ideally done around 6 weeks before seeding the spring cereal crops although this desiccation can be partly done as an Integrated Weed Control strategy by rolling the vegetation in the early hours of the morning if the temperature gets to <-5 degrees centigrade so usually a 3.00am start.

It’s interesting that food security is headline news again. This time not directly due to the invasion of Ukraine or fertiliser production/cost scares but this time due to the egg shortage. Some commentators are claiming this is due to Avian Flu but the most informed realise that production cost inflation combined with supermarkets holding down the price they pay producers to maintain profits is the reason for reducing flock numbers and the shortage. With agricultural inflation running at around 30% other UK produced “staples” could be at risk. As someone commented on Twitter this week, it’s rarely good news when the Minister of Agriculture (or SoS for Environment & Rural Affairs) is #trending, and as we’ve heard Thérèse Coffey has ruled out help for farmers or consumers facing higher costs. Perhaps some empty supermarket shelves will become the norm. I can however report today that my local farm shop had a full range of (where possible) locally produced meat, fruit and veg in stock, including eggs. Please remember to support your local independent businesses in the run up to Christmas rather than the large nationals or on-line “A” deliveries by ubiquitous white vans. Interesting report here, https://www.sustainweb.org/publications/beyond-the-farmgate/

Finally, good luck to the IT team and all presenting in next week’s “hybrid” AGM, and well done to all for hitting the crucial information deadlines in preparation for this important annual meeting.

Wishing you and your families a happy, safe ��

David White.

Cover crop waiting to be recycled into spring barley.

Costs v profit showing how inflation can cause huge imbalance (Credit Farmers Weekly)

Winter beans emerging.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 10:23:11 GMT

View from the farm - this week kindly supplied by Adam Driver, Driver Farms, Suffolk

Wet weather has been the order of the day for the last few weeks, it seems the gods finally

decided to bless us with some rain. We certainly need it over the winter as the deficit of

annual rainfall was massive coming into October. Like Jo wrote a few weeks ago we have

been busy ditching and clearing drains to ensure the excess water moves away from the

fields quick enough. This is a very satisfying job especially where farms are new to us and

this work hasn’t been carried out for a while. Attached is a picture of drain that was blocked

underneath a tree.

Crops look good so far, we ended up planting more winter wheat and oats than originally

planned because of the nice autumn. The wheat replaced what was supposed to spring

barley. The rationale behind this was that a late drilled wheat is still good for blackgrass

control, and overall wheat is a far more consistent crop than spring barley – which can often

be a bit of a boom or bust venture. Growing spring barley when the season is with you and

things go well is an absolute doddle, with dry springs and wet winters it can be a pretty

depressing experience.

Electrum winter barley is romping away, a very easy crop to grow, all for malting. Wheat

again is good, some grassweed pressure but nothing too drastic that our inter row hoe wont

remove. Beans are looking too good nearly so need some colder weather to slow them

down. Winter oats, a new crop to us as we usually grow spring oats are growing quickly and

should provide a high quality crop that will hopefully end up in Navara, which is very

exciting.

Grain prices have been dropping recently, we are all wondering now where the new floor in

the market is. Perhaps levels will rise again after Christmas when demand grows again.

Inputs such as fertiliser are slowly coming down, but who knows what will happen with gas

so everything is still very up in the air. It continues to focus our minds in a business sense in

terms of BPS going and the volatility in inputs. Our labour and machinery costs are low

enough to take some of the brunt without risking output. Cutting too fine however causes

issues. Saving pennies to lose a pound is nonsensical, but also spending a pound to make a

penny is equally difficult to justify in such volatility.

We are all in this together, as a farmer Camgrain is an extension of our business. The

relationship between the two is a symbiant circle so I thankyou all for the work put in.

Until next time, have a great weekend and run up to Christmas.

Adam

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 09:22:21 GMT

Over the Farm Gate – This week kindly supplied by Sir Jim & Gordon Paice Herts/ Cambs

A small celebration when my last cow calved a couple of weeks ago, picture attached. She is
for sale with her calf as she is so far out of sync with the rest who finished in May.
Nevertheless a quick process and a healthy calf are always a relief. Once we got some rain
the grass grew at an amazing rate, and they will all have enough to last until the end of
November which means less hay for the winter.

Wearing my hat as chairman of the Game and Wildlife Trust we had a visit from the new
minister of agriculture to our research and demonstration farm in Leicestershire within days
of his appointment. He is a farmer himself and seems determined to try to simplify all the
new schemes. Time will tell and with the present shambles he may not be there long.

Over in Hertfordshire Gordon has had an easy harvest like most people followed by the
shortest drilling season they have known. The sugar beet was all lifted at the beginning of
October in good conditions and the land is all drilled with wheat. Last year the beet were
not even lifted until February. Of course, yield has been much lower but the early entry for
the wheat will compensate. This year was the first with his new Avatar direct drill following
a low disturbance subsoiler. A great opportunity to get to know the drill in easy conditions
but he is very happy with it. Certainly, the seed has germinated well and everything looks
good. Of course, any farmer knows that things could go wrong any minute so don’t be
complacent. Forecasts of another drought next year are worrying especially if we do not
have a wet winter to fill the aquifers. However, having driven for nearly 4 hours in pouring
rain yesterday the idea of a drought seems far away.

Back at Camgrain the decision by John Latham to stand down as Chairman will leave big
boots to fill. He is synonymous with the success of Camgrain and has presided over
incredible growth. As the local MP and for ten years as a Director I have watched that
growth which show what good leadership can deliver. Others will have even longer
memories and will tell their own stories but be not in any doubt what the members owe to
John.

Sir Jim & Gordon Paice

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 12:49:30 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Jo Robinson, Brackley

We have had an unbelievable autumn, so very kind for autumn cultivations and drilling, but we now need some hard frosts to slow up the plant growth and kill off some of the bugs. Since we finished drilling on 10 ^th October we have had 92 mm of rain and temperatures have varied from 3 degrees to 19 and the average about 15 degrees. (apparently 14.3 is the average temperature when people turn on their heating) I believe above average temperature is why you can see a large plant growth on our oilseed rape in photo below. With warm temperatures no doubt it's been difficult for stores to get the average grain temperatures down to safe levels. We have one more spray to apply to the crops before we finally close the gates until spring. The high winds and a wet leaf are making it hard to get a spray window suitable to complete the job but next week’s weather looks more promising. We have had some beautiful early mornings recently, see photo below.

Having just had my Red Tractor inspection today it reminds you how much easier it is when you're 100% committed to Camgrain as it excludes a lot of inspections and paperwork. However it’s very easy to get complacent on my farm as a result but I had one minor non-conformance I’m glad to say. I hate to think what a TASCC inspection is like that many of you endure!!

We have had the use of a digger so we have been maintaining a footpath where a stream had got blocked and needed a new pipe and hard core over, see photo. Cleaning the ditches so the drains are free to take the water off and away from fields is so important to stop water logging as this effects plant growth.

With spare time, I am comparing different accounting software packages for farming as my current provider is upgrading theirs and I need to establish if it’s worth investing in a upgrade or changing to an alternative provider. It’s the time of year also to complete financial accounts and report to HMRC etc, This seems to take longer and longer each year as we are having to provide HMRC with an ever increasing amount of information.

Since my last newsletter I have visited both NAPC and SAPC and marvel at both the developing Navara project and the Yelo business. Yelo continue to invest in their business alongside Camgrain providing a much needed end use for the crops our members grow. Their usage is also increasing substantially.

Over the Farm Gate

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 09:49:06 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Bedfordshire

When I saw my name on the list for this week I thought “oh no, what am I going to write about”.
Well that was then, and this is now. I have found lots to write.

In early October I was invited to speak to the SAI Platform (sustainable agriculture initiative) annual
conference in Cambridge. To give my own experiences of re-generative/Sustainable farming. This
was a daunting prospect. The SAI platform is an organisation with 160 members from the food
industry, including virtually all the big food manufacturers. The event went very well, and I had so
many questions from the audience which showed a true level of engagement that they had with our
industry. The opening presentation of the day was from senior executives from Nestlé, Danone and
Unilever. It was inspiring to hear the direction in which they wished to take their supply chains and
the value they are seeking to place upon both the farmer and the consumer.

On October 22nd I was invited to be part of a farmers panel at the Cambridge Sustainable Food
Festival. Over 500 people attended and about 80 people attended the presentations. I was alongside
our vice chairman, David White as well as Dr Tom Pearson who farms at Caxton (west of Cambridge)
and Tom Gent from Gentle Farming. Six Inches of Soil presented extracts from their films, the latest
of which will be available online in autumn 2023. We faced some tough questions from the public
and it certainly wasn’t an easy ride. But it was very enjoyable. After the presentations/discussions
we had the opportunity to show the public what we do. I took a box of soil and David took a sheaf of
wheat and some cover crop.

Image 1. The Sustainable Farming Initiative annual conference, Cambridge Union 5th Oct 2022
Image 2. Cambridge Sustainable Food Festival 22nd Oct 2022. David White in background

On the farm we have experience one of the greatest autumns I can recall. The summer heat and
drought made the clay soils shrink and crack. When the rain came the soil took on a beautiful
crumbly characteristic. The chopped straw on the soil surface preserved the moisture and prevented
it from being evaporated by the fierce heat and strong wind. I was then able to direct drill into these
perfect conditions. Initially the drilling was done in the evening and at night. This was to preserve the
small amount of moisture we had at that time. The crops emerged rapidly, significantly faster than
neighbouring crops that were drilled into ploughed or cultivated land. Indeed, some of these other
crops have only just made it up into a full line.

But 2022 will also go down as my latest ever completion date for harvest!! My crop of late linseed
that did not germinate until early June was finally harvested on October 6th and 7th. This is the first,
only and hopefully last time I have ever harvested in October.

Image 1. The late Linseed harvest 07/10/22
Image 2. Making a start to drilling on the evening of 22/09/22

As mentioned, the emergence of harvest 2023 has been rapid and uniform. Mostly the blackgrass
has not been too bad. This too benefitted from the straw mulch on the soil surface. Due to the hot
summer the blackgrass had low dormancy and rapidly germinated under the straw mulch, meaning
it could be effectively sprayed with glyphosate before drilling. The remarkable growing
conditions in the autumn means that the pre-emergence applied herbicides have been very
effective. However, as all farmers know, you only truly see the effectiveness of your blackgrass
control at the end of the following May.

Image 1. KWS Dawsum first wheat after beans
Image 2. Insitor 2nd wheat
Image 3 and 4. Valerie winter barley

Almost finally. Over the past few years, one field on the farm has underperformed by a long chalk.
The reason for this was the poor drainage of the field. I got a quote for the drainage of this 14 ha
field and found that it was only marginally more expensive than a lorry load of fertiliser. When I
considered it in those terms it just seemed crazy not to accept the quote. If the field improves (and it
will) the farm average, then the payback on the investment will be about 4 years. However,
typically, after waiting all autumn for the contractors to arrive, the heavens opened the next day and
a total of 75mm of rain rapidly joined the party. This delayed the work for a day or two and meant
that a certain degree of soil compaction was caused. A neighbour has come in with a deep cultivator
to correct this and if weather conditions allow in the coming days/week the field will be mole
drained before it is finally drilled with winter beans. Plan B, which now looks most likely is Spring
Beans next March. (a further 15mm rain today, the 3rd).

Image. The Land Drainage works and the instant success of the new drain

And finally. As mentioned previously, by many, the autumn has been so remarkable warm and
sunny. However, I have become annoyed by the language that weather forecasters have used
recently on the TV. Temperatures of 8 degrees C above the normal average in October have been
described as “mild”. But if we were 8C above average in June they would say “the heatwave
continues”. I suggest that we have had a heatwave in recent weeks. It might not be hot, but it is
much hotter than it should be. I can’t understand why a heatwave is called different things in
different months. It’s a heatwave. It is also another odd weather event during this year which only
re-enforces my belief that Climate Change is here. It is very really and possibly out of control. We as
farmers and as part of the food supply industry are at the coal face of climate change and the key to
success in the coming decades is to build a farming system that is resilient to these changing times.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 09:52:51 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Jo Robinson, Bucks

Firstly, my experience of Camgrain’s collection service during harvest was simply the best ever a great relief and stress free experience Thank you to everyone.

It is strange having so much time in August to do other things like a few days away, fencing as the sheep seem to have developed this ability to jump fences to find fresh food! Ditching and tidying margins up.

We are trying our luck growing oilseed Rape again after 3 year break due to battle with the Beetle! A third of the crop looks promising so far and we hope with recent rain we might see some more grow,fingers crossed. My Agronomist says he has a sizable increase in oilseed drilling area this year so lets hope we will see more rape into Camgrain from our own member’s this year.

I also notice not many cultivated fields driving around in the countryside so far. Is this meaning we will see a lot more direct drilling this autumn or farmers are cutting back?

Ranil Jayawardena was appointed yesterday as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, previously in the trade department. I know very little about him and its early days to know how he will effect policy for farming for us, I hope he listens to us farmers.

Some memories of August :

A fire in old Hovel due to lads out of town having a fire nearby.

Puppies (one bitch still unsold).

Lovely lazy summer evenings and able to enjoy them

Many thanks again for the service this harvest

Stay safe

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 13:01:58 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Bedfordshire

The 1970s were notable for 2 great linked events. The TV sitcom “Fawlty Towers” and the great drought of 197x. In one episode of Fawlty Towers (entitled Germans) the punch line was “Don’t mention the War”. So with this in mind I will not mention the great drought of 197x.

Needless to say, many comparisons have been made to the great drought of 197x and that of 2022. The two years have been totally different. But by talking about 197x so much we seem to forget other dry years, like 1989,1990, 1991 and 1995 to name but a few. Then of course there are the climate record breaking seasons throughout the early 2000s.

I think in the future more will be spoken about the great summer droughts of 202x, 203x and the 3 successive droughts of 204x, 204x, and 204x. Alongside the summer floods in other seasons. Climate change is here and the effects are becoming very marked and very real.

One remarkable thing about the summer was the speed and ease of the harvest. I was able to leave crop in the field until it suited me to cut it. I was able to park up the combine in the middle of the day, take a shower and go to a friends garden party. My season ticket at Portman Rd has been used for every single game. After the cereal harvest was complete I took up the lifestyle of a normal person. I went on holiday in august, enjoyed bbq’s with friends and went on family days out. I fact I went on 2 holidays.

On returning to the farm. Nothing had changed. The land was still baked dry and the notion of planting a seed and expecting it to germinate was distant in my imagination. This remains the case even though I had 15mm of rain last week. This has all dried up over the weekend.

The weekend did bring the hugely successful Lt Gransden Airshow. I do not know the final figure but the donation to charity will be very healthy.

I walk the farm and check the soil conditions. All of the fields are in good order. The cracks are wide and deep. The soils are self healing in years like this. There is no need for deep cultivation. The baked dry soil surface is very crumbly and with the addition of moisture will drill very well. So I think it is a case of ordering seed and waiting patiently until the day when I can drill the crop for next season.

But back to the year that must not be mentioned. My most vivid memory was being clonked of the head by my father with the fore-end bale loader. I nursed a headache whilst siting under one of my great oak trees on the farm for about an hour. The headache was only surpassed in later life with the addition of large amounts of alcohol.

And finally, a couple of pictures for you. The sunrise in Southwold on Aug 19th and a Miles Gemini at the Airshow.

Stay safe

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 12:57:30 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Barker, J&A Barker, Suffolk

Our dreams of some meaningful rain have been dashed again! The forecast of rain for yesterday at one point was for 24mm, reduced to 19mm on the morning, but then actually ended up being just 1.5mm in our part of the Norfolk/Suffolk boarders!

Having finished harvest three weeks ago we have been making the most of the dry weather with good progress on digger jobs, cleaning out ditches and completing bits of building work.

Having broken the back of the dry jobs our patience for rain is being severely tested. We were originally hoping to drill oilseed rape, however having only had a total of 6mm of rain since the beginning of July our ground is like concrete. As a result, we are yet to do any meaningful cultivations and have done no drilling of either Oilseed Rape or potential catch crops. Frustrating, but the right decision so far to save money rather than take the risk before rain.

As a result, we are looking at and adapting our crop rotation. The investment Camgrain has put into Navara had already put Oats onto our radar to bring into our rotation. The current weather will likely increase that area further. We are looking forward to seeing just how much value Navara will add to our farm returns in the future!

I would like to thank the whole Camgrain team for all their efforts over the past two months. The preparation for such an early harvest combined with delivering the last of harvest 21 crop was a huge task which you all rose to amazingly. I am sure not having to run the driers made life easier, however the relentless pace of grain delivery must have created enormous pressure which you dealt with huge professionalism and stamina.

Thank you.

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 12:53:54 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Camgrain Group Chairman, John Latham

When will this searing weather break? For those of us old enough it brings back memories of 1976! I was a boy of 12 and remember it well, particularly when the potato spinner span out a wasp nest and attacked my twin brother who was only wearing a pair of shorts while “picking potatoes” and was stung over 170 times! Suffice to say you wouldn’t want to spend much time in the vicinity of my brother today…….if you were a wasp!

In East Anglia with little spring rain we are very grateful that this extreme hot weather didn’t arrive in early June but came in July as for the most part crops were starting to ripen off and farmers are enjoying a reasonable harvest and in other parts of the country, an exceptional one. The nation can be assured they won’t starve this coming year which may not be true for others around the world such is the world we currently live in.

Our harvest highlights have been the barley crops with both the Autumn and Spring crops fairing well. Our wheats suffered a bit more but we are achieving some reasonable proteins in our milling wheats even if the yields are about 1 t/ha down on a more normal year.

This harvest we have a new Claas 8900 combine, (see picture) and we have had a few teething issues which is to be expected with a new machine. As I write this we have about 25% left to go over a total 2000ha to cut. Most farmers in our area seem to have finished harvest and are now scratching their heads as what to do or not to do with cultivations and some very hard ground. I enclose some pictures of our caterpillar and cultivator (you may recognise where) which would normally have tines up to 9” in the ground but are not being used in places this year! It is just the disc’s scratching the surface with a press at the rear.

I took the opportunity of taking our Group Finance Director, Andrew Lawson to see our combine and harvest operation yesterday so he could better understand what the advantages are of being a part of Camgrain only for the combine to be stood up as it had hit a large block of concrete in the field. That not being satisfactory for Andrew we got into my Discovery (‘14 plate) to head back to HQ only for that to break down too! Fortunately my wife Caroline was free to come and rescue us as we were situated very close to Stansted airport and some distance from CAPC! I hope Andrew doesn’t have this effect when visiting our stores!! An enjoyable trip though and no doubt to be repeated at some time but without the hiccups!

Farmers across the country are pondering how to establish oilseed rape this year or whether to abandon any attempt. Yields have rebounded this year after some difficult years with flea beetle and farmers will be keen to hopefully repeat the exercise if the promised rain arrives next week.

I can’t ever remember a year when we literally haven’t had to switch on our driers at Camgrain and I am sure it has made managing intake a lot more straightforward than in a wet or indeed “normal” year. For us farmers it has been a relief with the cost of drying grain being so high with current energy prices.

I know we are getting well through the harvest campaign so a big thank you from us farmers to you all at Camgrain and I hope you will be able to take some well earned time away with family and friends soon. Keep well and safe.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 12:49:04 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by David White, Hawk Mill Farms, Cambs

You don’t need me to remind you that it’s been hot! There have been lots of comparisons between the summer of 2022 and 1976. Unfortunately, I’m old enough to remember the harvest of 76, in fact I spent it on a combine harvester with no cab peering through the dust trying to get 6” (that’s the unit we used back then) high spring barley to feed into the cutter-bar! Whilst we have had record temperatures this year the crops have been better than they were in 76. In fact, given we’ve only had around an inch a month rainfall over the growing period March-June the yields we’ve had can be regarded as good. I’ve all but finished here with just some still green spring barley and spring beans on damp fen land and some dismal linseed to be cut.

Harvest highlights for me have been to operate my own combine once again, this new to me purchase has meant for the first time for 6 years I’ve seen the fruits of my labour first hand going in the front and not via a yield map, which just isn’t the same.

Second has been the success of another bi-crop trial, this time winter Mascani oats and Tundra beans, which yielded spectacularly well with no inputs used other than seed. I expect the pride of this accomplishment will be dampened a little when it comes time to separate the two seed types with my accident dresser!

Thirdly, I grew some heritage wheats on the farm which have looked spectacular with minimum management. I must get these analysed for quality once the work pressure in the labs is off. My family visited last week, and the boys heaped make ‘heritage’ sheaves, look out for one in CAPC reception below!

I’ve had the pleasure of bringing some of my crop into store by tractor and trailer this year. This has really only been small tonnages and clear-up loads but it’s given me chance to see two of our stores in harvest action. I have to say it’s been a good experience from the greeting on the weighbridge, slick document transfer by litter picker stick through the cab window and clear instruction from the team around the pits as to where to go. No rush, no panic, just everyone calmly getting on with their jobs, well done everyone. It should also be acknowledged that it’s a busy and important time for the office teams with incoming harvest calls from members and (very close to my heart) the annual pool paperwork and payment to get out!

And finally, thoughts of cropping for next year. As you may know I like to plant cover crops to feed and restructure the soil before the next autumn or spring ‘cash’ crops are seeded. With the ground extremely hard and dry (in East Anglia at least) and a dry forecast for the foreseeable future there is little chance of anything growing so it’s questionable if investment in seed is worthwhile. This does not bode well for the next OSR crop as the first week of August has become the idea sowing time to combat pest problems that hamper the crop development. It must rain sometime but is sowing seed into Luna conditions worth the gamble? Watch this space…..

Keep cool, keep safe, and carry on the great work.

David White

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 09:38:20 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kidly supplied by Jo Robinson, Brackley, Oxfordshire

Harvest is some 10 days away for us which is considerably earlier than normal as we have not grown winter Barley for some considerable time. The idea is as entry to earlier drilling of oilseed rape. However, our Wheat and Spring Barley are still a month away from harvest.

I am looking forward to getting the final pool results and to receive our final cheque from Camgrain – well done to everyone marketing our crops and getting this across the line financially. I can then finalise my accounts which is the most important part of the farming cycle to see if you made a profit or loss!!

I am now slightly nervous having brought our fertilizer for next season and watching the price of wheat decline, this is where it’s so important to make a sale against the purchase. While waiting for harvest I am finalising the varieties we will grow next season and thanks to Camgrain for sending out a variety information sheet.

In a weeks’ time we will be allowed under Higher level stewardship scheme to cut our 6m grass margins (these surround most fields for insects and birds) which make harvesting easier- see picture of spring barley in foreground.

Waiting for harvest when the weather is ideal is always the most frustrating of times, which I usually endure when Camgrain famers in the east have finished harvest and we are only starting our spring Barley! Next week looks as if conditions for combines will be ideal!

On a different note, my English springer Spaniel gave birth to 6 strong pups yesterday so that is quite a distraction currently for me and my grandchildren.

Thank you to ALL the team in advance of the work to come it is appreciated.

Wishing you all a safe harvest

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 13:38:25 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Bedfordshire

In line with the forthcoming harvest, I managed to submit my piece for “Farm Gate” early. A week early compared to the 2 weeks that this harvest seems to be.

I have just returned from an agronomy meeting which forms part of the H3 project. This is quite an academic project involving the universities in Sheffield, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Newcastle and City. It has quite a ambitious target. It is looking into and seeking links between healthy soils, healthy food and healthy people.

There are 2 geographic areas where the research is being done. In Wiltshire and in the “Cambridgeshire west hundreds”. There are about 12 farms in the west hundreds that are involved. These are so called re-generative farms, farms converting to re-gen agriculture and farms (as my neighbour put it) who are going to carry on “striping it bare”.

The project is looking at differences that range anywhere from a micro-environment all the way through to landscape changes. The funding for the H3 project is an eye watering £45m!!

I don’t think I have ever seen quite so many people coming on the farm to measure and survey virtually every aspect of the soil, the farm, the hedgerows, the insects, birds and mammals on the farm. On one day I had 2 people taking soil samples from a 10ha field. They were there all day!! My hedgerows and fields have been sampled for insects, good and bad. My pollinators have been counted. Worryingly, at this most recent meeting there was a social scientist, so I think I am probably being surveyed too!!

The number of mammals on the farm is hopefully on the slide a little, as Bartek (from Camgrain's Finance Team) frequently visits and puts the deer population under a little pressure. This benefits my freezer and my appetite for venison. Locally produced food always has the lowest carbon footprint.

On the farming front. All is ready. The combine has benefitted from a £9k dealer service. It stands fully fuelled, greased and ready to roll. The grain trailer has been pressure washed, as too the handling bucket. The grain paid is pristine and sparkly. I have returned my Harvest Declaration form. The tractor and combine cabs are being steam cleaned, hoovered, and polished whilst I type this. However, the winter barley will have to wait a little longer though. I have a busy weekend planned, please do bring a picnic to our garden party on Sunday afternoon (SG19 3BP), a farm visit on Monday and a ticket for the 5th day of the test match in at Edgbaston, should the game last that long. So, harvest will not start on Fullers Hill before next Wednesday at the earliest.

The picture is of my barley, hopefully heading into store next week!!

Have a good, safe and enjoyable harvest.

John Jefferies

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 13:44:17 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Bedfordshire

I love the TV advert for Irish beef with the strap line “everything is alright here”.

I would be wrong if I were to apply this to the farm this season. We have had adequate rain (23-30mm) over the jubilee weekend. So, the winter barley and winter beans look just perfect. The winter wheat is overflowing with potential but will need a further rain in coming 10 to 14 days to finish this crop.

But the spring sown crops are a disaster. The barley and wheat are markedly thin due to the dry spring and poor conditions that followed drilling. I have had to redrill 32 ha of Linseed, which after the recent rain is now flying. However, it has an expected harvest date of mid-October. A further 17ha of Linseed was written off this past weekend and will be drilled with OSR at the end of July.

This week is a busy week with Groundswell followed by an evening out in London on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Being busy is good. Frequently we spend all week flying about, driving up and down fields either drilling, spraying or fertilizer spreading. Followed the harvest period. I certainly enjoy this, and I enjoy seeing the countryside around me. But recently I have discovered that I need to take a longer slower look so that I see the true heartbeat of the environment. When I started farming 36 years ago, I decided to put a new access to a field. I went to the particular corner make plans, only to be stopped in my tracks. Just where I wanted to bulldoze the hedge, I found a healthy young oak tree. It was about 3m high, and the trunk was probably about 150mm in diameter. That ended my plans. I thought nothing more of this until suddenly this spring I noticed the tree again. It has grown magnificently and stands even taller and stronger (picture 1). It has done this quietly and slowly, whilst all around it rushes about like ants.

This has motivated me to look at other oak trees on the farm. The small oak that I used to climb as a youngster in my garden has quietly grown to 2.2m circumference. This ages it at 120 years (picture 2). It has swamped the almond tree and the hedge below is slowly giving up. The cherry tree that had a full canopy when I was a boy is now lopsided with half of its canopy gone. Slowly, very slowly the oak is dominating.

For years I have look to the skyline to the east. A massive oak stands there, exposed to the 4 winds, yet in an act of defiance it’s branches stretch equally in all directions. I took a cycle ride up to visit this giant. It’s girth was an impressive 4.75m, meaning it has stood proudly for about 300 years (picture 3). It grows on the remote Hatley Wilds, which until quite recently was unfarmed due to its heavy soils.

But it is hard to find Oak tree that a really much bigger than this. Mostly all oaks were felled to build galleons before steel was used for ship building.

The only tree that I have found that far exceeds this by some margin is in the grounds of Wimpole Hall. Measuring in at a massive 8.5m. A giant that has stood for 800 years. Yet this tree stands there in its prime. Recently it has had its boughs trimmed as the National Trust has to be mindful of dead timber falling on visitors and fearful of the legal action that follows. This has given the tree a rather squat appearance but might well reinvigorate the tree for many years ahead.

The youngest of these trees, aged according to wbrc.org.uk, is 60 years. The oldest 800 years. There is probably no reason why any of these trees cannot survive to 1000 years old. They stand within our environment, nurturing and caring for many other species. I will certainly care for them, just like I did 36 years ago when I first saw that healthy young tree.

They are all remarkable.

Stay safe this harvest, John.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 27 May 2022 11:54:35 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Richard Hirst, Norfolk

The recent rains although brief have been very welcome. On our relatively light land crops had begun to suffer from lack of moisture and although we can irrigate most fields areas that missed that irrigation were starting to show real signs of moisture stress- hopefully we will now have regular rainfall to start making up the soil moisture deficit and crops will reach their full potential.

There is continuing talk about price inflation across the whole economy and retail inflation at about 9% is extremely concerning. However various independent agricultural bodies are estimating that inflation in our sector is closer to 25% which will put huge pressure on all our members. I bought nitrogen fertiliser for this harvest at £280/ T but for 2023 I have already bought some at £900/T and I imagine the bulk will be at about £750/T! Although fertiliser is only one of our costs it does show that the price we receive for our crops has to increase significantly to ensure we remain profitable- at the moment that is happening.

Our pea group has almost finished drilling the crop. The dry weather has affected early crops that will be harvested from mid-June but it is also impacting on those crops that have just been drilled. Although soils still have moisture peas are having to be drilled deeper to find it and that means they take longer to emerge, and this can impact on the continuity we need for harvesting!

Stay safe and well

Richard

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 20 May 2022 08:49:15 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Adam Driver, Driver Farms, Suffolk

It has been, what appears to be, a typical spring for us in Suffolk. A lack of rain has meant spring crops have suffered somewhat; however recent showers are helping things along. Winter barley and wheat both look well, finding moisture on our clay soils. Oilseed rape is just coming off flower and looks like the best crop we have grown for many years.

Ears of wheat are starting to appear; this is two weeks earlier than usual. It looks like we are in for an early harvest! This is no bad thing really; it allows us to time to catch up with many important jobs such as mole draining fields and loosening and compacted or waterlogged areas. It also allows timely sowing of next years oilseed rape crops and our over winter cover crops.

We have been trialling inter row hoeing for Blackgrass control, it has worked well when conditions were good. There is a lack of chemical control for this weed nowadays due to resistance, so we are always looking at new methods to try and stay ahead of it. Another new method we will be using is a Redekop Seed control unit. This is part of a two-year trial hosted by NIAB. Essentially this machine attaches to the back of the combine and uses a small mill to destroy any weed seeds going through the combine. It should be an interesting trial and it is good to have some scientists on board evaluating it all.

A long list of jobs to do before harvest is currently being made and we want to crack on with all this asap for an anticipated early harvest. I am sure everyone at Camgrain is preparing similarly.

Thankyou all.

Stay safe and well

Adam

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 13 May 2022 09:22:32 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Sir Jim & Gordon Paice, Hertfordshire / Cambridgeshire

From Hertfordshire, Gordon writes: "it doesn't matter what scale your business is, flexibility is key. In a season like this, certain parts of my farm have had meaningful rain in the last ten days but some only 2 mm, this means that fungicide plans have had to be altered and, unless we get some sensible amounts of rain by the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, yield predictions for both grain and straw will need to be adjusted.

The global supply issues have caught up with us this week with Claas cancelling our new combine!! The slight issue is that they have taken away our old one and sold it!"

Meanwhile back here in Cambridgeshire: We have not seen a drop of rain until a drizzle this morning, but it did not come to much. My grass for the cattle is barely growing which could mean problems soon, luckily, I have plenty of hay left over from last year.

Just to prove that cattle farming is not as easy as some might think I must add that on Sunday morning (it is always on a Sunday) a cow had difficulty calving. I eventually managed to extract it but it had clearly been dead for a few days which meant it was not a pleasant job; fortunately the cow is none the worse but if it isn't obvious it means that she has been kept for a year with nothing to show for it, The original 'dead loss"!

Gordon refers to the Queen's Jubilee: "I am privileged to have met Her Majesty many times as I am a member of her Privy Council; she is a remarkable lady who is able to talk about anything with anyone. With reports of her mobility problems, I do hope she can be involved and enjoy the celebrations. They will pay tribute to her service to our people and our country. What a contrast to the actions of another Head of State! With the continuing tragedy in Ukraine, we should all count ourselves lucky, whatever we may grumble about, but the constant newsfeed about the cost of living is a reminder that no-one is immune from what is going on. Whilst not all is down to the war very much is and I fear that aspect will get worse as Russia prevents any exports of grain from Ukraine. The reports of Russian troops stealing tractors and other equipment from farms bring it closer to home. When it next is my turn to write this item I pray that the situation will have eased but I am not optimistic.

Stay safe and well

Sir Jim & Gordon Paice

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 06 May 2022 09:15:34 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Jo Robinson, Brackley

I think most farmers are talking about either fertilizer or the drought. Today however we have had a sprinkling of rain but it was very much hit and miss around here.

Depending upon where your farm is, so luck of the draw! We have had 7mm today so pleased with this and means we can now put more nitrogen on the Wheats and Spring Barley’s, we’d been delaying applications because of the drought / low temperatures and price of Nitrogen.

Above, the graph shows the rain we’ve had for the month of April (13mm) almost 3 weeks without rain.

The drilling of Maize we have also held back on due to lack of moisture in seed bed, but now we will get this drilled up this weekend with the fertilizer dropped down a spout by the seed to give it a kick start. Fingers crossed for some more rain soon as the amount today will quickly be absorbed or evaporate in the wind.

I thought I’d update you on HS2 with some pictures as most of you are unaffected by this huge project. It is hard to get Stone or fuel delivered to farms locally around here as HS2 is consuming everything and everyone. They are on a recruitment drive at the moment to ramp up earth works.

The amount of lorry movements and earth moving is just unreal. The last picture shows the vast width of country being taken for the line with service road being formed above right of yellow digger. The railway line runs to left of yellow digger up the hill. This cutting in forefront of picture is only half the intended depth, its hard to photograph the immensity of this line. I just hope its worthwhile now a lot of people are working at home!

Stay safe and well

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 09:10:45 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Bedfordshire

All farmers know that you never get two years the same. Other than 2020 and 2021 when we had very dry and cold spring weather. April ‘21 was remarkable with about 25 frosts during the month that simply stopped plant growth in its tracks and restricted crop yield.

This year has fortunately been different and what a delight it has been. The nights have being warm and the autumn sown crops have raced away as they make use of the fertilizer that was applied in March. The crops look in barn busting condition.

Spring down cereals are also looking strong but the recent run of dry days are taking their toll on the emerging Linseed crop, which is being heavily preyed upon by Flax Flea Beetle, slugs and pigeons. Prospects for this crop look slim at the moment and I fully expect to have to redrill in the coming weeks. The remarkable thing about the flax beetle is that it is able to eat the seedling of the linseed as it emerges and well before it reaches the soil surface. A warm rain would definitely help this crop to establish and grow away from this particular pest.

The dry weather therefore is mostly not affecting a heavy land farm at the moment. However, this will change in the coming weeks as crops will begin to run out of fertilizer. The final dressing is due across the farm and the rainfall is required to activate the nutrients and make them available to the plant. There is still much to play for before the harvest prospect is clear.

I do have a large field of wheat that has had no bagged fertilizer whatsoever. It had a good dressing of chicken muck in late March, and this has been adequate so far. But again, rain is needed.

The picture is that wheat crop and as you can see the crop has a healthy green colour. Unlike the sprayer, which seems to be suffering from a faulty “stop solenoid” that has resulted in a delay to proceedings and a certain amount of blue language. The fitter is currently seeing red as the fuel lines are primed yet the engine refuses to run.

Elsewhere on the farm I am feeling quite lucky in that I have my harvest labour sourced as I am hearing nightmare stories of large local farms simply not being able to find staff for the summer.

This is also the time of year when plans start for harvest 2023. The number of unknowns is massive. Fertilizer prices were already on the rise but Mr Putin’s misadventure into his neighbouring country is having a further effect upon price and availability. It is so hard to plan with such uncertainty. Food supply and security will increasingly become an issue across the globe. I fear that millions of people will find food very expensive and inaccessible. As ever this will affect the poorest first.

Stay safe and well

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 22 Apr 2022 09:03:45 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Barker, Suffolk

During a period of such uncertainty in the world the only thing you can be certain of is that the weather for a farmer is rarely what you want it to be! Walking the farm at the moment our crops are looking really well. They have responded well to the fertiliser and there looks to be some excellent yield potential. All of that could start to dwindle somewhat however if we do not get some rain soon! At the moment over in North Suffolk there is none on the horizon during the next two weeks which is becoming a worry.

I am pleased to see that our Sugar beet are now coming up in the row and so, what little irrigation ability we have on the farm, will be pushed into action soon on those if the forecast does not change.

Having had a busy calving period over the past two months we are pleased to now have the majority of our Beef suckler herd now out at grass. They certainly bounced off the trailer with a spring in their step and the sun on their back! With them out the winter workload eases and we can focus on new projects.

We are currently pleased to be getting on with our Equine diversification expansion. We currently have 6 horses on DIY livery which are now being extended to 12 with the addition of more stables, grass paddocks and an outdoor arena. With all of the spaces already pre-let for new arrivals at the end of the month we are running flat out to get everything done on time!

We are pleased to have secured our new Mid Tier Stewardship scheme which in theory started on the 1st January, but they only confirmed a few weeks ago! We will be creating more areas for wildlife habitat across the farm in our more margin fields and margins over the next few years as well as planting over 4km of new hedge.

I think I better start saving up for a new hedge cutter now! As there will be more work for it to do in the years to come!

Stay safe and well

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 08:57:07 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Bedfordshire

We have seen some extraordinary events this week. Not least at the Hollywood festival of self adulation where high praise is poured upon ordinary people for just doing their jobs quite well.

Events on the farm are currently leaving me feeling like Chris Rock as Will Smith approached. I am wondering what is happening and what might be next and how bad it might be.

We have had an extraordinary spring so far. The days have been so sunny, long and warm. Indeed, I would call it a mini heat wave as the temperature has been well above expected. The crops have enjoyed this greatly and have flourished, putting on lots of fresh lush growth. The weather this weekend will most certainly give them a slap in the face as frosts of -3C and lower are forecast. Most unwelcome.

Progress on the farm has been steady over the past week or two. There seemed little need to rush. All the spring cereals have been drilled and are about the emerge, some growth regulators have been applied to the forward wheats and the fertiliser plan is up to date. Time has even been found for frivolous activities such as demos of seed drills and a field or two of contract drilling.

Fertiliser spreading used to be a relatively stress-free pastime. However, this season it is anything but. I purchased fertiliser at various prices within the range of £265 to £620 per ton. Fortunately, mostly at the lower levels. Recent events are still causing further price hikes, if you can find available product. So, every time the fertiliser spreader is filled the cash register is clicking around at incredible speed. I have taken great care to ensure the spreader is properly calibrated and spreading accurately. I also like to spread the fertiliser just before rain, so it is washed in and not allowed to sit around on the soil surface where losses may occur. Fertiliser is a highly valuable input and it is vital to use it to best effect.

I have also managed to source 600t of chicken muck that has been spread on a growing crop of wheat at 15t per ha. I will be closely monitoring this crop and hope that it will not need much fertiliser. This will then give me the opportunity to carry over a tonnage of fertiliser to next season. I have never previously applied muck to a growing crop. Some of the crop has been covered but I hope it will find its way through or around the muck.

Elsewhere on the farm, we had our Visit England audit for the self-catering holiday let’s and once again confirmed our 4 star gold rating. The assessor was pleased to see just how good the cottages looked after 10 years. This of course involves constant maintenance and improvement.

Just this week we have replaced 1 kettle, 1 toaster, 2 coffee machines, 1 shower fitting and 1 radiator. I have also replaced one housekeeper. In all cases I hope the upgrades will be more efficient.

Stay safe and well

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 09:58:23 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Richard Hirst, Hirst Farms, Norfolk

This time of year is about our busiest with sugar beet and pea drilling to be done , fertiliser on wheats and OSR and then first fungicide sprays on them too. Added to that we are also calving our suckler herd and lambing started yesterday so plenty going on!

Our group pea drilling is going well. We have over 90 growers in the group and we need to drill to a plan that will hopefully give us about 500T of peas a day when we start harvest in the middle of June. There is a strict plan in place that means we drill when told to not necessarily when conditions are ideal on farm. We start on light land around Woodbridge in Suffolk and then move around the coast to Bacton before going onto heavier land in south Norfolk and North Suffolk. We start drilling in early March and hopefully finish by mid to late May. It normally works and so far in 2022 things are going well.

We will have the Fun park open from April 2nd - April 19th for our Spring Bonanza. We have missed the last 2 years because of Covid restrictions so hope visitors will want to visit us.

The first Bulgarian colleagues have arrived in our hostel we run for the Gs Group and their reports of the impact of the situation in Ukraine make any issue we have seem insignificant- one cannot imagine what those poor people are going through.

Stay sfae and well

Richard

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 17:35:20 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Adam Driver, Driver Farms, Suffolk

Spring appears to have arrived with some excellent growing condition for the crops.

We have applied fertiliser to all the crops now and they have noticeably responded. Unfortunately, despite getting very close to spring drilling in early February, it is still too wet. We had more rain last night again. However, the forecast looks good from now on, I will be happy as long as we get drilled up in March. With 1500 acres of spring crops to get in the ground it can be a frustrating experience.

The winter has been busy with ditching and drainage work taking place on some of the farms we manage. Because we use no cultivation on the farm, such as ploughing, it is even more vitally important that our drainage is in excellent working order. No till drilling simply does not work if the drainage is not working properly on our heavy clay soil. The 2nd picture shows a ditch where we uncovered 21 drains which once cleaned all began to run again.

We are in some volatile times in farming. Inflation is running fairly rampant, for example fertiliser and field have increased in price by 200-300%. Whilst this is pretty shocking at first glance, in the long run I think farmers will be benefit. It will push farmers to have to innovate and work out how to use these inputs more efficiently. There is a lot of work going on under the radar about fertiliser use efficiency that we have been following for some time, lessons learned are being applied, but a huge price rise is certainly a kick up the backside to get out of our comfort zone.

Here's to a good spring.

Adam

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 16:02:28 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by David White, Hawk Mill Farms, Cambs

View from the farm this week? Well its clearly not yet spring!

Earlier this morning we had sleety rain and I’ve tipped another 7mm out of the rain gauge. Whilst some have started planting spring cereals the soil is still cold and my workload allows me to wait until we have soil temperatures at around 8 degrees. Traditionally the test for knowing if the soil was warm enough to sow sugar beet was that it should be warm enough to support a bare bottom in comfort, I’m pleased to admit that I don’t know what that temperature is! It should be remembered that in 2018 the Beast From The East started around Feb 22nd and continued very cold through until early March.

So, the seed is in the shed ready but, other than spraying off cover crops in preparation for drilling and a nitrogen application to the OSR and winter barley, little has been done yet. So, what do you do with your time, I hear you all ask in unison, it’s not shooting or skiing ... honest. Camgrain takes up quite a bit of my time and with it being an exciting time in the development of the business there are always committees and meetings to attend. It’s good to be able to attend meetings in person again and whilst still respecting the need for common sense in how we behave around others you can’t beat a face‐to‐face conversation when you are discussing business and developing ideas.

I sit on the committee of Base‐UK, a Conservation Agriculture group, which was set up to promote and facilitate farmer to farmer knowledge exchange. We recently had our annual two‐day conference and AGM and dinner at a large hotel in Nottingham. This was a great success with around 130 delegates taking part over the two days. After a two year break it was great to be back together as a group. The organisation of this, which takes the best part of a year, was not without difficulty or risk as speakers were not sure about committing to attend, but we pulled it off. Our scientific speakers were very interesting and informative but it’s the farmer member speakers telling of their own farm experiences that are the most popular. I’m always impressed and proud of how eloquent people in our profession are, hicks from the sticks we certainly are not! Next year is our tenth anniversary and we are hoping again to host some top speakers from Europe and the USA and make an even bigger party of the event.

Other notable events happening here. I’m having another building refurbished and extended. The team I’m using have worked for me before and are a pleasure to have on the farm. Just like some of the older Camgrain infrastructure, buildings that were put up here many decades ago can become ‘tired’ and out of date, and a Cap‐Ex budget needs to be found to keep things ship shape. The first task this morning was to strip off the old roof, so another reason to hope for an improvement in the weather!!

Roll on spring.

David White.

Vice Chairman.

Tragic loss of one of our members

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 11:58:21 GMT

We're deeply saddened by the loss of one of our valued members...

We were all deeply saddened, last week, to hear the tragic news of the loss of one of our members, Chris Ascroft (Wilbraham Farms, Cambs).

Chris was a greatly valued member of the Camgrain business; his support throughout the years and ideas on how things are run were always welcomed and appreciated.

The crops he managed, around our Cambridge APC store and beyond, always looked immaculate and the pride he took in all that he did was very obvious to those within the industry. He was always a pleasure to deal with and a great believer & supporter of all that we do at Camgrain.

Our thoughts are with Chris’ family at this devastating time.

Team Camgrain.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 10:48:06 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Latham, AWT Farms & Camgrain Chairman

We have just enjoyed the most benign January I can remember for some time. We recorded just 15mm of rain in January with the last 21 days having just 0.25mm and the forecast is still set fine for the next week. This is causing a flurry of activity on farms across the country. AWT (our joint venture farming business) are now preparing to plant our spring crops on the lighter land here at Wadlow Farm which this year will principally be spring oats with some spring barley behind the sugar beet.

With the game shooting season now finished we had an exceptional sight on the farm yesterday with the sugar beet harvester on the farm along with the combine harvesting the maize game cover crop which still has plenty of cobs full of corn. Next week the farm should be well on its way to being fully drilled.

The autumn drilled crops continue to grow well and will be building resilience by putting a good root structure down and field conditions will allow for an early application of fertiliser to keep crops growing. As is always the case, crop output and quality will be determined by the weather over the critical months of May through to August now they are well established.

We had a shock on our farm at Waltham Hall near Stansted airport when we found Japanese Knot Weed in one of our woods. We will now put in place a five-year plan to eradicate this notifiable weed!

Keep well and safe

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 15:42:32 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by David White, Hawk Mill Farms, Cambs

A Historic Day

There was a mill recorded at Hawk Mill Farm in the Domesday book of 1086. It was also recorded in the Inquisitio Comitatus Cantabrigiensis (The Inquisition of the County of Cambridge), value 5s.4d.

A controversial (and the subject of a court case, White & others vs Chesterton RDC) watercourse diversion to alleviate flooding resulted in a lack of water to drive the mill meaning it fell into disuse in 1937.

Today, 22nd January 2022, for the first time in 85 years corn grown on the farm was milled again, history spanning over 936 years. The tabletop

Mockmill used clearly has a much lower output than the original mill apparatus and uses electricity instead of water power, but importantly to me uses stones for the grinding process.

The wheat being milled has of course changed over the decades as new more productive varieties are bred. However, the wheat I grow is a blend of the three varieties Solstice, Zyatt and Skyfall that have been “grown on” (seed from on crop resown the next year) for four years and there is a thought that this blend adapts itself to the soil and conditions it’s grown under on the farm. Therefore, I’m claiming it as my own variety!

The flour I produced is wholemeal and requires sieving to remove the bran element to produce a purer white flour similar to that which we are used to purchasing. The modern commercial milling process uses a series of mills with steel rollers which “shear” the grain and the resulting flour is milled and sieved several times to get it fine and pure (white flour) enough to market.

I have a small flour hand sieve to remove some of the bran element but it only seemed fair that the first loaf I baked (well our Panasonic baked!) was HMF wholemeal.

We recently bought a bread maker (contact me for brand recommendation) and have been experimenting with blends of different flours sourced for our excellent local Darwin Farm Shop. My thinking was that these are an excellent way to reliably make some good loaves before getting too experimental.

However I can report that my first loaf of Regen-Ag, Hawk Mill Farm 100% wholemeal bread was absolutely delicious.

My really experimental milling/baking will have to wait until after harvest as this is when I’ll have some heritage wheat to use. I’ve planted a small area of a blend of 20 old varieties that have been crossed (interbred) 190 ways. These seeds have then been further subjected to natural field selection over at least 15 generations. Each year the grain continues to naturally select the grains that perform best on the soil that they are being grown on.

The resulting wheat blend has huge diversity and I looking forward to seeing this “Heinz 57” crop at harvest.

I also have a plot of Millers Choice which is a population of long straw wheats selected to have a dominance of red wheats (Lammas varieties) rather than the more modern Squarehead wheats which should offer flavour, good milling qualities and disease resistance. Some of these varieties were grown as early as 1650! Whilst wheat from the 1960s is old Spelt is has a much longer heritage.

Spelt is a species of wheat that has been cultivated since approximately 5000 BC. I have purchased some Spelt flour and blended it with strong white bread flour and it makes a very flavoursome loaf. Spelt also grows very tall like other old wheats but has the disadvantage that once harvested it need de-hulling to remove the outer husk. This is a process used on oats to remove the groat before it is milled or flaked so a common process but no one that is often done on farm.

David White

(Vice Chairman, Farmer, Miller, Baker, Consumer!)

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 12:12:15 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Richard Hirst, Hirst Farms, Norfolk

January is meant to be a quieter time of year on most farms but, as with all livestock, there is always plenty to do.

We have our first batch of ewes lambing in a couple of weeks so after we have pregnancy scanned - which should happen this afternoon- they will be inside having spent the past couple of months with the main flock grazing stubble turnips. That crop was drilled as soon possible after the wheat was harvested and provides valuable feed over winter and makes a fantastic entry for our 2022 Sugar Beet crop.

We always have a good quantity of farmyard manure produced from the cattle, pigs and horses. In the past we have always been able to spread this prior to drilling the stubble turnips in late summer when hopefully ground conditions are good, and we do not do too much soil damage. The nutrients from the FYM mean we do not need to apply any other artificial fertiliser for that crop or the sugar beet. However, in 2021 the Environment agency decided to ban all muck applications until the spring to avoid what they thought was significant risk to water courses from runoff. We managed to get round the rules by ensuring our soil samples showed the need for nutrients for the stubble turnips. These rules are going to be amended for 2022 but what it highlights is yet another regulator trying to potentially reduce UK farm output but accepting that imported food from around the world can be grown without the same environmental protections we have here!

We are busy planning for our Easter event at the Fun park – the Spring Bonanza! We haven’t been able to run this for the past 2 years, so we anticipate a big demand for this. Hopefully we will have plenty of lambs for the public to see. The farm shop is a bit quieter this month which I think we expected. We have suffered from staffing issues with Covid which meant I had to spend the day on the Fish Counter – a new experience for me- luckily all went I think, and I managed to get my fish breeds right!

As well as being a director of Camgrain I also chair our pea group. We have our annual pricing negotiations in December and January. We have not had an increase in price for several years and in order to keep the crop competitive we had to make the case for a significant increase against a background of supermarket own label frozen peas being heavily discounted in the ongoing supermarket price wars. Our arguments that those price wars should not impact on grower pricing won the day and we have achieved an increase of about 14% for 2022 – a good result which will keep the crop being grown in Norfolk and Suffolk

One other job that is ongoing is pigeon and goose scaring – the geese will leave back to Scandinavia in a few weeks, but pigeon numbers keep going up, so make for a challenging few weeks until crops start to grow again in the spring.

Stay safe and well

Richard Hirst

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 11:49:04 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Jefferies Farming Partners

The speed that Fridays flick by astounds me. Here we are completing another week as we head towards, for me, one of the most looked forward days of the year. So much happens in the lead up to this day. Christmas card writing, purchasing of presents to loved ones, school plays, decorating the house with seasonal symbols and enjoying time off work and the company of friends and family whilst consuming large amounts of food and drink.

As you read this we will be just 4 days short of this day, the winter solstice, when the orbit of our planet around the sun passes the point whereby daylight and the promise of warmth returns to the northern hemisphere.

It is also a time to reflect on the past year. The harvest, what went right and what could have gone better. I try to spend time learning the lessons and increasing the experiences I have to fall back upon in the future. Sadly, I have yet to do this successfully. But maybe one year!

The harvest of 2021 was a success. We had tough conditions. A dreadfully wet autumn, a long dry and cold spring followed by a damp and cool May and a relatively sunless June. This produced an average harvest, which in fact is an excellent result and shows the resilience of the crops that we grow.

But we do not farm in isolation and the troubles and woes that other farmers have faced across the globe have certainly caused commodity prices to improve markedly so I am looking forward to a significant reversal in the financial performance of the farm than the awful set of accounts for harvest 2020 that landed on my desk in September.

As the day length increases and we head into January I will have great joy as I see the crops grow and develop towards my next harvest. The crops in the ground have germinated and grown so well in what seems like the best autumn of my farming career. Possibly the best autumn since 1983 and those of us who are long enough in the tooth will certainly be able to remember the delight of harvest 1984. So, prepare the store for a bumper crop in 2022. You heard it here first!! Empty your silos and sweep out the corners of the stores cos we are going to fill them and some.

Stay safe and well this festive period

John Jefferies

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 11:40:53 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Johnny Wake, Courteenhall, Northants

Like most other farmers, we found the autumn drilling season unusually kind and we got all drilling completed in good time, as well as cultivations for the spring cropping. This harvest we are cropping Spring Barley, Spring Beans and Winter Barley, alongside preparing the land for the new Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship agreement which starts in January.

This new scheme will see us scale up our wildlife corridors on the Estate, as well as the creation of many habitats through establishment of a wetland and reversion of former parkland among others.
In order to prepare the arable land for the new agreement, we are working on depleting the land going back into grassland. To do this we are not applying any fertiliser to these fields. The lower P and K levels in these fields should result in a higher variety of species, especially wildflowers.

We have recently purchased a farm a short distance from Courteenhall and so are working on some drainage and other projects there, including a ground source heat pump for the farmhouse.
Unfortunately, because of the big storm we had a few weeks ago we lost several of our ancient trees, and this kept the team busy since clearing up fallen branches.

This will be my last update from the farm before my retirement as a Camgrain Director. It has been a huge privilege to have been a small part of the team at Camgrain. The work that you all do is really special and has a bright future.

Thank you & Stay safe

Johnny Wake

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 10:57:20 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by David White, Hawk Mill Farms & Camgrain Vice-chairman

The clocks have changed which on the farm signals the fact that most of the autumn work should be done and we are working shorter days.

The autumn drilling programme was easier this year with kinder weather but more difficult, personally, due to the various things I’m trying out, I make my life unnecessarily complicated but also endlessly fascinating!

My wheat trials include some mid nineteenth century heritage varieties (pictured above), so Landrace types which are the oldest types of crop cultivars, they have generic variability giving them the flexibility to cope with a range of environmental and disease pressures, that sounds perfect to cope with our changing climate and my desire to spend less on sprays.
I also have a small area of Spelt which is an ancient wheat/rye type of grain which hasn’t changed since biblical times (are you spotting a trend?) and was first recorded being grown around 5000 BC!

I’m sure the lab teams will be pleased to hear that these will not be coming into the store harvest 22 but instead may form part of a tabletop milling and bread making experiment or perhaps go to supply local artisan bakers. Although Hawk Mill, the water mill beside my house has long since been unable to mill wheat, the National Trust’s Lode watermill is further downstream on the Wilbraham river from me and I’m making enquiries about having some wheat milled by them using “my” water. If this all comes off I may be able to supply flour to any budding Camgrain bread bakers.

More commercially (or perhaps not?) I have some Gleam to supply the clean wheat plant and my usual Hawk Mill GP1 blend of Solstice, Zyatt and Skyfall, which this year is being grown with companions of vetch, winter peas and beans. These companion crops have been sown with the wheat at 30kgs/ha providing around 13 plants a sq/mt which being leguminous should fix some nitrogen from the atmosphere in the spring negating the need to apply so much very expensive bought in bagged nitrogen.

Following my very successful Bi‐Cropping trial of spring beans and oats, “boats”, I’m now growing the winter version which is Mascani oats and Tundra beans, I’m still working on a name for this blend! Masundra?

As well as farmer interest in my Bi‐Cropping activities there are two agronomy companies now trialling different mix seed rates and I’ve turned up some interesting field trial research papers from the early 1990s on the subject, brace yourselves for Bi‐Cropping to become mainstream!

In other news my new (to me) combine harvester turned up this week which means although next harvest will be busier with me doing the job myself again it will also be much more satisfying as I get the see first hand how my, sometimes crazy, trials perform.

I also have had the pleasure of entertaining some possible supply chain partners on farm today (Wednesday) discussing Regenerative Agriculture practices and this was followed up by a meeting at CAPC and brief store tour. With both harvest and more largely Covid restrictions making site visits more difficult of late it had been a while since I’d been around the site but I can report it gets no less impressive with the passing of time and all colleagues that participated in demonstrating what the business does to our guests were utmost professionals in their communications with the group, thank you all.

Thank you for the continued hard work and dedication from all the teams at Camgrain.

Stay safe and well

David

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 10:45:18 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Richard Hirst, Hirst Farms, Norfolk

This autumn has been much more favourable than the past 2 years. Wheat is all drilled up to date although we still have some crop to go in behind Sugar Beet and possibly celery if lifting those crops doesn’t create too many issues with ground conditions. Emerging crops look well and although we still have some spraying to do, prospects for 2022 harvest already look better than the previous couple of harvests. Oil Seed Rape is also looking well although we have lost about 10ha that has been grazed off by both deer and geese – a problem we have every year on a contract farm we look after. The geese are here all winter and although we do our best to keep them off crops, they are particularly active around each Full Moon where they will still be grazing on land for most of the night! Red Deer numbers are also increasing each year and our landlord is reluctant to carry out any type of culling which neighbours are, so we end up with even more deer to contend with. We may have been one of the last members to deliver into store with our last load of Skyfall going to Kettering last Friday. Thank you all for your hard work over harvest and into the autumn keep our crops in the best possible condition.

Last week we had the Funpark open for our Halloween Hoot. A daytime non scary Halloween event revolving around Pumpkin Picking and carving. This event has grown every year and it now seems every child has to at least pick a pumpkin whereas a few years ago Halloween hardly happened at all. A bit like a busy harvest day at Camgrain stores we were inundated for 6 of the 9 days to the point that we had to find emergency supplies of Pumpkins to ensure that we didn’t run out! We are already planning a much larger area of pumpkins for 2022 in the hope that the numbers continue to grow. We are already planning for our Easter event which needs sheep lambing and, to help this, rams are now in with the ewes, and we should start lambing just before the Easter Holidays.

The shop continues to be busy, and our café is getting many rave reviews which is great but too many breakfasts and lunches their isn’t doing my waistline any good!

Stay safe and well

Richard

Navara Oat Milling Project Announcement

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 11:47:01 GMT

Navara Oat Milling Project Announcement

We are delighted to announce the creation of Navara Oat Milling and the development of Europe’s largest and most efficient oat processing plant, alongside our store at Kettering.

We believe this is an exciting development for Camgrain members as it will create an additional route to market (on our doorstep) for members growing oats, maximise pool returns for farmer members, utilise our land & storage assets and provide a long-term dividend return that will benefit the society and its members.

Camgrain to partner with Frontier Agriculture & Anglia Maltings Holdings to build multi-million-pound state of the art oat processing plant.

Work to construct a brand new, cutting-edge oat processing plant in Northamptonshire has begun. The plant will be the largest, most modern oat-processing facility in Europe. On completion in 2023, it will be poised to meet and accelerate the already growing demand for oat ingredients in the food and drink industry.

The development is the initiative of ‘Navara Oat Milling’, an exciting new joint venture between three organisations. All three bring to the party different - and complementary - fields of expertise, as well as longstanding relationships in their respective supply chains and markets.

Navara is jointly owned by Frontier Agriculture, a crop production and grain marketing company; Camgrain, a farmer-owned cooperative; and Anglia Maltings Holdings (AMH), a food and drink ingredient manufacturer.

The new plant will be built alongside Camgrain’s existing Advanced Processing Centre in a key arable region between Corby and Kettering, ensures the minimising of food miles. Excellent transport links provide good access not only to oat growers but also to key food and drink manufacturers who use cereal-based ingredients. Frontier Agriculture will supply all oats processed at the plant via growers in the surrounding region, Camgrain farmer members and its network of farm traders.

Simon Willis, CEO of Camgrain added, “The new joint venture, Navara Oat Milling, will see the new plant built alongside our existing Camgrain Advanced Processing Centre in Northants. This is great news for our farmer members as it expands opportunities for them with an increasingly sought-after cereal grain and will involve them in projects such as the development of new varieties. It’s good to be bringing advanced technology to the UK food supply chain, adding value not just to farmers, but also to the local community. We are grateful to the North Northants Council for their support for this flagship project; which will bring forward new employment opportunities and reduce food miles.”

Mark Aitchison, Managing Director of Frontier and Chairman of the new joint venture said, “There’s increasing demand for oat ingredients in healthy food products and non-dairy drinks. The investment by the three strategic partners will help meet that demand. Our collective vision is to build and grow a dedicated oat supply chain, bringing farmer and food manufacturer closer together and delivering improvements that benefit each sector and the environment. “We will work together on realising the huge potential of oats, embracing all that they can deliver in provenance, traceability and sustainability. Navara will create supply chain efficiency and the food and drink industries will benefit from the investments we’ll make not just in processing but also in growing oats. Collaboration with farmers supplying the new mill will see value added in areas such as agronomy advice, seed variety choice and development, quality and sustainability.”

George Thompson, Group Finance Director of AMH said, “This ground-breaking partnership can bring focus on this highly valued cereal crop, and we’re delighted to be part of it. We already work with oats in EDME, the natural food ingredients arm of our business, and have long desired to do more with this exceptional cereal. Navara Oat Milling provides the perfect opportunity. “By combining our experience, expertise and ambition with that of Camgrain and Frontier, we can explore the true potential of oats in terms of innovation for existing oat ingredients processors and exploring new market opportunities. “The joint venture is launching at a time when the importance of nutritious, plant-based ingredients has become more widely recognised. Provenance and sustainability are part of that agenda, and domestically grown and processed oats are part of the answer. With its brand-new, purpose-built facility, Navara Oat Milling will be well positioned to support food and drinks manufacturers by providing consumers with healthy and nutritious choices.”

The site which is discreetly located and hidden by existing topography and vegetation will be further enhanced by the additional planting of 6,500 new trees and shrubs. Full planning permission has been approved and significant preparatory work has already taken place. UK construction and project manager experts T H White will be the main construction contractor for the project.

Construction of the plant will provide an additional 120 jobs; 60 during construction and 60 to operate the plant once complete.

Notes for Editors

1. For further information about this announcement please contact Nicki Arnold, Head of Membership Manager on Nicki Arnold Tel:Mobile:Email: nickiarnold@camgrain.co.uk

2. About Camgrain: Camgrain is a farmer owned co-operative established in 1983 which operates the UK’s largest network of farmer owned grain stores. With over 35 years of experience and investment in world class grain stores Camgrain are seen as experts in the long-term storage of arable crops and have won many prestigious awards including Nestle UK supplier of the Year. Camgrain has many existing supply chain relationships and are respected for adding value to premium crops in many food sectors including those making bread, brewing beer and creating breakfast cereals. Camgrain fulfils the collection, storage and marketing requirements of arable crop farmers and has circa 550 farmer members who store 500,000 tonnes of grain with Camgrain Camgrain’s mission is ‘To maximise returns to our farmer members, through outstanding service in the storage, logistics and marketing of their crops’

3. About Frontier Agriculture: Frontier Agriculture is the UK's leading crop production and grain marketing business, recognised for its close customer relationships with farmers and grain consumers and its successful management of the arable supply chain. Frontier was formed in 2005 as a joint venture between Associated British Foods and Cargill plc and now turns over around £1.5 billion per annum. Frontier has 46 sites across the UK and employs 1,100 colleagues. Frontier’s main offices are in Perth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Cranswick, Witham St Hughs, Diss, Sandy, Hermitage and Ross-on-Wye. Operating across all aspects of arable crop production and grain marketing, Frontier supplies seed, crop protection products and fertiliser to farmers, as well as providing specialist agronomy advice through our team of 130 agronomists. Frontier's grain marketing business has well-established contracts with the UK's key grain consumers, giving our farmer customers unrivalled access to end markets. Frontier has a number of divisions providing additional specialist advice to growers. These include SOYL precision crop production and Kings who are experts on game cover, conservation crops, green cover and forage crops. Frontier’s digital platform, MyFarm, allows growers to manage all aspects of their farming business in one place, from account information to grain sampling results and precision farm data. Frontier's mission is to be the first-choice partner for crop production and crop marketing for UK farmers, and the first-choice employer in UK agriculture.

4. About Anglia Maltings (Holdings) Ltd: Anglia Malting (Holdings) Ltd (AMH) is a privately owned business and dates back to 1870. The group comprises of two complementary divisions, being maltings and food ingredients, which collectively sell c.500,000t of product per annum. Crisp Malt is the global malting business, that supplies high quality malted ingredients to the global brewing, distilling and food markets. Crisp Malt operates seven malting facilities across Europe, of which five are in the UK, one in Poland and one in Germany. AMH’s food ingredients division comprises of Edme and Micronized Food Products. Edme is an innovative processor of malted and non-malted grains and cereals, including oats, into food producers in the UK and globally. AMH prides itself on the close relationships it has with its partner farmers and its customers, being the end-user processors of both its malted and non-malted products. AMH’s mission is to be the first choice for high quality malted ingredients for both large and craft brewers and distillers globally and, via its ingredients division, to be the supplier of choice in providing innovative products into the UK and global food markets

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 03 Sep 2021 14:57:15 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by David White, Hawk Mill Farms, Cambs

Today, (the 2 ^nd September) we intend to finish harvest 2021!

We’ve said this on several occasions over the last week but the continued dull weather with early morning drizzle has prevented us from crossing the finish line, but today is going to be the day come rain or shine with spring beans and cover crop seed plots getting the chop.

Who knew, on July 22 ^nd when we cut the rape, that harvest would drag on this long, somewhat different from last year when harvest barely stretched into August, finishing on the 7 ^th .

I don’t think we have had any notable highlights, with yields here and of my neighbours being average, but quality good. Some neighbours are still struggling to make progress never mind finish as the need to cut at 15% or below has been hampered by the afore mentioned weather and milling wheat still sits in the fields with combines having not turned a wheel in a week. With the benefit of Camgrain storage our quality has been captured and whilst final yields are unknown due to heaps of grain being “squirrelled away” in the barn to spread the logistics workload, it is in our control not out in the field being deteriorated.

One highlight was my “Boats” (beans and oats mix) trial that, those that have visited the farm will have seen. It yielded 5.64t/ha and when the proportion of oats and beans had been calculated produced a gross margin (£ output – growing costs) of £825/ha. Not bad for very few inputs and zero applied nitrogen. However, it took me nearly 2 days to separate the total field crop with my vintage 1950s dresser and demonstrated what a great job all of the operations team at Camgrain does dealing with everything the farmer members send to the store.

Crops this year produced a lot of straw, so much so that it’s hampered my direct drilling practices. I think this was because after the very slow growth in April due to the many frosty nights we didn’t apply much growth regulator (straw shortener) then when it rained in May the crops overcompensated in growth. The baler guys have been here and very efficiently baled and cleared the fields when weather allowed, working late into the night. Removal of organic matter is not a problem if done occasionally and it will be replaced by the mixed species cover crops that have been planted and are growing, albeit slowly, as they are in need of a proper rain!

Yes, although we have not had much decent combining weather, we have not had much rain either, only 60% of the expected August average. East Anglia has also had the lowest number of August sunshine hours at 127.1 since 1968 (how many of you will remember that year?) the upside is of course that working conditions around the store sites will have been a little easier with less need for constant supplies of water and sunscreen.

On farm, thoughts already turn to harvest 2022 with OSR and companions up in the row and cropping plans being made for the cereal crops. My wheat seed sample was taken to the NIAB lab yesterday to be assessed for germination, vigour, and disease levels.

Finally, a big thankyou to the whole Camgrain team for not only managing intake from farm as you do but outloading to keep customers supplied and the office and IT support that help it work so well.

Wishng everyone a safe a secure end to harvest.

David White

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 27 Aug 2021 17:14:17 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Richard Hirst, Hirst Farms, Norfolk

Harvest is progressing steadily in East Norfolk. All the OSR and Barley is cut and we have 4 or 5 days of wheat to go. The benefits of being a Camgrain member are fully highlighted in a year like this where weather is anything but summer like. Being able to combine at higher moisture levels gives extra hours every day and helps us conserve quality.

The late harvest has pushed back next years OSR drilling and we are drilling and combining in the same field!!

Getting this crop established correctly is crucial and we have to seal down the crop with herbicide and fertiliser within a couple of days of drilling so yet another job that needs doing!

Along with harvest we also have our Maize Maze and Farmshop running. Both continue to be extremely busy with our bigger headache being the shop car park, which is also our main farmyard (!) making carting grain and loading lorries safely a real logistics exercise!

Today we are making a start on next year’s crop by drilling OSR … Fingers crossed it gets away well and we avoid too many problems with the Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle!

As with all members we are extremely grateful for all the work the team do, across the 4 sites, to turn lorries round and get grain into a fit state to store. Hopefully the weather will improve and we can all get harvest finished quickly and safely.

Wishing everyone a safe and secure harvest,

Richard

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 12:41:42 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Bedfordshire

Harvest continues in its stop/start pattern. Partly due to the showers and partly due to the awful wet autumn and spring which resulted in a large range of crops drilled over a large range of timings. This means that I seem to only have 2 days harvesting in front of me at anytime, then a few days off before it is all hands in deck again.

Harvest logistics, and the difficulties involved, is something that many of you will be very familiar with. For me at farm level this means that not only do I have to try to judge the yield of the crop but I also have to guess the harvest date and book trucks accordingly.

I have trucks booked next week and at the moment the weather forecast seems to be ok, meaning that I will be able to cut some, stop and fill the trucks, ad then get back out and cut some more.

I for one really do appreciate the exceptional circumstances this year and see the incredible work that the CG and FLB staff are putting in to see the farmers through this most difficult of seasons. Well done to all.

Last week I hosted the @Farmersoftheuk Twitter account. I tried to show the amount of work that goes on on a farm at this time of year. I also tried to promote my holiday cottages (which are running at 99.5% occupancy this summer), my wife’s books and Camgrain.

One nice little coincidence that happened during the week was meeting Chris who works for Nestlé, alongside our main contact, within the supply chain contracts we have access to through the Clean Wheat Plant.

Chris was staying in one of our holiday let’s for the week and throughly enjoyed a trip around the harvest field on the combine too!

So, onwards and upwards. Heads down and let’s get this harvest over the line. So so many of our members depend upon Camgrain and, whilst there might be some frustrations along the way, the support they receive from the CG staff is truly appreciated.

Wishing you a safe and seure harvest

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 14:59:58 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Gordon & Jim Paice, Hertfordshire

Gordon:

Over here in Hertfordshire, harvest has been stop-start, as it has been for everyone else I'm sure, the 2 mm of rain yesterday (Thursday) morning was not expected and put a halt to harvest plans for the day.

The OSR crop was disappointing, with a large plant biomass but a shortage of pods. We have already drilled next year's crop in the hope it will get ahead of the flea beetle.

The Oat crop has been harvested and delivered into Linton today, yield is slightly below budget, but we did receive 75 mm of rain in 3 hours a few weeks ago which put large areas flat to the ground; even for a modern combine that is a challenge and considerably slows the work rate.

The wheat is fit to harvest and we shall be busy filling both our own stores as well as sending into Camgrain, I have booked my lorries for next week. I just hope the forecast is correct and we have a dry week!! This is one of the latest harvests I have known although Dad says that when he started, with much older varieties, harvest would not start before early August.

Jim:

Meanwhile I have been at home recovering from an operation... "whilst frustrating at least it has allowed me to catch up on a few things. In particular I have watched Clarksons Farm. Even allowing for some sensationalism and exaggeration it is an excellent representation of the challenges of farming. He started in the worst possible year with the wet autumn of 2019 but even so to barely break even on 1000 acres is a sobering thought. Many people have said they learned more about farming through this than in 10 years of Countryfile! Perhaps the best bit is to see Jeremy's look of incredulity every time he is told about another bit of bureaucracy. Hopefully the general public now understands a bit more about farming."

Wishing you all a safe and secure harvest

Gordon & Jim Paice

#Farm24 - showcasing UK Agriculture

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 11:41:55 GMT

#Farm24 - showcases UK Agriculture, how our food is made and where it comes from.

The #Farm24 initiative is brought to us by Farmers Guardian, sponsored by Morissons and it has been adopted and supported by a vast number of farms and agricultural companies in order to showcase the amazing job UK Agriculture does and help to show peple how our food is made, where it omes from and how much work it takes to produce.

Now in its sixth year, it is set to be agriculture's biggest online event, showcasing what farmers do up and down the country in a typical working day. Farmers and supporters are encouraged to post on any platform using the hashtag #Farm24 and are encouraged to post numerous times throughout the day with updates about what they are doing.

You can follow the action on any social media platform by searching for #Farm24

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 09:44:12 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Johnny Wake, Courteenhall Estate, Northants

Is it possible to do an Over the Farm Gate without talking about the weather? It’s easier to avoid talking about Covid or Brexit!

Here in Northants we avoided the torrential rain that was in the papers just a bit to the south of us in Essex. We wouldn’t mind a wee bit now, but actually, it’s all looking pretty good, dare I say.

I drove down from Northumberland at the weekend and saw some superb crops and combines on the go, which was pretty exciting. We reckon we’ll be 1-2 weeks late compared to normal, and our home farm will definitely be later, as we always are, than the majority of your farms that are in the East.

Last time I wrote about our white clover understory. This has been maintained under future crops to help improve soil and plant health and we are still trialling it to better understand the provision of nitrogen provided by the white clover. We know from tests that it has naturally added a helpful amount of nitrogen. The crops growing in it are looking really good, and we feel it’s an exciting way to grow a crop.

I also wrote previously that we’re entering into a new stewardship programme in January. Our submission has been accepted by Natural England and we are turning the 'proverbial oil tanker' towards this now. We’ve located the bloodline of Traditional Hereford cattle that we used to breed here, from my great-great-great-great grandfather down to my grandfather, and are in the market for restarting the herd. They’ll be grazing on pasture-only for the whole year outside and will be joined by other native hardy breed livestock as we progress. We’ll also be creating some lakes and woody pasture, as well as planting plenty of trees.

Over on the farm in Norfolk, that we’ve recently taken over, we’re just in the process of getting it into basic stewardship, with the vision to step that up over the years.

Safe harvest to all

Johnny

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 23 Jul 2021 09:16:45 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Barker, J & A Barker, Suffolk

Back at the end of April I was feeling very pessimistic about harvest 21. Our farm has a tendency to drought out and we were desperate for rain! I am pleased to report that since then we have had over 100mm of rain and despite some difficult establishment conditions last autumn the crops look very promising.

Harvest preparations are well underway with stores being cleaned and machinery serviced. We have not grown any winter barley this year and so our combine stands ready with the oilseed rape header on, but unlikely to be called into action for another 10 days yet. In our area of the Norfolk/Suffolk borders, very little combining has been done as yet, with most of my neighbours forecasting starting in the barley early next week.

As always harvest progress is governed by the weather. Recent localised rain and hailstorms in some parts of the country sound horrendous for those impacted. At the moment I am just hoping I can get to my lodged spring barley before the pigeons manage to eat it all!

As many will have seen on the news horrible weather events have hit Europe hard – especially parts of France, Belgium and Germany. The quality of crops across that region will have been impacted which will drive marketing premiums for quality milling wheat and malting barley. Now is the time, in my view, to use the harvest capability of Camgrain to help our members fill our stores with top quality product which the market will demand in the year ahead.

Running into this busy time of year health and safety must be everyone’s top priority. This week is Farm Safety week with the Yellow Wellies farm safety foundation running a campaign to encourage the whole food and farming industry to follow best practice in all that we do. We all need to take collective responsibility for making sure everyone in our team goes home safe every day.

Within our own business we have recently been completing all of our machinery safety checks, replenishing and improving our first aid kits, checking fire extinguishers, ordering more high viz clothing and figuring out the What Three Words positions for key locations on the farm to enable emergency services to get to our location if the worst were to happen.

We have started planning for harvest 22 already with our cropping plans. Looking around the farm wheat variety choice has had a big bearing on disease levels and spray costs this year. It is disappointing to see some of our historic barn filling varieties as well as some of the newer varieties come under strong disease pressure this season. While we will wait until we have the yield data it looks likely that we will be buying seed for several new varieties this autumn to improve our disease resilience. I know that gathering in this year’s harvest and dealing with all of the covid related challenges will be a huge task for the Camgrain team as well as our farming members. I would like to thank you all for the efforts so far getting the stores ready for what looks like a big harvest and hope that all runs smoothly and safely in the months to come.

Safe and speedy harvest to all,

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 09:35:48 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Jefferies Farmng Partners, Beds

Harvest preparations have begun in earnest this week. My harvest help, Nicole, has arrived and taken her telehandler training, gaining an impressive 100% in both the theory and the practical.

Machinery has been serviced, greased, and inspected. Then parked up ready for action. Sheds tidied and the grain pad walls erected, and the pressure washer is finding plenty to do. Hopefully, most of this will be completed before the first crop of winter barley is ready in about 2- or 3-weeks’ time. Here in southwest Cambs we have good moisture retentive soils. The winter barley looks to be an average crop, which is excellent when compared to what it looked like in early May. In fact, I have no idea how it looks quite so well.

In other news, the winter wheat is green as you like. A late august start for these is most likely!

I have grown quite an area of Linseed. This was drilled late (mid-) into very dry and drying conditions. The May rains followed by early June heat really did kickstart this crop. Some of the crop is a white flower variety called Ineke. This crop seems particularly good and has produced a mass of flower. There is a long way to go for this crop and a mid to late September harvest beckons. This might well be very tricky with the short days and dewy nights.

I have a couple of fields of Planet barley. These follow a winter cover crop that was grazed by sheep. The barley is not quite as thick as neighbouring crops established after the plough, however it is standing rather than leaning or lodged and being grazed by pigeons.

Perhaps the best benefit of this slightly later than recent seasons and my abject failure to grow OSR is that I will be able to relax on a 5 day glamping trip on the banks of the River Wharfe in Yorkshire safe in the knowledge that everything is ready and nothing is ready.

So I still have a long way to go before this harvest is complete and indeed there is still plenty of time for the potential of these crops to be affected by the weather. However, the potential is markedly higher than the disaster that was 2020.

Safe harvest everyone,

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 09 Jul 2021 09:08:33 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Andrew Flux, Camgrain Director & Group Commercial Strategy Director at Frontier

No two seasons ever seem to be the same! The spring weather has given us all a different challenge to the last couple of years but we now seem to be fairly well set for a good harvest across most crops with some fantastic wheat crops stretching across the region. The start of harvest looks to be slightly delayed across the country by up to 10 days but, when it comes, it will again be all hands to the pumps to get it in safely and efficiently.

The recent thunder storms in the east have caused a few issues, particularly with standing barley (picture below) but I hope some of these scenes are relatively few and far between! The wheat, by contrast, is looking great! (picture above)

It seems unreal that we are about to go into our second harvest under the cloud of the pandemic which continues to impact on our daily working and personal lives – the resilience of all to live and cope with it is admirable and I hope that the whole Camgrain business has an incident free and thoroughly enjoyable harvest. Whilst it will be hugely busy for all, it is the culmination of a year’s work and satisfying to see what we can all achieve.

In the meantime though, we all have to get through the excitement and stress of 8pm on Sunday!! Good luck England.

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 08:52:01 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Latham, AWT Farms, Cambs & Camgrain Chairman

As I write this at the very start of July and reflecting on the season it is remarkable how well the crops continue to look. We had a very wet autumn in which to establish crops followed by an extended dry and cold spring with crops very slow to get going and keen for the rains to arrive to activate the spring applied fertiliser. This duly arrived just before crops were going to lose yield potential and since then we have had plentiful rain with generally mild temperatures and now lush crops. To see crops home, we now need sunshine which makes starch and therefore yield. This is typical of the “Farmers Want” always asking for perfect growing conditions!!

The consequence of this season’s weather is almost certainly a late start to harvest in comparison with recent seasons with combines unlikely to really get going until early August as opposed to the usual 20th July. If the sun does shine, I am sure the stores will be brimming with grain and if August has catchy weather our farmer members will be very pleased to have the drying infrastructure ready to make safe member grain for storage. This is when Camgrain really comes to the fore and can make a real difference for members in pressing ahead with harvest and capturing the quality in the crops they deliver to store.

This is my last chance to report from the farm before harvest, so from the Board and our members, good luck for the harvest campaign, stay safe and let’s hope when I next write we will have harvest largely safely complete and gathered in so we can continue to play our part in feeding the nation. Thanking you all for all you do on our behalf’s.

Stay safe and well,

John Latham

Over The Farm Gate

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:48:39 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by David White, Hawk Mill Farms, Cambs

It’s nice to be Normal.

Well, that’s normal on two levels actually.

I went to the Groundswell Show https://groundswellag.com today (Weds), this is a show that’s been going five years and is held at John and Paul Cherry’s Lannock Manor Farm near Baldock. They farm organically and run an annual Conservation/Regenerative Ag show. Its often described as the Glastonbury of farm shows as it has a laid-back feel and covers the more environment aspects and techniques of how some of us farm now. Although ticket numbers are restricted it has an increasing following of conventional farmers who want (need?) to get an understanding of how they will need to farm under the coming Environmental Land Management support system (ELMs). The show has developed really well over the last few years and the compost toilets of year one have nearly been erased from peoples memories!

So, my normal 1.0 - it was good to be in an environment when most of the attendees “get it” and I’m not regarded as slightly strange in how I farm and how my fields look. We should not overlook peer pressure to conform to a way of behaving in anything we do and to occasionally have the support of others is a great tonic.

Normal 2.0 is, (WOW!), it was good to go out and interact with people again. Other than going to a very occasional meeting or outing to get farm supplies, it’s the second “event” I’ve been to in about 18 months! Everyone kept a sensible distance apart and hand sanitised regularly, the seminar marquees were open sided and we were in a field, but it felt normal. It shows that by sticking to sensible rules we can operate safely at work and interact socially again and get our lives back on track. With the frenetic rush of harvest approaching and with the guidance of the Executive team I’m sure we will have another safe “normal” harvest as we did last year.

Speaking of harvest, it going to be later this year, phew! The recent welcome rain, whilst variable in total across our collect, has set crops up to yield well. Last year yields were very light in most areas but despite a difficult autumn and spring things are now coming together nicely and the stores can hope to get back to a normal order of crop intake rather than beans coming in with rape in July!!!

And finally, heads up to our lab and store opps teams, I’ve grown some co-cropped beans and oats (christened Boats, see pic). Can we check that the lab has this crop on its drop-down pick list please and someone knows what combination of dresser sieves are needed to separate them…………what was I saying about being normal?

Have a safe and enjoyable harvest.

David White

(Camgrain Vice Chairman)

Over The Farm Gate

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 08:07:30 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Adam Driver, Driver Farms, Suffolk

Harvest is edging ever closer and, with some much more favourable weather, things are generally looking good.

Wheat is just coming into ear and winter barley is filling its grains well. There is some blackgrass around but it is not too bad (apart from a few patches), you may have seen wheat fields turn brown recently due to the high levels around!

It is really pleasing to see our crops looking well considering our system, which involved no cultivation and zero till drilling, they look just as good if not better than crops that have had much more spent on them with operations such as ploughing and subsoiling.

The next step is to start planning for harvest. There is many things to go through from machinery maintenance, healthy and safety, checking field gateways are wide enough to fit the combine through etc.

I do not think harvest will start particularly early this year compared to the last couple of years, which is no bad thing.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the weather and easing of lockdown!

Stay safe and well

Adam

Over The Farm Gate

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 07:26:12 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Jefferies Farming Partners, Bedfordshire

This time of year, is always busy. Crops are growing fast and there are several key timings for fungicides in cereals crops. Normally you can be certain that the wheat needs spraying around the 20th to the 25th of May. This year it was a little later due to the cold and dry April followed by the cold and wet May.

My attention was also diverted by my sponsored hike on 25th May. So far I have raised about £4,500 for Leukaemia UK by hiking over 57kms across Cambridgeshire in a day. I received many generous sponsorships from my fellow farmers as well as from Frontier Agriculture and Robin Appel. This support provided great motivation throughout the day and I am very grateful to those who have supported me. My fundraising page is still live for further donation, it is www.JustGiving.com/fundraising/john-jefferies4 and look out for a more in depth update, about the hike and my reasons for doing it, to be posted here soon.

After the hike I spent an easy day to recover a little and then the wheat had grown adequately for its fungicide. Which was great as over the school half term I had a camping trip planned to the Suffolk coast. We spent 4 days in the most beautiful sunny place. One evening I was bbq’ing some lamb whilst listening to my youngest daughter singing herself to sleep to “zoom zoom zoom, we’re going to the moon”.

When I got home on Thursday it certainly was zoom zoom zoom. The hot sunny weather had had an incredible effect upon the crops and the rate of growth and development between leaving for holiday and getting back was amazing. The linseed had doubled in size, the spring barley had produced a profusion of leaves, the winter barley was happily waving awns in the evening sun and the wheat heads were busting through the leaf sheaths. The potential within the crops at the moment looks good. The continuation of a nice summer will be very welcome as we strive to get these crops safely into store.

Stay safe & well

John

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 21 May 2021 09:40:11 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by Johnny Wake, Courteenhall, Northants

The rain has arrived just in time here, and the interspersing of showers and sun is making everything shoot up. It’s also given us some great rainbows, as you can see!

The crops are looking great at present. It feels dangerous to put such words in writing! And it feels highly unusual to have happy looking crops and healthy prices at the same time. As you know, farmers always like to have something to moan about, so this is providing a challenge to the industry at present, but one which we’ll take! Hopefully a bountiful harvest will provide a similarly pleasant challenge for Camgrain.

Previously we wrote about our white clover understory. This has been maintained under our crops to help improve soil and plant health and we are still trialling it to better understand the provision of nitrogen provided by the white clover. We have adjacent fields to the trial plots (same cropping type, same soils, drilled at the same time etc) with the only difference being that white clover was established in May 2019, and the neighbouring fields did not have any white clover sown. The difference was an addition of 17kg/ha per ha in the field with the white clover, which was tested by means of deep N core samples from 0 to 90 cm.

We have just submitted our application to go into a Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme with Natural England. This will enable us to put even more unproductive bits of the farm into nature-friendly options than we already do, and also enable us to get into livestock. We’ll be using hardy traditional native breeds that can be left out all year just living off the grass. We haven’t farmed livestock in hand since my grandpa’s day and it’s an exciting venture to be going back to using the same breed of cattle that he won prizes for. We know it won’t make a fortune, but it’s an important part of making the farm more sustainable.

Wishing you a pleasant rest of spring before the harvest madness starts.

Stay safe and well

Johnny

Over the Farm Gate

Tue, 18 May 2021 07:52:26 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Barker, J&A Barker, Suffolk

It’s rained! Which is a source of great relief in our part of Suffolk. We have had 32mm of rain over the past week or so which was greatly needed and already showing signs of having a positive impact on the crops.

Looking at our wheat crops around the farm our Skyfall destine for Camgrain probably looks to have the most potential in terms of yield, but the feed wheats are also gathering well after some less than perfect establishment last Autumn. Our Spring barley behind sugar beet is also gathering pace now that things have warmed up.

During the dry spell disease levels in crops was generally low due to lack of moisture and cold, however following the rain our sprayer has been out a lot to try and keep the yield potential up, as the crops now push through their key growth stages.

Having taken some time in recent months to analyse our combine yield maps we have been exploring our rotation options for next years cropping. Our Mid Tier Stewardship is coming up for renewal at the end of this year which puts some more rotational options into the mix as well as giving us the opportunity to look again at the less productive areas of the farm. Many of the stewardship options have changed since our last scheme was created 5 years ago when we took on the tenancy of the farm.

With the benefit of greater insight gained over that period, its looks likely that we will be increasing our stewardship area from next year by adding in more in field wildlife corridors, grass strips and wild flower margins. This will take some of our least productive, wet, over shadowed headlands, and awkward shaped part fields out of the arable rotation. I hope this will add to our bottom line through more efficiency in the areas in production and a more reliable income from the poor bits of the farm. We also look forward to adding some more colour and habitat to the farm as well!

While we are starting to get more detail about new Environmental Land Management Schemes it is still unclear how the fine detail will work and the potential income streams from it. While I am sure all of our members will be looking at how the scheme could benefit them, I think the majority would rather see their core arable business sustainable and profitable in its own right. From that point of view the recent improvements in grain prices are very welcome. Fingers crossed we continue to get some regular rain between now and harvest to get the yields we all need to really capitalise on those prices!

Stay safe and well

John

Over the Farm Gate

Mon, 10 May 2021 08:04:11 GMT

Over the farm gate - this week kindly supplied by John Jefferies, Jefferies Farming Partners, Bedfordshire

I normally try to avoid talking about farming and the crops on the farm within these articles as it tends to just turn into a piece about the weather.

However, on this occasion there is no way to avoid this. We have had a long cold spring. April has been a month to forget due to its dry cold climate. Just 5mm of rain and many many nights of frost. The frost particularly hit the crops hard and they are currently very stunted, especially the beans. However, we still live in hope with the forecast of a warm rain on a southerly wind over the weekend. The farm needs this change desperately. It seems to be the only conversation amoungst farmers at the moment. About 10mm is forecast and that should make a great difference, if it arrives! So my plans for Saturday are to put the washing out, invite friends (just 2 obviously) for a bbq, find every possible piece of music related to rain and to go to London on my motorbike to view a flat with my eldest daughter. I dare not do anything that might cause the rain not to arrive, so these plans will be sure to encourage it!

On a different note. During the winter I had a back injury which means I now have to walk a lot in order to keep the mobility of my lower back. So, in one of those bucket list type moments I decided to do a sponsored hike. I am raising funds for Leukaemia UK, which is a cause very close to me. The number 57 features greatly within this and whilst planning the hike I happened to notice that, when combining 2 long distance footpaths in Cambridgeshire, that my farm is about 57kms from David White’s (Camgrain Vice-chairman) farm. So that gave me a start and finish line. I will be starting just down the road in my local village and will take most of the day to reach David’s farm. The route takes in many parts of the stunning Cambridgeshire countryside and goes through the city centre before heading out into the fens and finally turning south.

So, please do take a moment to look at my just giving page. The full story is there. If any of you are able to sponsor me then that would be greatly appreciated. The link is www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-jefferies4

Stay safe and well

John Jefferies

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 14:27:59 GMT

'Over the farm gate' ... this week kindly supplied by David White, Hawk Mill Farms & Camgrain Vice Chairman

Yesterday, April 22nd, I heard the Cuckoo for the first time this year. Swallows also returned a few days ago so it is now officially spring. The Cuckoo’s call is also significant in the farming calendar as its said that any crops sown after the Cuckoo’s call, referred to as ‘cuckoo barley’, are at risk of yielding less at harvest time. Unfortunately this year again, the current cold dry weather means that some spring crops before the “cuck-oooo” aren’t looking particularly good at the moment and are at risk of yielding poorly!

My membership of NIAB means that I get regular agronomy updates and in this week’s it commented....."dry spring conditions and large diurnal temperature fluctuations which are producing stress symptoms.....", yes I know how that feels!

The total number of frosts this month must equal those of the last few winters added together. The dry cold weather is also holding up wheat development and so my diary alert for today, St George’s Day, that said “official T1 (fungicide spray timing) day” will be ignored and the sprayer will remain parked in the corner of the shed.

Climate change and weather variability is definitely with us, and so it is important that this year’s planned COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Glasgow this November, goes ahead. Our government and lots of companies are making bold claims about reducing emissions by 2030/50 but, without some consensus from global governments, things may be slow to change. I can do my bit as an individual and as a small business and we can do our bit as Camgrain but while consumption of energy in all its forms stays at the level it is at it’s going to be an uphill battle.

Yesterday was Earth Day, to celebrate I have some Carbon Positive gin*, perhaps every day should be Earth Day!

*Please drink responsibly.

Stay safe and well

David White

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 14:56:07 GMT

'Over the farm gate'... this week kindly supplied by David White, Hawk Mill Farms, Cambs

For a cereals only farm the spring rush is over. Drilling has been completed, although due to the now dry conditions, not all has emerged yet. The first two doses of nitrogen have been applied to the wheat, with the rape & winter / spring barley crops having had all they need to get them through to harvest, if only moisture was as easy to manage!

Fungicide, growth regulator and herbicide sprays have been put on hold as, although the April average temperature is within 1º of normal, the “spread” of day maximum to nighttime minimum has been large with an unprecedented number of successive frosts. Fortunately, our maritime climate has cushioned us from the extremes they have had in central France that has caused serious damage to vines and soft fruit that were in full bud. Time to be long on wine stocks!

I was lucky to be successful in my bid to gain a DEFRA Countryside Productivity Grant which has helped fund a new direct drill. The specification of this new drill has moved on my ability to companion crop and inter/co‐crop on the farm. This should help reduce the amount of bagged nitrogen applied to cereals as well as aid integrated weed control with its three separate seed hoppers. Growing nitrogen fixing legumes with cereals (pic below) should not only help reduce applied N but will help improve soil biology through diversity helpful in producing stronger plants leading to reduced disease susceptibility.

Nature always fills a gap so planting oats (which are easy to kill later) with beans should preclude some weeds from germinating reducing the need to use as much herbicide. We now have a reducing choice of many active ingredients of all types, due to the approval of some of the older products being revoked. So, we are growing oats with a beans cash crop and beans with a barley cash crop, how long before we harvest them together? Some of these growing techniques will already be practised by organic growers from whom we can learn a lot in the desire to be more sustainable.

Three areas that have not yet been sown are an additional pollen and nectar margin, an assist strip and our wild bird feeding areas which are due to be re‐seeded this year. These need to be done once the risk of frost has passed and they help strike the important balance of wildlife habitat and commercial production areas on the farm. This is something we hope working with our supply chain partners will help fund and support as well as the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) going forward.

Stay safe and well, David (Camgrain Vice Chairman)

UK's biggest ever Farmlnad Bird Count

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 08:48:20 GMT

UK’s biggest ever farmland bird count shows farmers committing to conservation

Participation in the annual nationwide survey of farmland birds has more than doubled. Britain’s farmers and gamekeepers have shown their long-term commitment to conservation alongside productive land-use by completing this year’s GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count in record numbers.

Camgrain are proud to support the GWCT in their efforts to lead the way in protecting our countryside alongside effective food production.

To read more about the results and the work that GWCT are doing, please follow the below link:

Over the Farm Gate

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 13:25:12 GMT

Over the farm gate... this week kindly supplied by Richard Hirst, Hirst Farms Ltd, Norfolk.

This spring is shaping up to be very like last year particularly with temperatures although it hasn’t been quite as dry in April which is a great relief.

Although cereals are our largest area of cropping on the farm we have a similar area of spring crops split between sugar beet, potatoes , vining peas and salads so this time of year is particularly busy. We finished drilling sugar beet yesterday which is a relief as yields will start to drop on drillings from mid April.

Pea drilling in our group is just about 30% through. Planning for this crop is much more crucial as we need to be able harvest sequentially over a period of about 48 days. Early crops grow more slowly than mid to late season crops so we have to avoid overdrilling in March and early April. We will be drilling here over the weekend. Our peas are destined to be harvested about 3 weeks after we start and to show how elongated early drilling is we started drilling in the last week of February nearly 6 weeks ago. We hope to finish group drilling in the last week of May and harvest should be from mid June until early August – weather permitting.

We are nearing completion of the Farm shop and new café and hope to open in early May although we still await confirmation of change of use planning which is taking far longer than it should do. Covid restrictions meant we couldn’t open the Funpark for Easter but lambing is still going well with 70% of our ewes now lambed and 75% of our cows calved. Hopefully next year we will be able to open for Easter again. We start the drive in cinema next weekend and are now into planning for both the summer and Halloween events so plenty to do.

Finally some new additions to the family this week. Our Cocker Spaniel , Rosie, had 5 puppies this week . Both mother and puppies are doing well!

Stay safe and well, Richard.

Front Runner Grain market reports

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 16:59:19 GMT

Market reports from our marketing partners Frontier

You can read the latest grain market report from our marketing partner, Frontier Agriculture, here. To receive this market report directly to your inbox every week, subscribe to the Frontier blog.

https://www.frontierag.co.uk/blog/frontrunner-12th-march-2021

Carbon Neutral Cambridge

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 08:20:47 GMT

Carbon Neutral Cambridge - sustainability project

At Camgrain, we are continuing to support our members through an ever changing agricultural landscape and sustainability is becoming more and more important as we progress into the future.

Carbon Neutral Cambridge is a project who's vision is "That by the 2030s the Cambridge region will have transitioned to a healthier, more beautiful and more equitable region with abundant employment opportunities within a carbon neutral economy"

Sustainable Farming in Cambridgeshire: 'From the Ground Up'
This film shares the experience of five commercial farmers from the Cambridgeshire region on how they are adapting their farming practices to help cut carbon, double nature and find practical solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss.

‘From the Ground Up’, features 5 Cambridgeshire farmers (4 of whom are Camgrain members!) at different stages of their journey to regenerate their soil health.

The farmers: David White, Matt Redman, Tom Mead, Charles Shropshire and Martin Lines are interviewed “farmer-to-farmer, discussing what they’ve done and why – looking at both the highs and the lows of their experience and their aims for the future.

To find out more about the work Carbon Neutral Cambridge are doing or to register for the event, please follow the below link.

https://carbonneutralcambridge.org/from-the-ground-up/

#MindYourHead

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 10:48:46 GMT

Today marks the start of the Farm Safety Foundations #MindYourHead week...

This week marks the 4th annual #MindYourHead campaign from the Farm Safety Foundation ( www.yellowwellies.org )

The Big Farmland Bird Count - starts this week

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 14:44:14 GMT

The Big Farmland Bird Count - starts this week

The 2021 Big Farmland Bird Count will be taking place between the 5th and 14th February 2021.

This important initiative helps to understand the effects of any conservation schemes currently being initiated by farmers and gamekeepers on their land, such as supplementary feeding or growing wild bird seed crops and game cover crops.

The GWCT have lots of handy resources and guides available, visit their website for useful info such as their Farmland Bird ID Guide , New Bird ID Videos or Feeding Guideline s for your farmland birds.

To take part in the Bid Farmland Bird Count this year, just follow these three simple steps:

1. Download your count sheet

Those who participate in the count in February 2021 will be able to submit their entries online.
To help with the count out in the field you can download and print our helpful count sheet.

DOWNLOAD COUNT SHEET

2. Count your birds!

Choose a day, between 5th and 14th February, to spend about 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of the farm. You can choose your own location but somewhere with a good view of around 2 ha of the farm would be ideal.
You’ll be asked to record the types of habitat and cropping on and adjacent to your count site to help provide us with more detail about your count location.
To see the highest number of birds we would recommend that the site includes or is close to an area of game or wild seed mix or somewhere that supplementary feeding takes place.
Ideally, counting should take place at first light as this is when the birds are most active. However, it is more important that you take part, so timings should suit you.

3. Submit your results online

You can submit your Big Farmland Bird Count results quickly and easily online once the count begins on 5 February 2021.

All submissions will remain 100% confidential.

#BigFarmingSurvey

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 15:11:57 GMT

R.A.B.I & University of Exeter start the #BigFarmingSurvey

What are the pressures you and your farms face and how do they impact daily life? @RABIcharity and @UniofExeter are asking for your responses in their #BigFarmingSurvey . Follow the link to find out more. #mentalhealth #physicalhealth #farmbusinesshealth

https://rabi.org.uk/bigfarmingsurvey/

The data that’s collected will enable R.A.B.I and their partners across the industry to develop effective tools and support strategies for farming people in future.

GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count 2021

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 12:28:30 GMT

GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count 2021

Britain’s farmland birds need you

The GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count, 5 – 14 February 2021, bfbc.org.uk

Camgrain is delighted to announce that they are supporting the Big Farmland Bird Count 2021 and is encouraging its members to get involved.

Organisers of the Big Farmland Bird Count are asking the country’s land managers to spend 30 minutes recording the farmland birds they see on their land. The annual count, run by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), is scheduled for the 5 – 14 February 2021 .

“With 71% of Britain’s countryside looked after by farmers, land managers and gamekeepers, they are crucial to ensuring the survival of

cherished bird species like skylarks, yellowhammers, corn buntings and wild grey partridges,” says Dr Roger Draycott, organiser and head of advisory services at the GWCT. “Many of them are already doing fantastic work to support and conserve our native species, including supplementary feeding through winter or growing crops specifically to provide seed for birds, which often goes unrecognised. The Big Farmland Bird Count gives them a chance to see the results of their efforts and provides a crucial national snapshot of the health of the UK’s farmland birds.” Crucially, the nationwide citizen science project helps show which farmland birds are benefitting from conservation efforts while identifying the species most in need of help.

Cambridgeshire farmer Tom Martin (Twitter @Farmer_Tom_UK) explains why he takes part:

“The Big Farmland Bird Count is a fantastic way to check on the status of our farmland birds, giving me a good idea of numbers and how our conservation measures may be impacting populations. I really believe that farmers are the answer in supporting our wildlife and stewarding our environment and the BFBC is a great way to demonstrate that. Before I took part, I had no idea how many species of bird called our farm their home, and now I look forward to seeing the results each year to discover how they’re doing.”

Despite the coronavirus pandemic and poor weather, 2020’s Big Farmland Bird Count saw record numbers of people taking part: over 1500 participants recorded more than 120 species across 1.4 million acres. The 2020 event also saw more counts returned by ‘farmer clusters’ or groups of farmers working together on conservation projects, providing species data at a wider landscape level as well as at individual farm level. “We saw a huge increase in the number of counts completed last year and we are hoping to beat those numbers again,” says Roger. “One of the few positives of 2020 has been an increase in people enjoying and valuing our countryside and wildlife. Farmers care for the largest songbird habitat in this country on their land and it is brilliant to see so many of them committing their spare time to recording the bird species they see there.”

Encouragingly, 25 species from the Red List for Birds of Conservation Concern were recorded in 2020, with nine of them appearing in the 25 most commonly seen list and nine in the most abundant species list, including fieldfares, starlings, linnets and lapwings. Blackbirds and woodpigeons were the most seen species in 2020, followed by robins, blue tits and pheasants.

At the end of the count, the results will be analysed by the GWCT. All participants will receive a report on the national results once they have been collated.

How to take part in the Big Farmland Bird Count:

As most participants count alone or with family members, outside, the Big Farmland Bird Count can be safely carried out within Covid‐secure guidelines. Species guides, including short videos, will be available at www.bfbc.org.uk .

1) Download your count sheet from the BFBC website www.bfbc.org.uk

2) Count your birds! On a day between 5 and 14 February , spend about 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of the farm.

3) Once you've completed your count, simply submit your results at www.bfbc.org.uk

The Big Farmland Bird Count is sponsored by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

The count is also kindly supported by:

CFE: Championing the Farmed Environment

FWAG: Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group

NSA: National Sheep Association

Camgrain

LEAF: Linking Environment and Farming

CLA

The GWCT thanks the NFU for being the main sponsor and all partners for actively promoting the count to their members and supporters.

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust – providing research‐led conservation for a thriving countryside. The GWCT is an independent wildlife conservation charity which has carried out scientific research into Britain’s game and wildlife since the 1930s. We advise farmers and landowners on improving wildlife habitats. We employ 22 post‐doctoral scientists and 50 other research staff with expertise in areas such as birds, insects, mammals, farming, fish and statistics. We undertake our own research as well as projects funded by contract and grant‐aid from Government and private bodies. The Trust is also responsible for several Government Biodiversity Action Plan species and is lead partner for grey partridge and joint lead partner for brown hare and black grouse.

Leaving the EU - Help available

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 13:51:04 GMT

Leaving the EU - there are resources to help you plan for the future.

With the Brexit outcome imminent it is obviously very important to consider how it will affect your farming business.

There are a lot of articles and information out there but it can be difficult to know where to look. For a start, we have produced a list below of some of the tools, articles and links that offer a great range of information from some trusted sources:

Article on how Farmers can prepare for the transition out of the EU

Preparing for the new rules in January 2021

AHDB Brexit Toolkit

AHDB Business Impact Calculator

Recognition of UK Organics in EU talks

Information on the potential tariffs

Article on how input prices will be affected

AHDB Brexit FAQs

Farmers Weekly Brexit 'Know How' feature

Within every challenge there is opportunity, we will update further with more useful information as we move through the transition process.

Photo Competition Winner

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 10:20:52 GMT

Photo Competition Winner and Runners-Up

Our photo competition has now closed. We'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who entered! We've loved seeing your corners of the Great British Countryside. We received lots of beautiful images and found the decision to pick our favourite extremely difficult, however we have come to a decision...

We announced our third place position on Thursday as this beautiful image from the Blakeway family from Kidderminster...

And a very close second, announced on Friday, we have this fantastic entry from Claire White of Warwickshire...

And finally, in 1st place as the winner of our 2020 photo competition, 'Your Corner of the Countryside' is Sally from Yorkshire and

her entry of this incredible photograph!

Thank you, once again, to everyone that entered this year's competition and a huge congratulations to our winner and runners-up. Make sure you're following us on social media to be the first to know about upcoming competitions!

Variety Choices Autumn 2020

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 12:02:59 GMT

Variety Choices Autumn 2020

Barley Bound for Scotch Whisky Production

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 10:51:35 GMT

Barley Bound for Scotch Whisky Production

This week has seen our Stores, Laboratory and Haulage teams collaborating to load a significant sized cargo of Camgrain Member’s top specification Malting Barley onto the MV Victress out of Ipswich bound for one of our supply-chain partners for high quality Whisky production.

Despite the loading coinciding with the first rain in East Anglia for several weeks the loading was completed well ahead of schedule.

With the bulk haulage sector having experienced a challenging season due to the Covid-19 pandemic it has been great for the team to have this kind of normality to work on. Utilising shipping for the bulk of the journey saves food miles and is more efficient.

Whilst all this has been happening, our haulage team have also brought in some further improvements to their operation with a number of processes being made electronic to avoid the need for paperwork to be exchanged, as part of Camgrain’s Covid-secure measures.

Local Councillors Visit CAPC

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 16:04:01 GMT

Local Councillors visit Cambridge APC on #BackBritishFarming Day

We were pleased to welcome Cllr Peter McDonald (South Cambridgeshire District Council) & Adele Gritten (Business Support Team leader at South Cambridgeshire District Council)

With today being Back British Farming day it was great to show how Camgrain are supporting our members and helping to keep the country fed!

Back British Farming Day

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 16:11:42 GMT

Back British Farming Day 2020

Next week, on the 9th September, we’ll be celebrating Back British Farming day 2020 and we’re actively encouraging everyone to do the same. This year’s pandemic has highlighted the value of British farming and as key workers in supplying The Nation, what better time than to take part in Back British Farming day?!

Food and farming contributes over £120 billion to the UK economy and employs four million people. This day is vitally important as it gives

farmers the opportunity to voice their values for high standards, animal welfare and sustainability.

The NFU have shared 10 easy ways to get involved in the day on social media, using the hashtag #BackBritishFarming and tagging your MP.

The aim of the day is to flood social media with supportive messages of backing British Farming. Get involved and learn more about the day by heading to the NFU website here . They also share some handy tips on how to film selfie videos and important reasons why we should back British.

So, get the date in your diaries and start posting and promoting!

Harvest 2020

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 15:45:29 GMT

Harvest 2020

As parts of the country finish 2020 harvest, others are yet to make a dent, with difficult weather conditions adding to the challenges we have faced so far this season.

Playing an important role in the food supply chain, our drying and processing facilities have been a helping hand to the key workers in British agriculture.

Camgrain member, Ed Ford of Childerditch Farms, based in Essex, recently spoke to Countryside Online about his Harvest story, and how Camgrain supports his business.

Committing their grain to us means the journey through the supply chain is accountable and safe, and he is proudly able to say that the barley from his farm is blended, processed, and marketed to maximise the returns for his, and other members, farming operations. Childerditch Farms has a 'waste not, want not' approach across their farming operation, utilising the straw, once the grain is sitting happily at one of our Advanced Processing Centres, to supply cattle bedding to local livestock farmers. Another example of how farmers work together to support the industry.

It's great to see our members, and other British farmers, in the spotlight, and highlights the importance of their roles in the food chain. At Camgrain, we’re proud to play an important role in this journey and support farmers through even the most demanding of Harvests.

As we see another Harvest drawing to a close (albeit slowly), we thank British farmers for all that you do!

World Grain Market Update

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 13:26:54 GMT

World Grain Market Analysis: 14th August 2020

World wheat markets have slipped lower during the past four weeks. The US Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures lost 7.5% of their value as wheat production prospects for 3 of the world’s primary wheat producers continued to improve.

The most notable of these was Russia where a big crop was expected following near record winter wheat planting. However early cut wheat fields in the southern regions had yields 27% lower than the previous year, having suffered from long spells of dry hot weather conditions. This means crop estimates fell to 75 million tonnes and helped support world prices.

In contrast to recent years, as the harvest progressed northwards, yields continued to improve bringing the average above last year, meaning analysts are revising their estimates to 81 million tonnes, potentially their second largest wheat crop on record.

Following three drought years Australian farmers have enjoyed widespread rains and maximised their wheat drilling. Analysts see a potential 26 million tonne crop up from 15mmt last year and if realised this will see Australia being an aggressive exporter into Asian markets in the new year following their harvest.

Canada is also enjoying near ideal weather for crop development and, following a recent crop tour, FarmLink Marketing Solutions predicted the Canadian wheat harvest (including durum) would reach almost 39 million tonnes, surpassing the previous record of 37.6 million tonnes set in 2013!

Adding to these wheat production increases is an expected jump in the US corn crop to 388 million tonnes (up 42 million tonnes on last year).

However, there are a number of bullish factors in play that are likely to keep markets volatile.

Analysts Strategie Grains see the EU-28 wheat crop falling to just 128 million tonnes which is 19 million tonnes lower than last year. This is mainly due to the lower winter wheat planting as a result of excessive rain in the UK and France, (which I am sure we all remember)
France will see its crop 10 million tonnes lower than last year and less than 30 million tonnes total.
Prolonged dry warm weather has also impacted on Romania where the crop is seen 40% lower (just over 5 million tonnes).
The German crop is also seen down 1.5 million tonnes on last year.
Wheat crops in southern Ukraine and Kazakhstan have also suffered from heat and it is thought the amount available for Ukraine to export will be 17.2 million tonnes which is 4 million tonnes lower than last year.

The 2020 UK wheat production situation is unprecedented! Plantings at 25% lower on the year according to the AHDB survey and the indifferent drilling patterns and damage done during the hot dry month of May has impacted on yields. We have seen very few comparable with last year and the vast majority are lower and some by as much as 50%! Average UK yields could be 25% lower than last year and that signals a crop of little more than 9 million tonnes.

The UK wheat import requirement will be significant, and logistically challenging so this will create opportunities during the season for our Camgrain pool marketing.

Simon Ingle, Marketing Director (Camgrain)

https://www.frontierag.co.uk/grain-marketing

24 Hours in Farming

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 12:11:51 GMT

24 Hours in Farming

As a farmer owned and focused grain storage co-operative, we are proud to represent many farmers around the country and share their hard work with the general public. That’s why, we’re happily supporting 24 Hours in Farming 2020 on Thursday 6th August, which encourages farmers and farm workers to share images and videos of a typical day on their farm.

The campaign has seen Farmers Guardian team up with Morrisons and to get involved, all you have to do is post a photograph or video of a day in the life on your farm and post it to your social media with the hashtag #Farm24.

With the Coronavirus pandemic highlighting the importance of British farming, what better time to support the industry than by taking part.

Whether you’re a foodie or a farmer: ‘take the pledge’, show your support and back British.

For more information, or to request a pledge pack, go to https://www.fginsight.com/getinvolved

Farm Safety Week

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 13:51:47 GMT

Farm Safety Week

The hustle and bustle of Harvest can make it tempting to skip the risk assessments and prioritise getting the job done quickly, but that does not necessarily mean safely. Farm Safety Week comes as a critical reminder that working in agriculture can be dangerous and taking the time to educate yourself on the appropriate safety measures can save lives.

With COVID-19 affecting all sectors, farm-working circumstances may be a little unusual this year, increasing likeliness of accidents happening. Children on farm are particularly at risk and precautions should be taken to ensure they are never left unattended; Temporary seasonal staff should always be trained and educated accordingly before undertaking tasks on farm; Coronavirus requires extra health and safety measures be taken, such as social distancing and regular hand washing.

The above risks do not stand alone, however, even the most experienced farmers and agricultural workers should still be vigilant and refresh their risk assessments and safety checking regularly. High risk tasks include (but are not limited to) working at height, in grain stores, with machinery, with livestock and with slurry.

Although farm safety training has been particularly limited due to COVID-19 restrictions, there is a plethora of useful resources and information online. See some useful links below for more information:

The Start of Harvest 2020

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 15:06:46 GMT

Kickstarting Harvest 2020

Last week, our Linton Advanced Processing Centre saw it’s first loads of Malting Barley brought into the store after a slow start due to the temperamental weather of late. This week, our Cambridge store has begun seeing a slow and steady flurry of lorries filled with Winter Barley and Oilseed Rape.

The teams are now in full swing of their Harvest hours, and our seasonal staff have been fully inducted and trained. Last year, Harvest saw Camgrain intake a total of over 350,000T's of members crops, took approx. 11,000 calls and scheduled approx. 20,000 loads. We’re expecting the madness to be much the same this year, with new challenges to overcome, but we can’t wait! Harvest 2020 will come as a relief for many of us, after what has been a difficult year to say the least, for everyone.

It’s looking like the weather is going to pick up over the next few weeks meaning our farmers will be busy, out combining their fields and gradually filling the stores. Before we know it, October will be upon us and our farmer members will be planting winter crops in preparation for next year!

However, while we all still have a hot minute of free time, how about you enter our photo competition ? It will only take a few moments to enter and you’ll be in with a chance of winning £200 in Amazon vouchers! We’ve been loving looking through your entries so far and appreciating the beauty of the British countryside.

We wish you all a successful and prosperous Harvest and look forward to speaking to you soon!

For details on our Harvest opening times, click here .

Introducing Jacqui Green

Mon, 13 Jul 2020 10:01:45 GMT

Introducing our new Non-Executive Director, Jacqui Green

We are pleased to announce that we have appointed Jacqui Green as a Non-Executive Director within the Camgrain Stores Limited Board.

Jacqui has been involved in fresh food since she graduated in 1995. She studied Law, French and Spanish and found that, unexpectedly, languages and fresh produce seemed like a fit. Until last year she was employed as CEO of Berry Gardens Ltd, one of the largest grower owned fresh produce marketing companies and retail suppliers, and the largest soft bruit/berry company in the UK (turnover 2019 approx. £320m).

Jacqui has spoken previously on responding to consumer preference, sustainable futures, talent development and supply chain efficiency. She has also held many positions on Trade Boards, Retailer committees, a Charity Board and worked with Government working groups. She is passionate about personal development and, as well as her consulting and Non-Executive roles, also works as a Mentor and is a qualified Transformational Coach.

The interview panels were very impressed with her knowledge, experience and positive outlook and believe that she has multiple transferable skills, which will be an asset to our business. She will complete a Camgrain induction day during Harvest and will be in attendance at the next Board meeting. She will also join our Appointments and Remuneration Committee. She is very keen to join the team and assist in the ongoing evolution of our Society.

Harvest 2020 Photo Competition

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 07:39:17 GMT

Harvest 2020 Photo Competition

Today, 2nd July, we are launching our Harvest 2020 ‘Your Corner of the Countryside’ photo competition where YOU could WIN £200 in Amazon vouchers to spend on anything you like!

To enter, simply post 1 photo to your social media feed (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) with the hashtag #CGyourcorner , tag us & follow us @Camgrain OR email your photo plus your full name and location to memberservices@camgrain.co.uk.

One entry per person, all entries must be received by the closing date of 30th September 2020 and the winner will be announced within 14 days of this date.

Photographs will be individually judged on originality, quality and relevance to the theme. See full terms and conditions below.

Good luck and get snapping!

Variety Choices Summer 2020

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 11:28:06 GMT

Variety Choices Summer 2020

Stay safe and we look forward to speaking to you all soon

Cancelled Moisture Meter Clinics

Thu, 21 May 2020 10:41:42 GMT

Cancelled Moisture Meter Clinics

Due to COVID-19 we have sadly had to cancel this years Moisture Meter Clinics for Harvest 2020. This decision has been taken as we must protect our staff and the business leading into the busy harvest period.

We have been working hard with Red Tractor to find a satisfactory solution for our farmers and have come up with two solutions, both of these methods have been approved by them.

Send your meter away to be calibrated at either a recommended dealer or manufacturer.
Buy calibrated samples delivered to your door so testing and recording can be done at home. Agricultural Supply Services can supply these samples.

Please be aware that it will be a busy time for all involved in either calibration or supplying grain samples so we advise any action taken is done promptly.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Supporting our NHS

Wed, 06 May 2020 11:03:50 GMT

Supporting our NHS

Playing a vital role in the food supply chain for the UK, it's incredibly important to support those on the front line, especially the National Health Service workers who are putting themselves at risk to save lives. Their message has been simple throughtout: stay home, save lives, protect the NHS. Here's a video of one of our hauliers, A W Jenkinson, arriving at our Cambridge Advanced Processing Centre. This lorry is not only delivering essential products for food production & distribution, but also delivering the key message in these unprecedented times. Our key workers on site were keen to show their appreciation.. .

Business As Usual

Tue, 05 May 2020 09:37:13 GMT

Business as Usual

Take a short tour around our Cambridge Advanced Processing Centre with our Chairman, John Latham. Camgrain is a vital part of the UK's food supply chain so it's still business as usual for us!

Big Farmland Bird Count Results

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 11:54:17 GMT

Big Farmland Bird Count Results

In February, many of our members took part in the Big Farmland Bird Count, set up by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the results are in. More than 1500 farmers got involved, spotting more than 120 species over 1.4 million acres. Among this, 25 red-listed species were recorded, with fieldfares, starlings, linnets and lapwings equating to 24% of all species spotted! The Big Farmland Bird Count highlights dedication to conservation farming measures and their commitment to recording their findings. Set up in 2014, the Count takes place every year, this year with more farmers getting involved than ever before.

Interested in taking part next year? Make sure you’re following us & the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust on social media for reminders.

For more detailed information on this year’s findings, click here .

Spring has Sprung!

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 09:09:16 GMT

Spring Has Sprung!

In positive news this week, much to farmers’ delight, the sun has finally made an appearance! This means drilling Spring Barley for many, but it goes without saying that in order to meet malt specifications, it needs more than just a little TLC. And after all of your hard work cultivating a beautiful high-spec crop, we’d hate to see it all go to waste without the care it needs.

On-farm storage and maintenance can be a full time job for farmers in the UK, which proves less than ideal during prime drilling season in preparation for Harvest. Investment in Camgrain as a fully insured, safe and secure centrally owned storage facility eases the mental and physical pressure on farmers, freeing up time, energy and space for other vital farming practices.

Our Advanced Processing Centre in Linton is home to over 70 silos with potential capacity to hold up to 150’000 tonnes of Spring Malting Barley which has been carefully dried, processed and kept at optimum temperatures, maintaining the quality required for brewing and malting distilleries such as Diageo and Boortmalt, whom we have supply chain contracts with. By investing in Camgrain storage, farmers are investing in the storekeeping expertise and unrivalled segregation for a premium crop not available with most on-farm storage operations, as well as industry beating pool performances over the past 5 years and quality assurance to significantly reduce claims and rejections losses.

Want to know more? Give us a call!

You grow it, we’ll do the rest.

COVID-19 Statement

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 13:44:07 GMT

COVID-19 Statement

In light of recent Coronavirus (COVID-19) announcements and advice, Camgrain would like to reassure our members and

supply chain partners that we are taking precautionary measures to protect both our employees and all those who interact with Camgrain. Subject to the daily advice given from Public Health England (PHE), Camgrain will operate as close to ‘normal’ as

reasonably practicable and ensure we maintain our vital position in the supply chain.

We have therefore set up an emergency ‘Coronavirus’ team, to discuss appropriate company measures and review the expert advice as it is updated.

At Camgrain ‘Health & Safety’ is our top priority and it is for this reason that we would ask all non Camgrain employees not to

attend any of our stores without prior arrangement.

Furthermore, we are taking steps to ensure we adhere to advice on social distancing when any interaction with non-employees occurs and to facilitate homeworking where practical and

possible. However, we assure you we will endeavor to operate as normal and will be available on the usual contact numbers during office hours, please just bear with us through this time.

We would like to reassure our members that we continue to plan and prepare for harvest 2020 as normal but would be happy to hear from any members who have any concerns, whether its grain storage related or otherwise, our teams are available.

Stay safe and well during these challenging times,

Simon Willis

Group CEO

Nestle Supplier Award

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 12:32:28 GMT

Nestlé Supplier Awards

Last night, at the Nestlé Supplier Awards, we won the Direct Supplier Who Brings the Best to Nestlé award for 2019! We are honoured to have received such a prestigious award after working with Nestlé for over 10 years.

Since our partnership with Nestlé began, we installed a state of the art Clean Wheat Plant at our Cambridge Advanced Processing Centre, which processes wheat to meet the specifications for Nestlé. Our direct link to Nestlé allows our farmer members to gain access to markets and provide the wheat from their farms, to be made into some of the UK's most popular cereals like Shreddies and Cheerios. Our position in the supply chain is vital for supporting British farmers and the Farm to Food relationship.

Calls for 'game changing' farmer co-operation

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 15:46:49 GMT

New Report Calls For “Game-Changing” Farmer Co-peration

Press release from Co-operatives UK:

A new independent report by the Royal Agricultural University has recommended that UK farmer co-ops team up to help farmers collaborate on a “game-changing” scale and strengthen the sector in the face of Brexit upheaval.

Farmer co-operation in the UK: Opportunities for the industry includes insights into UK farmers’ current views on co-operation – and highlights the potential benefits of greater collaboration. The report found that:

Economic advantage is usually the main reason for joining a co-op, but farmers often gain other benefits, such as saving time and being part of a community.
The benefits that co-ops can bring are particularly relevant in addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by Brexit. Co-ops:

Increase economic resilience in the face of volatility, uncertainty and the risk of recession.
Consolidate bargaining power, in line with their members’ interests, in a tough trading environment.
Provide social capital that farmers will need in adapting to change.
Offer established platforms for farmers to collaborate in providing and being paid for environmental public goods.

The findings also highlighted scepticism amongst some farmers towards the co-operative model:

Farmers often cite maintaining independence as a reason for not co-operating – but if independence is about achieving personal objectives, co-operating can actually help.
There is a perception amongst a significant number of farmers that co-operatives are rigid, inflexible and need to improve their leadership, governance and communication.

Recommendations to come out of the research are:

Collaboration between co-operatives needs to be reinforced by government policies that support and facilitate farmer co-operation and collaboration.
Initiatives are needed to support the development of the next generation of farmer co-operators and create the leaders who will change attitudes and perceptions.
The report also suggests that Defra’s £10 million ‘collaboration fund’ – announced in 2018 to help farmers navigate the transition after Brexit – could be used to help farmers benefit from co-operation.

“This fund could pay for advice, development and innovation support for existing co-ops to help them transition from being run by farmer members to having professional staff. Strengthening governance should be a priority for advice and development.

“Advice could also extend to busting myths about co-ops, including clarifying their status in competition law for farming industry bodies and advisors,” said Professor Tom MacMillan, who led the research.

“It would be truly game-changing if farmer co-ops teamed up to lead and support a wider co-operative movement in farming – one that extends beyond their current members and into new areas like data sharing and farmer-led innovation.

“Some of the most exciting ways farmers now work together are happening in spite of co-ops, not because of them. Co-ops are big enough to help make these the norm, and would benefit from backing them.”

Richard Self, Agricultural Manager at Co-operatives UK said: “We welcome this report as it provides an accurate picture on the situation within the sector. It shows that there is a lot that needs to be done to help farmers to co-operate more successfully, but if we can do this then we will have a much more resilient and profitable farming community going forward.”

Update from our friends at Yelo

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 08:45:43 GMT

An Update From Our Friends At Yelo

We are delighted to communicate the positive progress of Yelo – The UK’s only clean (non hexane) oil seed rape crush based at Stratford-Upon-Avon alongside our Grain Storage facility.

Yelo is at the forefront of the UK food and agricultural industry, proud to produce UK sourced and sustainable products from rapeseed with its unique manufacturing process.

The state of the art production facility is powered by renewable energy and they believe that keeping the manufacturing process to a minimum helps preserve the natural goodness of the rapeseed, yielding nutritious goods for human and animal consumption.

The long term positive relationship with Camgrain and our farmers is crucial for both parties to minimise supply chain costs, offer supply chain security to growers of oilseed rape and maximise the value members receive for their seed; preventing additional significant haulage costs to existing plants and supporting UK agriculture.

The sustainable dairy cow feed NovaPro, launched by Yelo in February 2019, promises to increase milk yields at a lowers cost to the farmer and the environment, thanks to a novel manufacturing process.

For more information please visit their website at www.yelo.com

International Wholegrain Day 2019

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 15:21:24 GMT

International Wholegrain Day 2019

We are working with our key supply chain partners to promote the importance of Wholegrains in modern diets.

Whole grains are an important part of a healthy balanced diet. And it’s not just hype or a fad. So what is whole grain exactly? Well, the clue is in the name…whole grains are the complete grain, with all its nutrients. Unlike refined grains, nothing has been taken away and that's why we are celebrating!

To find out more about International Wholegrain Day please click here #InternationalWGDay

Red Tractor news update - October 2019

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 09:18:18 GMT

Read The Latest Update From Red Tractor...

First week of #Harvest19

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 10:31:46 GMT

The First Week of Harvest 2019...

Harvest has arrived! This week, the harvest & haulage teams have seen a steady start to harvest intake with winter barley and OSR being the first on the agenda.

We are ready and waiting to book your loads in and get crops into store so that your harvest goes as smoothly as possible. Keep in close contact with us and remember that the more information we have the better prepared we can be to provide the excellent service.

Harvest photography

Harvest is one of the most important times of year for UK agriculture. It is the culmination of months of hard work and we would love to see pictures and videos from your #harvest19.

We want to help show everyone how the UK's food is produced as well as showing off the beautiful countryside within our farming membership

Contact during harvest

We hope you appreciate that there will be times at harvest where phone lines are very busy, in this situation we would very much appreciate your patience and we will pick it up and action the call as soon as we possibly can.

However, we cannot overstress the importance of planning ahead and communicating your harvest requirements in advance. The more information and advanced warning you can provide to Camgrain, the better prepared we can be to support you.

Collaboration & Co-operation conference review

Mon, 20 May 2019 17:12:48 GMT

Collaboration & Co-operation conference review

Please check back for a full review of the Collaboration & Co-operation in Farming Open Event which was held at the Camgrain Cambridge APC site on Tuesday 14th of May

Continued partnership - Camgrain & Frontier

Thu, 16 May 2019 17:09:03 GMT

Continued partnership - Camgrain & Frontier

Frontier Agriculture and Camgrain have announced a new five year agreement under which Frontier will continue to be the strategic grain marketing partner for Camgrain.

The news was announced at a ‘Collaboration and Cooperation’ event this week. The event, organised by Camgrain and held at their processing site in Cambridge, highlighted the benefits of collaboration in farming. Key note speakers included Minette Batters, president of the NFU and Frontier’s managing director, Mark Aitchison.

Speaking about the announcement at the opening of the event John Latham, Camgrain chairman said: “This is a positive and long term strategic partnership. We are delighted to extend our relationship which we believe has delivered exceptional value to our members.”

Mark Aitchison added: “We believe this is great news for all involved in this partnership; Camgrain and its farmer members, Frontier and the wider supply chain. Agriculture is consolidating, we have political uncertainty and currency volatility. Meanwhile there's increasing consumer awareness and importance attached to provenance and sustainability. It’s absolutely clear to us at Frontier that we are stronger and better prepared to succeed because we are a collaborative business. The partnership we’ve created with Camgrain is built on a number of key success factors; cultural fit and shared values, complementary skills and expertise, shared assets, and a commitment to creating value which is investment and solution driven.”

Frontier has been Camgrain’s grain marketing partner since harvest 2015. During this time both businesses have worked together to add value and drive growth across the supply chain for farmer members as well as for Camgrain and Frontier.

John Latham, Camgrain chairman (left) and Mark Aitchison shake hands on the five year agreement.

Open Day 2019 - Collaboration and Co-operation in Farming

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 17:05:23 GMT

Open Day 2019 - Collaboration and Co-operation in Farming

Camgrain are honoured to host an open event showcasing the importance of Collaboration & Co-operation within Farming.

A full programme of events will be sent out nearer the time however you will have an opportunity to...

- Listen to key speakers; providing their insights into the benefits of collaborative working and the future of arable crop farming

- Tour the store including our laboratory and control room and discuss the on-going challenges in grain storage

- Meet and socialise with others from within our industry in a relaxed and informal environment

- Tour exhibition stands and relevant agricultural displays

- Compete in the Camgrain Clay Pigeon Shoot (teams of four)

We will have a number of key speakers during the day and I’m delighted to confirm that Minette Batters, NFU President has already confirmed she will be attending and making a key-note speech.

This event is an ‘open day’ for arable crop farmers to meet and network, and we welcome attendance from all arable crop farmers not just Camgrain members.

This is a ‘not for profit’ event and free parking and refreshments will be provided throughout the day.

So... why not come along and discuss the current challenges and opportunities in arable crop farming with like-minded individuals.

Please REGISTER for this event

Supplier of the Year - Nestle Award

archantlocalimpact@digitalproductsuite.com — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 17:03:26 GMT

Supplier of the Year - Nestle Award

On Thursday evening at a glittering black tie event at Royal Ascot, Camgrain were awarded the Nestle Chairman’s award for Supplier of the Year .

The event attended by 475 people from across the Nestle supplier network was hosted by TV presenter Mark Durden-Smith and former Champion National Hunt jockey John Francome.

The Camgrain team represented by John Latham, David White, Simon Ingle, Andries Viljoen, and Alan King were nominated in two award categories and whilst they were initially a little disappointed not to win either of those, they were absolutely blown away to be presented with the top award of the evening as Supplier of the Year (Overall Winner).

Such recognition is a real credit to the amazing teamwork across the whole Camgrain business and to be nominated for and win the only category voted for by Nestle colleagues reflects positively on our collaborative work with such a key customer.

This award once again demonstrates the value of our 'Clean Wheat' plant and the benefits it brings to Camgrain members.

Camgrain announced as this year’s Columbus Digital Champion

archantlocalimpact@digitalproductsuite.com — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 17:00:37 GMT

Camgrain announced as this year’s Columbus Digital Champion

Columbus has announced that Camgrain has been crowned as this year’s Columbus Digital Champion. The award is judged on a number of criteria including the level of innovation, digital transformation and anticipated business benefits and value generation.

As the winner, Camgrain will receive a free proof of concept development project with Columbus, to be developed over the next few weeks. The proof of concept will utilize the Microsoft Cognitive Services Suite to show how vehicle delivery plans can be quickly adapted in real time in reaction to daily routing requirements. These improvements will drive value generation by increasing operational efficiency of transport planning and execution. Improved member and customer experience will be delivered through sustained attainment of on time in full delivery and on-farm collection service turnaround.

Andrew Wingate, Systems Manager, from Camgrain commented, "Camgrain are delighted to receive the 'Digital Champions' award from Columbus. The adaptive transport planning proof of concept project will be a major accelerator for our digital roadmap. We aim to return ever more value to our members and continuous improvement of transport planning efficiency is a huge part of this.”

Chris Green, Columbus Marketing Director, “We have many customers who are on the road to digitally transforming their business. This award is to highlight not just the achievements that our customers have already made, but to also recognise our customers’ desire and intentions to digitally transform in the future. Camgrain are dedicated to the continual improvement in their business, through technology, and submitted an extremely compelling entry. We are all very excited to be working with Camgrain on this project and we are confident it will be a great success.”

Camgrain hosts Nigerian Delegates and Agri-Business decision makers

archantlocalimpact@digitalproductsuite.com — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 16:57:57 GMT

Camgrain hosts Nigerian Delegates and Agri-Business decision makers

Camgrain were pleased to host a delegation of Nigerian Government officials and Agri-Business decision makers at the Cambridge APC on Wednesday 18th October. Operations Director, Philip Darke and Vice-Chairman, David White presented Camgrain’s operational model which ‘demystified perceptions relating to grain handling’. Afterwards, the delegates were taken on a guided tour of the Cambridge site by Deputy Operations Manager, Dan Parrott. Much was learned by the delegates. We hear they are eagerly planning to replicate Camgrain’s operational model, with cooperative principles, in their respective states.

We wish them luck in the future.

East of England Agricultural Society Conference

archantlocalimpact@digitalproductsuite.com — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 16:55:37 GMT

East of England Agricultural Society Conference

The Annual East of England Agricultural Society Conference is at the Peterborough Showground on Thursday 2nd November, commencing at 09:30.

For a full programme and tickets see - http://eoefarmingconference.co.uk .

The line-up of speakers includes Minette Batters, Deputy President of the NFU, Lord Peter Melchett, Policy Director of the Soil Association, Stuart Agnew, MEP and UKIP agricultural spokesman and Charles Shropshire, MD of G’s Fresh.

Other speakers will highlight examples of successful entrepreneurship, young start-ups and insights into new opportunities. With Brexit looming and new challenges, maybe now is the time to investigate innovative ideas.

For further information please contact David White on 07831 394652 or davidwhite@camgrain.co.uk.

Press Release

archantlocalimpact@digitalproductsuite.com — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 16:52:14 GMT

Press Release

Camgrain, the leading grain storage and marketing business founded in 1983, has announced the appointment of Simon Willis to the newly created role of Group Chief Executive Officer. Simon was previously Head of Project Delivery at Certas Energy. He has been tasked with leading Camgrain through a full strategic review focused on developing closer links with the supply chain and delivering maximum benefit to Camgrain’s members.

Philip Darke, previously Camgrain’s managing director, will take up the new role of Operations Director, with responsibility for the day to day operations of company’s four sites and the strategic development of the stores and their facilities.

Keith Durrant, previously Camgrain’s deputy managing director, will become Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer and will complete the executive team charged with delivering the strategy set by Camgrain’s board of directors.

John Latham, Camgrain’s chairman, said, “Simon brings extensive commercial experience to the role as well as expertise in developing and implementing strategic change. The creation of a new operations role for Philip Darke reflects the importance we place on first class management of our sites. The board is confident that this new management structure will take Camgrain successfully into the next phase of its development.”

Editors’ notes

Camgrain is the UK’s largest farmer-owned, central storage cooperative, established in 1983.

It owns four advanced processing centres, at Stratford, Northants, Cambridge and Linton.Camgrain

Camgrain operates across the supply chain from grower to retailer. It is the only central storage facility to have BRC accreditation.

For further information please contact John Latham, Chairman on 07768 386430 or email johnlatham@camgrain.co.uk

2018 Harvest Milling Wheat Variety Opportunity

archantlocalimpact@digitalproductsuite.com — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 16:48:02 GMT

2018 Harvest Milling Wheat Variety Opportunity

We have agreed contract terms with one of the country’s major millers that enables us to exclusively offer Camgrain members the opportunity to grow a new variety of white wheat called Lustre.

This variety appeals to the miller backing it because it allows higher flour extraction rates without the loss of whiteness and has the potential to produce whiter bread products. To promote the variety we can offer Camgrain members a fixed premium to the Annual Pool base price for wheat that achieves milling specification.

Click here to read more.

Camgrain Updates

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate

CAMGRAIN'S AGM

Post-Harvest message from the Camgrain Chairman – Carl Driver

Post-Harvest message from the Camgrain Chairman – Carl Driver

Marketing Report 2024-2025

Marketing Report 2024-2025

What's in the boxes?

What's in the boxes?

Announcement - Appointment of David Brooks - Independent Non Executive Director

Appointment of David Brooks - Independent Non Executive Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Adam Driver - Farmer Director

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Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Andrew Maddever - Farmer Director

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Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - David White - Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Jo Robinson - Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Carl Driver - Camgrain Chairman

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Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Andrew Maddever - Farmer Director

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Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - John Jefferies - Farmer Director

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Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by - Robbie Dennis (Camgrain Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Marketing Committee).

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Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Adam Driver - Farmer Director

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Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Adam Driver - Farmer Director

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Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White - Farmer Director ﻿

Cropping.

France.

Farm Walk.

Food Bank

Sheep.

Camgrain Awards

And Finally

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Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Jo Robinson - Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Latham - Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Andrew Maddever - Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Jefferies - Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White - Farmer Director ﻿

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Robbie Dennis - Camgrain Vice Chairman

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Jo Robinson - Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Carl Driver - Camgrain Chairman

Over the Farm gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Jefferies - Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Latham- Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White- Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Jo Robinson- Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Adam Driver- Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White- Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by John Jefferies- Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by Robbie Dennis- Vice Chairman

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White - Farmer Director

Over the Farm Gate is kindly supplied by David White - Farmer Director