SUFFOLK-based AtlasFram Group, the UK’s leading farmer-owned farm inputs purchasing and combinable crop marketing business, has formed a new alliance with one of the world’s largest processors of agricultural crops.
The innovative agreement involves ADM Direct, which is both the UK’s largest independent flour miller and the country’s largest processor of rapeseed.
AtlasFram says the deal means that its 1,050 members, who collectively farm more than 300,000 hectares of land throughout England, will be able to build long-term relationships with a major primary processor of combinable crops while continuing to deal directly with their own in-house marketing department.
Members will continue to have access to the same range of pools, marketing rates and advance payments, but can now also benefit from ADM’s comprehensive market information and the support of the company’s experienced marketing and logistics specialists, together with direct access to a much wider range of markets and ADM’’s processing network.
Christopher Padfield, who farms in Essex and is a director of the Framlingham-based AtlasFram Group, said: “This marks a turning point for the group in terms of our crop marketing department and for members using it to market their combinable crops.
“Working with ADM Direct provides us with a fantastic opportunity to build the volumes which we, as members, trade through the group and further improve our marketing department’s efficiency and returns.
“I have already increased my commitment to the AtlasFram pools and a number of other members who have not previously used us to market their crops are now choosing to do so.”
Mark Ringrose, trading manager for ADM Milling Ltd, added: “We look forward to strengthening our agreement with AtlasFram by providing a wider range of opportunities for members, such as producing bread and biscuit milling wheat for our ‘specific’ flour requirements. With an increasing choice of milling wheat varieties available we can proactively work with growers to provide direction on our present and future needs.”
The new alliance will be managed by Barry Howard of ADM Direct.
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