Gleadell viewpoint autumn 2010

AUTUMN 2010 VOL 8, ISSUE 2 www.gleadell.co.uk

Russia lights the fire of another bull market…

The dramatic move in global grain markets has taught us, yet again, that we live in volatile and extremely fast moving times. The London November 2010 LIFFE market moved from £105 in early July to close to £160 in less than five weeks.

The catalyst for this dramatic move was the end of summer extreme heat and drought in much of Russia’s grain belt which slashed production to the point that the barriers went up and Russia banned exports. The knock-on effects of the cancellation of sales under the GAFTA prohibition by government clause, and the rush to replace existing contracts, added fuel to the fire and pushed demand

Many pundits say that we are not in a 2007/8 situation and point to the world wheat stock situation - 174.66 million tonnes as of today vs.

124.1 million tonnes in 2007. However, the location of today’s stocks puts a different slant on these figures. According to the USDA, of the wheat stocks in the world, nearly 50% will be held by the world’s major importers, people who won’t or can’t sell. Additionally, with another 15% held by India and regions operating under current, or potential future grain export restrictions, demand has moved firstly to the EU and, we predict, will soon move to the USA whose stocks are large, but whose prices are currently above those of the EU. Of course, most wheat that trades internationally is almost all milling wheat and the feed grain market has alternatives to use - maize, feed barley, sorghum, rye, tapioca - alongside feed wheat.

from importing countries such as Egypt towards France at a rate that may see 8 million tonnes of France’s 11 million tonne surplus exported by Christmas.

The need is therefore very apparent for another large world wheat crop in 2011 and on the Australian / Argentine crops to deliver soon.

Continued dryness and a closing planting weather window is already casting doubts on whether Russia will resume exports anytime soon and we don’t need a lot to go wrong to see what started as a July weather market turn into a multi-year bull market that would signal a significant departure from the boom / bust scenario we saw in 2007/8 and 2008/9.

We firmly believe that Gleadell has a defined, positive role to play in helping the evolution of all grain markets of the future in many sectors of what will continue to be fast moving and volatile markets.

David Sheppard, managing director, Gleadell Agriculture

Gleadell Agriculture Limited

Contents MARKET PROSPECTS

02

Gleadell’s traders discuss the market prospects for feed grain, milling wheat, pulses and the organic sector.

FOCUS ON OILSEED RAPE

03

With a likely 5-8% increase in the oilseed rape area, we take a look at varieties, oilseed market prospects and the Gleadell Harvest 2010 Oilseed Rape Pool results.

FOCUS ON FERTILISER

04

Our fertiliser business continues to expand based on our global knowledge and the strength of the supply contracts initiated by our parent company, AC Toepfer. We examine market prospects, global perspectives and recent trials that show the value of AN as a fertiliser for wheat.

FOCUS ON MALTING BARLEY

06

In recent years the specialist malting barley grower has had a roller coaster ride, but now the future is bright for malting barley - and also Null-Lox varieties provide a new market outlet.

GREAT YARMOUTH GRAIN TERMINAL

07

The Great Yarmouth Grain Terminal opened in time for harvest and has been busy ever since – with a brief pause for the official opening in the autumn.

GLEADELL AROUND THE COUNTRY The new north-west office is the latest stage in Gleadell’s development around the country.

www.gleadell.co.uk

08

Pulses

Feed Grain Since our spring report, global 2010 wheat production forecasts have dramatically reduced following the devastating drought that hit Russia’s major grain growing regions. Global wheat production is now forecast at 641.4mln/t, with stocks set to decline for the first time in three years.

Production estimates seem to have stabilised after record-breaking heat and dryness forced analysts to repeatedly downgrade forecasts which, in Russia’s case, has led to an export ban being imposed, pushing wheat prices to twoyear highs as importers scramble to cover supplies.

EU soft wheat production, also affected by adverse weather, is now projected at around 127mln/t, slightly down from production in 2009, mainly due to lower yield projections. Quality is mixed, with the German crop suffering from excessive rain during the harvest, now seen producing a larger than normal proportion of feed wheat, whilst the

French crop is reported as good quality.

French wheat prices have risen sharply as major importers, such as Egypt, have been forced to look at French supplies following the Russian grain ban, thus improving the outlook for French exports.

UK production for 2010 is also lower than previously estimated at between 14.4 (Gleadell) and 14.8 (DEFRA) mln/t, following the announcement by DEFRA that the area sown to wheat for 2010 was below the figure originally estimated.

Yields are also being confirmed down in most areas compared with 2009. With the recent DEFRA revision of the 2009 wheat crop, reducing production and ending stocks, the exportable surplus for the 2010 season is now projected at 1.2-1.4mln/t, with between 700-750 thousand/t seen being exported by the end of September.

Global wheat stocks, although projected to fall, are still 50mln/t above the ‘crisis’ we witnessed a few seasons ago when wheat values hit record levels. Feed grain stocks remain adequate to meet domestic demand, even when taking into consideration the potential of lower than anticipated US corn yields but things are tighter than they may appear.

David Woodland, trader

We have come to terms with the knowledge that what promised to be a bumper year bean-wise has turned into a bit of a disaster yield- and qualitywise. Then, if we add in prices that are reacting to the high volatility of the wheat market, it has been a stressful time!

Human consumption beans have performed very much as in previous years, with quality varying from south to north, being poor in the south and progressively getting better the further north you go.

Springs have been the main problem, with yields between 0.5-1.00 tonnes/acre, and quality reflecting the lack of water in the spring, with samples being very high in screenings and Bruchid beetle damage.

If you had to pick the best of the pulse crops, winter beans seemed to have weathered the drought far better and, although Bruchid levels are also very high, there have been some really good crops.

As to the markets, it became clear fairly early on that UK prices would be influenced by what the French were doing. Who would have thought that, before harvest, we would be faced with the prospect of the French taking most of our traditional markets, aided by what some people saw as an unfair subsidy … only to find that you must never underestimate mother nature, and that demand has swung back to the UK sooner than we thought possible.

Ian Skinn, pulses trader

Milling Wheat So, we get through another protracted and wet harvest and what a market we have!

We have seen some stunning price moves in a very short space of time and the milling wheat market has been interesting to say the least.

Global doubts about quality and tonnages available to supply from some key exporters in the EU, together with the situation in Russia, have meant huge volatility in prices and premiums, and we have seen markets for all kinds of different qualities this year so

far. We believe that this demand will continue. There are some huge differences in quality across the various regions of the UK and this is just another factor to an already very interesting market.

Whilst we believe there is no shortage of milling wheat in the UK or internationally, we think the market is tighter than in most years. The US has a lot of wheat to export and they are becoming more competitive to destinations that would traditionally buy EU or Russian origin wheat and this needs to happen, as France, Germany and the UK cannot supply all the demand that there is.

Overall, we believe that premiums moving forward will be fairly stable but the wheat price will continue to be volatile.

Looking at new crop, we have quite a range of buyback contracts on offer and this should be considered. Our buybacks have continually returned good premiums back to farmers for all kinds of different qualities. We can offer fixed premium or min premium contracts for many different varieties of wheat. They are non-defaultable on quality and can be priced as and when you want.

Check them out with your Gleadell farm trader.

Marc Rogerson, trading manager

02

Organics On the back of world supply and demand data, the organic market has entered into a much healthier price start to the 2010 season.

Home grown supply will be a key factor to the consumer as offers of imported raw materials continue to be very scarce. Previous key exporting countries are facing difficulties in supplying the UK market due to government restrictions, embargoes and crop failure.

As always, quality will determine premiums available. Before marketing it is vital that growers know what quality they have in order to maximise their return.

Due to concerns over the availability of imported quality products we are already seeing good demand for all ranges of home grown varieties, consequently price differentials between feed and human consumption on all commodities are already proving to be very beneficial.

Growers can also take advantage of drying, cleaning and conditioning facilities in order to add value to their products - especially for the varied niche markets which are continually opening up.

Brian Wilburn, organic trader

MARKET PROSPECTS

FOCUS ON OILSEED RAPE I Market Prospects Inclement weather across Northern Europe during harvest, combined with spring droughts in the East, severely affected European rapeseed production. The harvest across Europe was a stop-start affair with crops generally slow to mature and, in many cases, farmers were cutting wheat before rapeseed.

UK crops were very variable with some bumper yields mixed with some absolute disasters.

But our best estimates would suggest that we have a crop of 2.1mln/t giving the UK the opportunity to sell 300-350thd/t for export.

On mainland Europe, the crops were generally disappointing. In France, yields were average at best but it was Germany that really suffered.

Rain affected the completion of harvest by some 14 days and output was certainly down on expectations with Toepfer pegging production at 5.5mln/t.

However, the real disasters were in the Balkans and Eastern Europe where exceedingly heavy rain in July decimated the crops and cut the pre-harvest forecasts in half. As a result, we are forecasting EU-27 production to fall below 20mln/t and the import requirements to move towards 2.5mln/t!

Oilseed Rape Varieties

Given this situation, the production in the Black Sea region is exceptionally important to the EU crushers - the EU needs every ounce that they can produce. But in order to do this, EU crushers must compete against Pakistan and the Far East who also want to buy it. However, even with this seed, there still isn’t enough and we will ultimately need Australian seed too. Given the good crush margins, the EU crushers can afford to pay more for the seed and will have to if they want to continue processing. With the current differentials, the market has some work to do to - either ration demand - or secure fresh supplies of third country seed.

Jonathan Lane, trading manager

Gleadell Harvest 2010 Oilseed Rape Pool Results

With the rally in commodity prices

From late spring the outlook for EU rapeseed

However, the bulk of rally came in mid-August,

across most sectors, growers will

prices was favourable and, whilst we thought it

after the date when most of our growers needed

undoubtedly increase their oilseed rape

prudent to sell a small percentage into the rising

their crops to be off the farm. Given this, our

and wheat acreages - with oilseed rape

market, we generally tried to wait as long as

return of £260.68 before bonuses and after

in particular this has definitely been the

possible to give our pool members the best

commission is an excellent result.

case. Many within the trade feel we are

chance of achieving as good a price as possible.

looking at a 5-8% rise in area, and this view is backed up by seed sales.

POOL PRICES PAID - NET OF HAULAGE AND COMMISSION

Variety-wise, Sesame performed well in its candidate year and has taken a good section of the conventional market.

£320.00 £300.00

Average OSR Pool £260.68

Along with Sesame, the new hybrid Palace has also seen good sales -

£280.00

particularly in the north. DK Cabernet recovered from any concerns over podset and had another excellent year in

£260.00 £240.00

trials, and the hybrid Excalibur continued with its consistent performance. The

£220.00

hybrid PR46W21 tipped the top of the hybrid trial data and saw good interest,

£200.00 NOV

DEC

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JULY

with the variety selling out quickly.

Compass was also a high-selling variety with excellent lodging resistance, good yield and high oil content.

Chris Guest, seed manager GLEADELL AGRICULTURE

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FOCUS ON FERTILISER

The UK fertiliser market has finally become a truly global affair and prices will continue to be directed by activities happening far away from our shores.

The only producer of Nitrogen left in the UK, GrowHow, is jointly owned by CF Industries and Yara - two of the largest producers in the world - so high prices and shortages being experienced elsewhere will influence and ultimately price the UK market.

Granular Urea is now the nitrogen product of choice in most developed countries.

Using Yara technology, the new factories coming “on stream” are producing products of the highest quality and Gleadell Agriculture have developed and built their imports business on this knowledge.

Through supply contracts initiated by our parent company, AC Toepfer, the Gleadell product range has also continued to expand as the UK farmer at last has an opportunity to purchase products which really are genuine quality replacements to what has been offered in the past.

The major driver for the current price surge is higher crop prices, particularly corn in the US. But with memories of the

The competitiveness of Urea is encouraging underlined by shipments such as the arrival of how Gleadell have steadily expanded their

collapse in fertiliser prices in late 2008 still haunting many traders, perhaps a note of caution is now beginning to enter the market. We have witnessed a rapid “run up” in prices over the past 5-6 weeks as Asian, European and American buyers have all entered the market at once, but there is a determination by many not to get caught again holding high priced stocks should this market correct.

Although this looks an unlikely scenario in the short to medium term as there are still more buyers to enter the market, we are sure we will see a correction at some stage this season.

Calum Findlay, fertiliser trader

At last food production is an industry with a future!

Origin Fertilisers are specialists in agricultural fertiliser and horticulture products, blending specific nutrient combinations Richard Clark such as potash, nitrogen and potassium tailored to particular farm production systems and regional soil deficiencies. Origin’s Richard Clark underlines the way global commodity prices and past experience combine to influence the fertiliser market.

A combination of global events has led an industry that was in the doldrums in June to one where forward planning and reinvestment is once again on the cards.

The turnaround in fortunes of soft commodities is mirrored by the supply industries to these sectors.

04

The fertiliser sector has to cope with a market that can vary up or down by 600,000 tonnes. Further to this, the UK demands high quality products in order to service the need for ever-wider tramlines.

This leads to a situation where importers are having to purchase raw materials suitable for the end user in the UK in a world market which is also benefiting from the same factors as the UK. The net effect is inflation in fertiliser pricing which is reminiscent of the 2007 season.

The gains of 2007-08 were followed with losses the following year as stock holders particularly those holding phosphates and Urea - were left holding positions that were falling in value. To compound these problems, end users became spot buyers, thus benefiting from the ever-decreasing price - this increased the pain for the stock holders.

This experience was painful for those involved and will have an influence on how they operate this season. As a result of this, it is probable some products will not be available in the coming spring. TSP is vulnerable as the demand decreases as the spring progresses.

This in turn impacts on zero PKs leaving only low NPKs as the option. Granular Urea could also go short as this is not favoured in the late spring, and a small cargo would be in the region of 3000 tonnes – this tonnage may be considered an unacceptable risk in the late spring.

It is important for importers to manage their positions correctly as they play a vital role in the supply chain. Equally, it is important for the farming community to plan the raw materials it requires with their suppliers as spot requirements may not be able to be met. Suppliers should be able to advise on alterative products if the original choice is unavailable.

FOCUS ON FERTILISER a gradual change in the UK farmer’s requirements away from straight Ammonium Nitrate. This trend is of 25,054 tonnes of Granular Urea into Immingham on MV Pacific Id. The shipment is yet another example position to become a leading supplier in the UK market.

Stuart Knight is Director of Crops & Agronomy at NIAB TAG. In this article he examines the view that urea is inferior to AN as a fertiliser for wheat, but explains that recent up to date trials demonstrate this is not necessarily the case.

About 80% of the straight fertiliser nitrogen (N) applied in the UK is ammonium nitrate (AN), with urea representing only 8-10% (and UAN liquid a similar amount). Urea is however the major N fertiliser source worldwide and with at times a significant price advantage (per kg of N) over AN its importance is increasing.

Concerns are often expressed about the use of urea as a fertiliser. When urea hydrolyses too quickly, ammonium builds up, causing locally high soil pH and the release of gaseous ammonia. In field studies (Bhogal et al., 2003), ammonia emissions from granular urea averaged 22% in arable situations compared to 2% from AN. As part of the same Defra-funded project, ten field trials were undertaken between 2004 and 2005 to compare the efficacy of urea and AN as fertilisers for winter cereals (Dampney et al., 2006). Optimum N doses for yield were found to be on average 20% higher for granular urea than for AN. At recommended N rates, urea gave yields that were on average 0.33 t/ha lower than for AN, as well as lower grain proteins.

Stuart Knight, director of crops

FIGURE 1. Winter wheat margin advantage to AN over urea. 59 comparisons: blue columns are on medium or heavy soils, green are shallow soils over chalk or limestone.

(Right of line = AN higher margin than urea; left of line = urea higher margin than AN)

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 -20 -40 -60 -80 -100 -120

25/59 comparisons AN > Urea margin

34/59 comparisons Urea > AN margin

1 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59

Urea as a Nitrogen fertiliser for wheat

In the Defra project, the range in emissions from urea was very wide (2-58%), depending on conditions (mainly weather). Similarly, in seven of the trials, yields with urea were within 0.2 t/ha of those with AN. Two that gave larger penalties (0.5-1.0 t/ha) were on a sandy soil. Rainfall after application was identified as a key factor influencing how big the difference in optimum N dose was between urea and AN. Ammonia losses can be reduced by slowing the rate at which it hydrolyses, allowing more time for the urea to diffuse into the soil or for rain to occur. It can be achieved by coating the granules with sulphur or polymers, or treatment with a urease inhibitor such as nBTPT (‘Agrotain’). Both of these add to the fertiliser cost. Alternatives include band-spreading to reduce the surface area of urea in contact with the soil, although high concentrations of urea within the treated band can restrict root growth.

Soil incorporation of urea-based liquid fertilisers can reduce N losses, but this is impractical in growing crops without specialist equipment.

Between 2002 and 2008 The Arable Group (TAG) carried out 24 replicated field trials comparing AN with urea as N fertilisers for winter wheat. The sites ranged from heavy calcareous clays FIGURE 2. Winter wheat protein advantage to AN over urea. 48 comparisons: soil types not through medium colour-coded. (Right of line = AN higher protein than urea; left of line = urea higher protein than AN) sandy loams to 2.0 shallow soils over chalk or limestone 1.5 (there were no light sandy or deep silt 1.0 12/48 comparisons soils). Some of Urea protein> AN the experiments 0.5 included a range 0.0 of doses or 32/48 comparisons application timings.

It would be easy to conclude from this that urea is inferior to AN as a fertiliser for wheat. This is not necessarily the case.

-0.5

AN protein > Urea

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

-1.0

In 35 out of 59 comparisons AN

gave a higher yield than urea, but only 6 of these differences were significant. The mean yield advantage to AN over urea was only 0.05 t/ha. The overall yield similarity between the two fertilisers is consistent with the results of previous ADAS work (Lloyd et al., 1997) but contrasts with the conclusions from the Defra project. Assuming a feed price of £130/t for all varieties, a cost of £231/t for AN (67p /kg N), and £276/t for urea (60p /kg N), in 34 out of 59 comparisons urea would have given a higher margin than AN, with a mean advantage to urea over AN of £8/ha.

Analysis of the TAG data revealed no impact of soil pH on the relative performance of AN vs. urea, and no consistent effect of N timing (because of course it is rainfall after application that is important, not calendar date or growth stage). However, nearly all of the comparisons on shallow soils over chalk or limestone showed a yield and margin advantage to AN (Figure 1).

20 of the TAG trials were tested for grain protein. In the majority of comparisons AN gave a higher value than urea (Figure 2), with a mean protein advantage to AN of 0.24%.

Taking only the trials on breadmaking varieties, and adding a premium of £1.25/t per 0.1% protein above 11.5%, AN would have given a mean margin advantage over urea of £10/ha. However, in these trials where urea was used it was applied at all timings. In practice for bread making wheats, the final application could be switched to AN, or a foliar urea spray applied at milky ripe, and it is likely that this would reduce the protein penalty.

References Bhogal A, Dampney P, Goulding K. (2006). Report for Defra Project NT2601/2: Evaluation of urea-based nitrogen fertilisers.

Dampney P, Dyer C, Goodlass G, Chambers B. (2006). Component report for Defra Project NT2605: WP1a Crop Responses.

Lloyd, A., Webb, J., Archer, J.R., Sylvester-Bradley, R. (1997). Urea as a nitrogen fertiliser for cereals. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 128, 263-271.

GLEADELL AGRICULTURE

05

FOCUS ON MALTING BARLEY MARKET PROSPECTS

The Future Is Bright For Malting Barley In recent years the specialist malting barley grower has had a roller coaster ride with boom and bust pricing coupled with difficult harvests. Small malting premiums have driven the opportunistic malting grower into other commodities reducing the planted area – yet, at the same time, the demand for malt has steadily increased.

2011 Crop Contracts

Today the malting barley area across the world is dangerously low, but there is a fight for acres caused by the strong demand and excellent returns from other commodities such as wheat, oilseed rape and maize.

The price for wheat, oilseed rape and maize will remain firm, keeping a lid on the malting barley area for the next few years.

This means supply is at risk if we get a poor crop anywhere in the world. Malting volatility and supply issues will therefore bring opportunities for good malting growers - of that we are sure.

Contracts for next season are very attractive, showing very good gross margins, and many growers are booking a percentage of their area at current levels, locking in profit. We have winter and spring buybacks available which include premium over wheat futures and min/max contracts for our Null-Lox spring varieties.

So far this season we have seen very poor malting barley harvests from around the world. There are yield and quality problems in most regions and malting barley supply is

MALTING BARLEY FACTS

• WORLD USES 16.5MLN/T OF MALT. • NEEDS 21 MLN/T OF MALTING BARLEY.

• HAS THREE MAIN EXPORTING AREAS.

• HAS THREE MAIN IMPORTING COUNTRIES.

•

THE EU GROWS 50% OF THE WORLD’S MALTING BARLEY.

• THE UK PRODUCES SOME OF BEST QUALITY BARLEY AND MALT IN THE WORLD.

06

set to remain tight throughout the rest of the season. This will have a significant impact on reducing carryover stocks going into crop 2011. So brewers will have to pay a respectable premium to malting growers to ensure that malting barley continues to be grown by the best growers to provide the best quality product. There is a bright future ahead for malting barley.

Growers need to choose their varieties carefully as due to storage constrictions maltsters are limited to the number they can take. Only grow the new varieties on contract as these will have very limited homes due to being evaluated by the brewers and maltsters.

Stuart Shand, sales director

NULL-LOX, A NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR MALTING BARLEY GROWERS What is Null-Lox? Well, the ‘lox’ enzyme in conventional barley causes beer to lose its flavour over time. Null-lox barley - developed

by Carlsberg's research centre, along with Heineken - has the enzyme removed, so beer brewed with it stays fresher and keeps its taste longer.

Although grown widely throughout the EU, last season was the first time Null-Lox barley had been grown on a farm scale in the UK and the two commercially available varieties took up to 5% of the UK's spring area our customers wish this area to expand significantly over the next few years.

Existing growers have had a successful year and have reported that Null-Lox varieties are quick to establish and very clean to grow, so are re-booking their acreage for our buyback contract. So, as the area of Null-Lox barley expands, we are looking for new growers for the 2011 crop.

The key to success has been to ensure that growers get an attractive return – Gleadell offer an exclusive buyback contract - and the new contract for this year is currently either a premium over wheat futures or a min/max fixed price.

The Null-Lox project brings malting barley growers a whole new range of varieties with sound agronomy and similar or better yields to those of traditional malting barleys.

Varieties we would recommend for drilling this season:

WINTER

• CASSATA • PEARL

• FLAGON

SPRING

• TIPPLE • CONCERTO • QUENCH

And, most important of all, the market is there - all malt produced from the UK crop will either be brewed by Carlsberg in the UK or be exported to produce Heineken.

NULL-LOX CHA CHA CHARMAY

For the 2012 crop Propino looks very interesting

As the area of Null-Lox barley expands, we are looking for new growers for the 2011 crop. We offer a buyback contract exclusively with Gleadell which is a premium over wheat futures and is at max 1.92 (Tipple is max 1.85)

FOCUS ON GLEADELL

GREAT YARMOUTH GRAIN TERMINAL Gleadell Agriculture’s Great Yarmouth Grain Terminal opened for business - right on time - as harvest started in July.

Trevor Gates, Gleadell’s East Anglia regional manager: “When we started work last autumn we could not have foreseen the toughest winter in many years. But the whole team worked together, and on Monday 19th July we signed the final paperwork to commission the site, and the first loads of barley were tipping at the Terminal as harvest got under way.

“The first shipment out of the Terminal started off Gleadell’s new crop export programme as MV Arklow Raven was loaded with 4,150 tonnes of feed barley from East Anglia bound for southern Europe.

“As this is a completely new facility, we started in a carefully controlled way to allow the equipment to settle in. All is looking good, and by the end of October we will have loaded over 80,000 tonnes to a number of export markets.”

Construction well under way in the spring.

The main store completed.

Gleadells’ East Anglia team.

1

The completed development on Gleadell's dedicated site at Great Yarmouth's outer harbour has an 18,000mt flat store with a state of the art drying facility and a fully mobile shiploader capable of loading vessels up to 25,000mt. The development has been funded entirely by Gleadell with the support of their shareholders, AC Toepfer International and InVivo.

Trevor Gates noted that having a destination such as Great Yarmouth on the doorstep will add strength to growers’ marketing position and is a big bonus for the area. Growers need to look at whether their investment is better spent on building their own on-farm asset rather than investing in central storage [see panel to right]. Supplying grain to the end user destination such as Great Yarmouth reduces haulage and handling costs and, in a relatively dry harvest, saves the added cost of drying and dressing.

Speaking at the official opening, David Sheppard, managing director, Gleadell Agriculture, concluded: “Our investment of £5 million in the Great Yarmouth Grain Terminal has brought new, deep water grain markets and will open up global marketing opportunities to the region’s farmers. It will also offer state of the art drying and storage facilities, at no capital cost to farmers, and on their doorstep.”

2

The official opening of the Grain Terminal took place on 14th October in the presence of Richard Jewson Esq, JP, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk and Brandon Lewis, Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth, along with guests representing Gleadell customers, the grain trade, all those involved with the planning and construction of the project, members of the Gleadell team, and guests from Gleadell's shareholders AC Toepfer and InVivo.

Farm Stores are also important …

Rick Howell farms 2000 acres – mostly winter wheat, barley, oilseed rape and beans – near to Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire.

But he has another string to his bow – he constructs farm stores.

As he notes: “The cost- effective alternative to participating in Central Storage schemes is to invest in building or updating your own on-farm asset, rather than in something you will never own and cannot control.

“We offer a total service from design to commissioning and, with our farming background, you can be assured that we understand the particular requirements of farmers and the best way to build efficient and effective on-farm storage.

“This approach works hand-in-hand with having facilities, such as Great Yarmouth and Immingham, available to give you flexibility.”

Rick Howell can be reached at 01507 477451 rickhowell@btconnect.com

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4

1. Carsten Hojland, trading director of AC Toepfer, with David Sheppard, managing director of Gleadell Agriculture.

2. Brandon Lewis, Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth, unveils the plaque with David Sheppard looking on.

3. Trevor Gates, East Anglia regional manager, with Darren Gibson, site manager for the Grain Terminal.

4 . The guests inspect the mobile shiploader.

GLEADELL AGRICULTURE

07 The first shipment from the Terminal in July.

GLEADELL AROUND THE COUNTRY … IN YORKSHIRE

GLEADELL’S CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH-WEST

YORKSHIRE OFFICE The Airfield,

We welcome ‘young Graham’ (Hatton) who recently joined the team as a Farm Trader, working from our newly opened north-west office at the Rural Business Centre near Preston.

Full Sutton, York YO41 1HS

T 01759 375660 F 01759 375661

Gleadell are direct suppliers to all major consumers in the northwest, and the new office is well placed to help maintain a high level of service to those customers. In addition, our local supply agreements will create excellent marketing opportunities for growers in Lancashire, Cheshire and the West Midlands.

... AT IMMINGHAM

The Gleadell team continue in their efforts to enable growers to market their grain effectively and take opportunities offered by their respective local markets.

Graham Webster, regional trader

… IN LINCOLNSHIRE

… IN THE NORTH-WEST NORTH-WEST OFFICE Rural Business Centre, St Michaels Road, Bilsborrow, Preston PR3 0RY

LINCOLNSHIRE OFFICE Lindsey House, Hemswell Cliff, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5TH

T 01995 642246 F 01995 642245

T 01427 421200 F 01427 421230

… AT AVONMOUTH

... AT GREAT YARMOUTH

… IN THE SOUTH

… IN THE MIDLANDS

… IN EAST ANGLIA

SOUTHERN OFFICE

MIDLANDS OFFICE

EAST ANGLIA OFFICE

The Old Granary, Berwick Courtyard, Berwick St Leonard, Nr Salisbury, Wiltshire SP3 5UA

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HEAD OFFICE Lindsey House, Hemswell Cliff, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5TH

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Gleadell Agriculture Limited

www.gleadell.co.uk