South West Feature
Supporting South-West Farmers More often than not it’s the smaller items on a farm’s annual purchasing bill that actually make the business tick along on a day-today basis – everything from feed troughs to fencing staples and from gates to grass seed. It’s those essential yet often overlooked supplies which are at the heart of the operation at south-west farm store business Agricentre. But with 2,500 lines in stock, and a further 4,000 available to order, the scope of what Agricentre does is far wider than just the aforementioned items.
“It’s not just about what we stock, but about the service we provide with what we supply,” says Agricentre sales director, Tim Brewer.
South West Feature “We’ve long been known as animal health specialists, with all of our staff having trained as Animal Health Advisors (AHAs), meaning they’re qualified to prescribed a range of animal medicines.
…“But feed supplements and dairy hygiene products are also key areas of our business, and when added to what we do in other areas, ranging from gates and general fencing products to herbicides and work clothing, then we can provide most things a farm needs on a day-to-day basis, particularly for livestock producers.”
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South West Feature
“Many of our staff have been with us for many years and are very well-known and trusted in the business,” says Tim. “But as retirements take place, we’re investing training and developing new talent, and we provide our staff with clear career paths that take them through the company from store to field sales to management if they so wish.
Agricentre is well-known for sourcing the best products for its customers, supplying a wide range of animal health and dairy hygiene products, including wormers, parasite management and control, feeds, environmental hygiene products, grassland mixtures, rodenticides, herbicides, agricultural plastics, gates and fencing, clothing and equestrian supplies. In addition to mainstream brands, the company also retails a range of ownbrand Topstock lines, which are exclusive to Agricentre. The company’s direct sales team offers expert advice in addition to competitively-priced goods, and free delivery of any item, whatever its
value, is backed by a devoted customer service team, to ensure customers receive the very best service.
Gap in the marketplace Agricentre was founded in 1961 from a chemist’s in Calne, Wilts, by Thomas Jeary. When he noticed that many farmers were purchasing drugs for their animals from the local chemist, Thomas saw a significant gap in the marketplace, and in 1967 set up Jeary’s Agricentre, the UK’s first ‘agricultural supermarket’. >>>
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South West Feature
>>> During its early years Agricentre operated from a single store in Calne, expanding over central, south and southwest England to provide a personal service to the rural and livestock farming community. With the help of his sons, Thomas went on to develop and expand the business, in 1985 earning a Royal Warrant to supply animal health and hygiene products to the Queen. A combination of family members and external employees manage the concern today. The company now employs 80 staff across eight branches: Calne and Salisbury in Wiltshire,
Newport on the Isle of Wight, Redhill near Bristol, Langport and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, Sturminster Newton in Dorset, and the most recently-opened depot (in autumn 2011), Honiton in Devon. Sixteen dedicated field staff are based from the branches, serving customers all over southern, south-western and central England. “In recent months we’ve added two new representatives to work from Honiton and expand our coverage to farms further west. Our business growth is based on this type of ‘organic’ expansion. >>>
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South West Feature “We’ve also recently moved our Sturminster Newton depot to new, improved premises on Butt’s Pond Industrial Estate. That will enable us to serve farmers in this area much more efficiently, and anyone who has not yet been to find us here is very welcome to come and see what the new facilities can offer them. “Giving our customers one-to-one service is a source of pride for us. Our area representatives are trained to offer expert advice, alongside a wide range of quality goods. We stock only the best brands, supplemented with our own range of Topstock products. “Unlike many competitors, we also provide full monthly account facilities, offering members up to 60 days’ credit, and free delivery on all orders within our trading area, using our fleet of 16 vehicles, which range from 3.5t vans to articulated lorries.”
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>>> As autumn sets in, the fleet is busy delivering fencing, feed and housing products, as well as veterinary products such as wormers and fluke drenches, while with maize silaging imminent, farmers are also able to easily and competitively source their additive and polythene clamp sheeting requirements through their nearest Agricentre.
Crystalyx feed blocks, which provide a balanced supplement to slowing autumn grass growth, are a particular current focus, while a calf rearing deal offers a competitive price on 30 bags of calf starter pellets and 10 bags of milk replacer powder. >>>
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South West Feature AGRICENTRE Sheep News
Issue 2 Summer 2013
The Journal of the AGRICENT RE Sheep Club
>>> Customers are kept updated on offers, promotions, product availability and news on Agricentre happenings through the firm’s own emailed or posted newsletter, while the company is also present at many of the region’s shows, open days and ploughing matches, where existing and prospective customers are always welcome to partake of some hospitality. “We run our own show unit, and attend a dozen county and regional shows annually across the south-west, plus events such as the Isle of Wight Ploughing Match and RABDF open days.
The South West Dairy Event at the Bath and West Show ground in October – this year on Wednesday the 2nd – is the culmination of our show season, and we’d be delighted to see new and current customers there.” One of the firm’s most significant recent initiatives has been the creation of the Agricentre Sheep Group. While the business has long been known for its services to the dairy industry, its staff and its stores also have a lot to offer the region’s sheep farmers, believes Tim. >>>
“We choose carefully who we partner with and work only with strong suppliers we know we can trust, and can provide good back-up to us and to our customers,” Tim says.
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South West Feature >>> Agricentre’s future plans centre around growing and developing to meet changing farming requirements and focusing on the rural community’s needs by continuing to supply the wide selection of quality products and expert advice it requires. >>>
“The group is free to join, and aside from a quarterly newsletter, we organise autumn field meetings and winter talks on relevant subjects, as well as services such as faecal egg counts for worm monitoring. We already have members with flocks from 50-6,000 ewes, and are aiming for 300 members by the spring.”
“Five of our field staff in particular have strong backgrounds in sheep farming, and we’ve created the group to link what they can offer, as specialist advisers on sheep products, with our sheep farming customers.
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“We plan to continue providing a service specifically and solely directed to the farmer and aim to make the latest technological improvements available, as well as providing all of farmers’ day-to-day basic needs.
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South West Feature >>> “A well managed and thriving countryside is one of the most important features of the picturesque British landscape, and we’re committed to supporting the farmers and animals that are instrumental to this.” The latest Agricentre catalogue can be viewed online at www.agricentre.net, while mailed copies can be received by contacting the nearest Agricentre store. The www.agricentre.net online store allows account holders to browse and order the full range of Agricentre products online, with orders placed online by clicking 'order now' against items on the website, supplemented by a short email including contact and order details.
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