- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
Is anyone on this contract with Frontier, any experience you would like to share? I like the look of it but object to buying certified seed every year.
BB
BB
Warburtons Contract
- Thread starter Banana Bar
- Start date
Nothing to do with Warburton's, but most malting barley contracts now state new seed each year.
I said to one merchant I didn't want new seed, so just tell me your profit margin and I will pay that. Better a £1k bill than £5k. The reply came back saying that wouldn't be right taking money off me for nothing.
Another merchant just said that option wasn't available to me.
I said to one merchant I didn't want new seed, so just tell me your profit margin and I will pay that. Better a £1k bill than £5k. The reply came back saying that wouldn't be right taking money off me for nothing.
Another merchant just said that option wasn't available to me.
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Buying the certified seed wasn’t the issue for me, buying frontiers overpriced (+£30/t) certified seed was a problem.
Flatland guy
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I have nothing to do with this contract but I suspect it is not Warburton's specifying new seed but Frontier. Possibly dangle a carrot and then sell massively expensive seed.
Considering how hard it is to get untreated certified seed, I presume Warburtons would be vehemently against routine use of agrochemicals unless it failed the necessary germination/disease tests which would then mean the seed is of lesser quality to start with.
Does it say what classification of certified it has to be, possibly be nothing stopping you purchasing 1 tonne of C1 and multiplying yourself, for drilling next year subject to tests.
Considering how hard it is to get untreated certified seed, I presume Warburtons would be vehemently against routine use of agrochemicals unless it failed the necessary germination/disease tests which would then mean the seed is of lesser quality to start with.
Does it say what classification of certified it has to be, possibly be nothing stopping you purchasing 1 tonne of C1 and multiplying yourself, for drilling next year subject to tests.
Steevo
Member
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Sounds like it’s a case of you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours….all rigged against the farmer.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Iirc you can't use digestate on your crop, hence I wasn't interested.
- Location
- Essex
It's a pity they can't put a penny on a loaf to secure a decent supply from-happy-to-stay-with-it farmers. Unfortunately the temptation to rip off everyone within reach of their grasping claws is just too great.
Like putting a shark in charge of the swimming pool.
Like putting a shark in charge of the swimming pool.
Steevo
Member
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Is it me, or are these Warburtons, Carling, Weetabix etc. deals partly aimed subtly at making certain farmers feel more important because they can attribute their farm to an internationally recognised brand?
Probably the other way round. They want to market themselves as working directly with farmers, paying a fair price and being concerned about the environment.
Flatland guy
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I would say the schemes are there for Warburtons etc to do press releases/media/ website stories of how they do the right thing for environment/farmer etc for public relations image and they hedge their bets on future pricing, if they are not 100% on contracted supply they can mix what goes in the back door with either higher or lower priced but still have a story to tell.
The bizarre thing is they have contracted to Frontier who are only a supply company who will probably have 2 or 3 people employed solely on the contract possibly. To make it more meaningful you would have thought they would take the procurement process ‘in house’ operate themselves with the same amount of staff to be more focused if they was really wanting a long term grower relationship.
The bizarre thing is they have contracted to Frontier who are only a supply company who will probably have 2 or 3 people employed solely on the contract possibly. To make it more meaningful you would have thought they would take the procurement process ‘in house’ operate themselves with the same amount of staff to be more focused if they was really wanting a long term grower relationship.
Steevo
Member
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Why do a job if you can leverage your power in the marketplace to sell the opportunity to do that job to another company by allowing them to make a profit on selling the certified seed also.
I guess that's what they call "added value".
- Location
- Lincolnshire
It was always the best payer, simply as the protein requirements were 12.5
Scrambler
Member
- Location
- Leicestershire
I had a Warburtons contract via Openfield and thought it was quite good, especially the 12.5% protein requirement. Have Frontier kept it at 12.5%?
ollie989898
Member
You have got to be be joking.
No farmer should sign up for this on principle.
I keep warning you guys of this, package deals with the big names in the Agribusiness world. Might as well sell them a share in your farm at this rate.
ollie989898
Member
How would they know?
ollie989898
Member
No supply contract should have contract terms like that. That is out of order.
It's like the dairy boys agreeing to sell milk to X but have to buy their cake and fertiliser from Y. No fudging way. No farmer should agree to such a contract on principle.
- Location
- Bedfordshire
The difference between Frontier and Openfield regarding Warburtons is that with Frontier you buy seed at least £35 tonne overpriced, with Openfield you just bought their seed at the prevailing price. I will not be renewing the contract at the end of the 3 years.
Warbutons were also very slow to offer to increase the premium terms, and only after I mentioned it on 2 separate webinars/virtual meetings. What puzzled me was why out of 60 odd growers on the call I was the only one moaning about the premium. Others obviously happy to be shafted at both ends.
I'll let the Frontier lovies supply Warburtons in future.
- Location
- Berkshire
Used to grow for Openfield but got fed up with buying their expensive seed and no Nufol allowed, even with the 12.5 protein contract we used to struggle with this, it was Hereward that the initial contracts were grown on and that would do the protein ok, anything higher yielding was a stretch given good yields without nufol
( although everyone used to apply it anyway )
Could normally get as a good or better premium off our own backs without any hassle
( although everyone used to apply it anyway )
Could normally get as a good or better premium off our own backs without any hassle
Expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive offer for farmers published
Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer from July will give the sector a clear path forward and boost farm business resilience.
From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon Sir Mark Spencer MP Published21 May 2024
Full details of the expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer available to farmers from July have been published by the...
From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The Rt Hon Sir Mark Spencer MP Published21 May 2024
Full details of the expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer available to farmers from July have been published by the...