Alan Bartlett Carrot growers to close

[Hesstondriver]

this ones a bit of a shock

300 jobs at stake

300 jobs lost: Alan Bartlett & Sons to close Chatteris factory

Hundreds of jobs are to go at a Chatteris factory with the closure in June of Alan Bartlett & Sons.

www.cambstimes.co.uk

being at the mercy of the supermarkets i guess
@slim shiny - any word on the street ?

 

[7610 super q]

f**king supermarkets.

 

[Lewis821]

Yep didn’t see that one coming, from what I believe it’s only the Chatteris factory so still growing spuds?
The usual suspects will be upping their area no doubt

 

[Suffolk Serf]

Yep didn’t see that one coming, from what I believe it’s only the Chatteris factory so still growing spuds?
The usual suspects will be upping their area no doubt

The potato business and the carrot business split a few years ago (Albert Bartlett being the potato business).
I expect that there is still a carrot set up in Scotland of Alan Bartletts?

 

[Hesstondriver]

The potato business and the carrot business split a few years ago (Albert Bartlett being the potato business).
I expect that there is still a carrot set up in Scotland of Alan Bartletts?

in about 2012 just after the split they took over Morray coast produce (MCP ) at Forres in a similar fashion to the Knights of Norfolk take over and indeed some of watton produce.

 

[Chae1]

Is @ORRA LOON involved with them?

 

[Sandy]

Is @ORRA LOON involved with them?

I think they stopped growing up Morayshire this year

 

[ORRA LOON]

Yes our end finished last June when we completed harvest, I still look after the Forres yard which is for sale. I was in contact with OB last night to ask if it was true and he confirmed it was. Sad times , had some long days but great craic with the carrot crew

 

[Highland Mule]

Yes our end finished last June when we completed harvest, I still look after the Forres yard which is for sale. I was in contact with OB last night to ask if it was true and he confirmed it was. Sad times , had some long days but great craic with the carrot crew

Are feedstock carrots off the menu up here now, and will all the guys be out of work, or is someone else running it now? Shame for the guys there if that's the case - always a delight to go and see the boss L******.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

Yes our end finished last June when we completed harvest, I still look after the Forres yard which is for sale. I was in contact with OB last night to ask if it was true and he confirmed it was. Sad times , had some long days but great craic with the carrot crew

After the clear up the strawed carrots in Scotland the whole circus comes here to start on the early ones under plastic. It seems like they go in all directions, with lorries and harvest crews from AB, Huntapac and Strawsons sometimes on the same field.

 

[delilah]

Market share is the root of all evil.

Are feedstock carrots off the menu up here now, and will all the guys be out of work, or is someone else running it now? Shame for the guys there if that's the case - always a delight to go and see the boss L******.

It's not a 'shame'. A shame is when your dog dies, or when it rains all week when you are on holiday. A shame is something that you can't do anything about.
This isn't a shame, it is the inevitable, ongoing, consequence of conscious decisions made by us all; as an industry, as individuals, as a society. We can change this. But, then, you and many others on here don't see the need to change.
So, don't call it a shame, suck it up as an inevitable consequence of the way you think it should be.

 

[Will 1594]

Yep didn’t see that one coming, from what I believe it’s only the Chatteris factory so still growing spuds?
The usual suspects will be upping their area no doubt

huntapac taking up slack i heard ,

 

[ORRA LOON]

Are feedstock carrots off the menu up here now, and will all the guys be out of work, or is someone else running it now? Shame for the guys there if that's the case - always a delight to go and see the boss L******.

You will still get them across the road , give Lyndsey a shout.

 

[kiwi pom]

fudgeing supermarkets.

I suppose it is in a round about way. What comes first though the supermarkets having one big supplier or one grower going big to shut out the competition and have the contract for themselves?

Market share is the root of all evil.

Does that apply to farmers too? I bet Bartlett put a lot of small growers out of business?

 

[delilah]

What comes first though the supermarkets having one big supplier or one grower going big to shut out the competition and have the contract for themselves?

The former. Market share concentration at the retail level has led to processor concentration, leading in turn to grower concentration. The trickle down effect, whereby the grower is trickled on by everyone else.

Does that apply to farmers too? I bet Bartlett put a lot of small growers out of business?

Of course, all farmers are doing is what they have always done, respond to market forces. it it the forces wot want changing.

 

[melted welly]

Does that apply to farmers too? I bet Bartlett put a lot of small growers out of business?

Didn’t necessarily put smaller growers out of business. Smaller growers would perhaps of been individual farmers who diversified into carrots from potatoes etc, so leaving the sector wouldnt automatically equate to being put out of business, just changing what they grow or taking a rent on the land instead of doing the job themselves.

 

[kiwi pom]

The former. Market share concentration at the retail level has led to processor concentration, leading in turn to grower concentration. The trickle down effect, whereby the grower is trickled on by everyone else.



Of course, all farmers are doing is what they have always done, respond to market forces. it it the forces wot want changing.

You do make farmers sound all sweet and innocent. Plenty of them set out to grow bigger and undercut their neighbour on contract prices or out bid them on rents. There will always be ambitious people out there who want to be the biggest and best.
If every grocery store in the UK was owned be a different person, there would still be processors and growers that wanted to supply all of them.

 

[kiwi pom]

Didn’t necessarily put smaller growers out of business. Smaller growers would perhaps of been individual farmers who diversified into carrots from potatoes etc, so leaving the sector wouldnt automatically equate to being put out of business, just changing what they grow or taking a rent on the land instead of doing the job themselves.

Yes bad choice of words there sorry. Perhaps being forced out of growing a particular crop because they couldn't/wouldn't compete on price would be better? Renting land to the big growers would then probably be an easier and more profitable thing to do.

 

[Breakthru]

This is the problem highlighted by White Rabbit in his campaign against AHDB.
Huge turnover but very fine if any margins. Supermarkets know your turnover margins etc and squeeze you till the pips pop out. The brave ones get out before they go under the follow on guys get bigger and more in hock financially and otherwise and eventually go bust. That is unless they are so big they can't afford to be let go. That's the game we are now in, you are either an industrial giant who can talk on equal terms or just a pawn in the game. This is the problem in UK versus Europe in that we have never been good at cooperating compared to them so have been easy to pick off one by one. It happens across other industries, bigger contracts, lend you the money to expand but must see the books. After the verbal contract of 3-5 years is up the squeeze comes in.
As per the anti RT thread hopefully the internet/social media/TFF etc might just get all the very diverse isolated businesses in agriculture to start working together. Remember the adage "divided you fall".

 

[Nitrams]

Expect they are tightening terms of business and playing the big boys off against each other, those that dont oblige are ledt go