Fengrain Storage (275t) available to buy at a discounted price

[ajd132]

Only because certain topics seem to polarise opinion on here.
There are pros and cons for everything; and everybody's circumstances, situation and priorities are different.

Exactly. As I said further up. That’s no reason to spread misinformation and slander though.

 

[robs1]

Fact is, if you are a tenant farmer or a Contract farmer looking for extra storage either in the long term or short then CS fits the bill quite well.There is clarity and a clear operational cost and no one has to fund a building that is potentially a liability if the tenancy were to end.
Many of the CS members run a yard full of tenants rather than fill old buildings with a cheap commodity like grain.

Agree, my sheds that I could store my grain in earn more a year than the cost of buying and annual charge in cs

Because several on here suggest that we are stupid not to.
All this 'well those using CS rent out their unused grainstores and make £4 sq ft' and 'they increase the value of our milling wheat' and 'I can go combining at 32% and they dry it for free'....... as if those of us who don't use CS haven't thought about renting sheds, have problems with our milling wheat or want to go combining at silly moistures when the sun dries it for nothing.
Those that use CS, DD and trailed sprayers should get off their holier than thou pedestal. Although I do appreciate that, like the OH, they are always right.

Doesn't the title of this thread sum up the problem I see with it. "Storage available at discounted price", i.e. he can't sell it, or he wants to do someone a massive favour.

I have never seen anyone say people are stupid not using cs, its usually them saying why they use and their own reasons for doing do,, imvho it's the non CD users that seem to be the ones calling others stupid, there is one person on this forum who is always right and is very dismissive of others views, re anything especially dd, fendts and now trailed sprayers perhaps that's why he started it so he could help us all to a better life. Personally I dont care what people do but am always happy to put my side of the issue as to why I do something in my circumstances

 

[Mixedupfarmer]

Doesn't the title of this thread sum up the problem I see with it. "Storage available at discounted price", i.e. he can't sell it, or he wants to do someone a massive favour.
[/QUOTE]
As an FBT tenant farmer with inadequate grain storage and a landlord generally unwilling to invest in or improve buildings, storage in Fengrain would in theory be ideal. However, I have always been concerned about selling space when tenancies finish, and as far as I understand the annual charges are now payable for storage if not used, with farms who have down sized, lost tenancies, or retired now paying for space they cannot use or sell, making space a liability not an asset.

 

[snarling bee]

Exactly. As I said further up. That’s no reason to spread misinformation and slander though.

If there was any 'misinformation' from me, then it was tongue in cheek. The Congrain started as a typo on my part in this thread, for which I apologise. However when we looked at Camgrain vs Building our own, that was my opinion and my late fathers opinion. It is my opinion that is all.
IF CS would guarantee to pay your original cost of buying the tonnage to sell it back, then we would have considered it.
In the end we decided to build our own funded by letting out the old shed. From time to time we even let out the new shed between crops. Of course it could all fall flat on its face if tenants leave and we are unable to replace them, but that's business risk I guess.

 

[Mixedupfarmer]

IF CS would guarantee to pay your original cost of buying the tonnage to sell it back, then we would have considered it.


I guess if Fengrain would guarantee to buy back the storage at a set rate, even say 50% of cost if you were unable to sell to another farmer, it would allow a known minimum value and an exit strategy to avoid annual fees on storage no longer required. May be a problem if a lot of land gets put in environmental schemes in the future though.

 

[ajd132]

If there was any 'misinformation' from me, then it was tongue in cheek. The Congrain started as a typo on my part in this thread, for which I apologise. However when we looked at Camgrain vs Building our own, that was my opinion and my late fathers opinion. It is my opinion that is all.
IF CS would guarantee to pay your original cost of buying the tonnage to sell it back, then we would have considered it.
In the end we decided to build our own funded by letting out the old shed. From time to time we even let out the new shed between crops. Of course it could all fall flat on its face if tenants leave and we are unable to replace them, but that's business risk I guess.

That’s fair. As I said there is pluses and minuses for both of you drill into it financially. Each to their own.

 

[An Gof]

Doesn't the title of this thread sum up the problem I see with it. "Storage available at discounted price", i.e. he can't sell it, or he wants to do someone a massive favour.

As an FBT tenant farmer with inadequate grain storage and a landlord generally unwilling to invest in or improve buildings, storage in Fengrain would in theory be ideal. However, I have always been concerned about selling space when tenancies finish, and as far as I understand the annual charges are now payable for storage if not used, with farms who have down sized, lost tenancies, or retired now paying for space they cannot use or sell, making space a liability not an asset.
[/QUOTE]

This is the reality of CS in a nutshell. It is most definitely a liability .... as I know to my cost ?

 

[Mixedupfarmer]

As an FBT tenant farmer with inadequate grain storage and a landlord generally unwilling to invest in or improve buildings, storage in Fengrain would in theory be ideal. However, I have always been concerned about selling space when tenancies finish, and as far as I understand the annual charges are now payable for storage if not used, with farms who have down sized, lost tenancies, or retired now paying for space they cannot use or sell, making space a liability not an asset.

This is the reality of CS in a nutshell. It is most definitely a liability .... as I know to my cost ?
[/QUOTE]
I can see in future if more land is put in environmental schemes, there will be a lot of storage not filled, and owners potentially having to pay another farmer to take their storage and liability of annual charges. I guess owners could buy in grain at harvest and store in their CS storage hoping to make a margin over annual charges?

 

[ajd132]

As an FBT tenant farmer with inadequate grain storage and a landlord generally unwilling to invest in or improve buildings, storage in Fengrain would in theory be ideal. However, I have always been concerned about selling space when tenancies finish, and as far as I understand the annual charges are now payable for storage if not used, with farms who have down sized, lost tenancies, or retired now paying for space they cannot use or sell, making space a liability not an asset.

This is the reality of CS in a nutshell. It is most definitely a liability .... as I know to my cost ?
[/QUOTE]
Shame you invested in a poorly ran mismanaged store. I’m not worried about mine whatsoever.

 

[An Gof]

This is the reality of CS in a nutshell. It is most definitely a liability .... as I know to my cost ?

Shame you invested in a poorly ran mismanaged store. I’m not worried about mine whatsoever.
[/QUOTE]

If only I was as clever, then all my ducks would be Swans ?

 

[snarling bee]

This is the reality of CS in a nutshell. It is most definitely a liability .... as I know to my cost ?

Shame you invested in a poorly ran mismanaged store. I’m not worried about mine whatsoever.
[/QUOTE]
Wouldn't most people invest in the CS closest to them?
It only takes a poor decision/manager to change things for the better or worse, or even unfortunate circumstances.

 

[snarling bee]

Is the reply/quote system working as it should??

 

[Lincsman]

Could someone clarify; you pay say £150/tonne to "buy" your space and also a constant fee for someone to look after this space, is that the same cost as if you use the space or not?

 

[ajd132]

Could someone clarify; you pay say £150/tonne to "buy" your space and also a constant fee for someone to look after this space, is that the same cost as if you use the space or not?

It’s £110. How is this any different to building storage at home and then the cost of running it, repair and maintinence?

 

[Lincsman]

It’s £110. How is this any different to building storage at home and then the cost of running it, repair and maintinence?

Tell me how much it is to not use it (if its different to using it) and I will tell you.

 

[moretimeforgolf]

Tell me how much it is to not use it (if its different to using it) and I will tell you.

I’m a member of Weald Granary . Some years I use it , others I don’t . If I don’t use my tonnage then I get paid a rental fee ... it comes from what is charged to those who exceed their tonnage . I can also have a private arrangement with another member to lease my space - I earn more , they save a bit .
I prefer to use my own storage mainly because it’s less stressful not constantly chasing for lorries to collect whilst trying to keep the combine going !

 

[Brisel]

Could someone clarify; you pay say £150/tonne to "buy" your space and also a constant fee for someone to look after this space, is that the same cost as if you use the space or not?

Buy in cost varies with the store, but I haven't seen CS space at that price level.

In answer to your question, if space is owned or leased but not used then yes, the operating charge is still liable and payable. For Wilts Grain this has been, in the past, used by other members or Openfield so covered by the users. This will vary with supply/demand and store management.

In a good harvest, members over deliver on their allocation. In a poor harvest, they have spare space. The store management has to do its best to keep usage rates up to spread cost and try to please the store owners i.e, the members. There is no one looking to rip anyone off. Why would they? That would be sh*tting in your own nest.

Where co-operatives do need to be careful is where they have ambitions beyond serving their members. It has been a repeated situation over the years in farmer owned businesses where they want to grow and secure proven competent staff who can move them up the pecking order to compete with the bigger players. For those of you in the south west, see what has happened with Dairy Farmers of Britain, Mole Valley Farmers, SCATS, Group Cereals and Wessex Grain. Wessex put themselves up for sale to a multinational. DFoB went bust. MVF went awol but seem to be expanding. Scats and Group Cereals are now Openfield who have had their own problems.

 

[Steevo]

Buy in cost varies with the store, but I haven't seen CS space at that price level.

In answer to your question, if space is owned or leased but not used then yes, the operating charge is still liable and payable. For Wilts Grain this has been, in the past, used by other members or Openfield so covered by the users. This will vary with supply/demand and store management.

In a good harvest, members over deliver on their allocation. In a poor harvest, they have spare space. The store management has to do its best to keep usage rates up to spread cost and try to please the store owners i.e, the members. There is no one looking to rip anyone off. Why would they? That would be sh*tting in your own nest.

Where co-operatives do need to be careful is where they have ambitions beyond serving their members. It has been a repeated situation over the years in farmer owned businesses where they want to grow and secure proven competent staff who can move them up the pecking order to compete with the bigger players. For those of you in the south west, see what has happened with Dairy Farmers of Britain, Mole Valley Farmers, SCATS, Group Cereals and Wessex Grain. Wessex put themselves up for sale to a multinational. DFoB went bust. MVF went awol but seem to be expanding. Scats and Group Cereals are now Openfield who have had their own problems.

Maybe this is the reason co-ops don’t work in UK compared to abroad....is this corporate ambition a trait missing from those abroad which eventually causes the downfall of such UK entities?

 

[ajd132]

Maybe this is the reason co-ops don’t work in UK compared to abroad....is this corporate ambition a trait missing from those abroad which eventually causes the downfall of such UK entities?

Or bad management?
The ones abroad, for example danish pig and milk co-ops are so successful because they own the processing and are ambitious.

 

[ollie989898]

Interesting thread.

I guess the borrow money and build your own and pay for it over X years applies for anything but the idea of central storage and known costs with minimal work would appeal to many who don't have the possibility of building anything.

EDIT: As it's a co-op, do the farmer owners not get an annual dividend of the profits arising? This would mean the original payment is being returned so you are in effect just paying for a posh grains store, staff and marketing service?