Chris Eglington became a member in 2005, when he found himself in a grain storage deficit following an unexpected partnership split. His agronomist was aware of his predicament and suggested Camgrain as an option.

He and another local farmer met with Camgrain’s operations director, Phillip Darke. His obvious enthusiasm for his organisation, knowledge of the industry and commitment to the Camgrain model convinced Chris to become part of it.

Previously Chris had been hesitant over the cost of central storage, but given the urgency of the situation he was unable to invest in building his own storage facilities to accommodate the coming harvest in time. While there were other options available, Camgrain was the organisation with the capability to assist within the time frame he was working to.

In the first year, Camgrain took whatever needed drying, including barley and rape. Now he only sends his wheat crop of predominantly milling grade wheat. Chris has increased his involvement with Camgrain to include 50% of his total cereal production. Chris said, ‘The aspect of Camgrain that I never appreciated before using central storage is the ability to add value to every load and increase the value by making it milling grade wheat.’

While it was Philip who sold the concept to Chris, the trust in the management team at Camgrain is what has kept him with them. He explained that being involved in Camgrain makes you feel part of an extended family, and in the meetings he has with them he says that it’s noticeable just how much effort and enthusiasm all the staff make.

Historically having limited grain storage, both in terms of quantity and quality led us to seek alternative options to store our cereal crop for the 2014 harvest. After weighing up several potential solutions we opted to work alongside Camgrain.

Several years on, we have found that Camgrain adds a lot more value to our business than we first thought central storage could and would. We have certainly found that there has been a reduction in harvest stress and there has also been a reduction in risk associated with our previous inadequate storage on farm. In addition, our home situation with crops spread across 3 different farms meant potential dangerous road journeys between farms – these have been removed by working with Camgrain.

We have also benefited from improvements in the marketing potential of our crops, due to the ability of Camgrain to blend & aggregate in order to meet the demand of food producers in the organic sector. Working with Robin Appel (Camgrain’s organic marketing partner), allows me access to potentially larger markets than I can compete with at a farm level, along with very transparent pricing, helping me to budget in volatile times. Camgrain has also helped us to manage cash-flow, being able to take advances against crops in store without compromising prices.

Perhaps the most influential factor of being an advocate for Camgrain, above any financial figure, is the key relationships that we have now developed and certainly tested over the last few seasons. Predicting harvesting tonnage from day to day, with variable weather and yields, has led to some awkward and demanding requests for haulage. That said, the team running Camgrain transport along with some first class hauliers seem to take it in their stride.

Robert Smith, owner of Russell Smith Farms in Duxford on the outskirts of Cambridge, farms around 3000 acres producing a mixture of onions, potatoes and cereal crops. Robert is also a Director of Produce World, East Anglia.

‘As we farm just a few miles from Camgrain’s Cambridge & Linton sites we had used the facilities previously for conventional wheat. Since Camgrain decided to bring its experience to the Organic grain sector we have really seen some positive changes for our organic operation’ said Robert. ‘We major on Organic wheat, with Mulika being our preferred variety - we may not achieve the biggest yield but the quality is reasonable. Using Camgrain’s blending and grading expertise and the marketing expertise of Robin Appel Ltd, we can secure the best access to larger Organic markets and premium prices’ added Robert. Cereals are secondary to root vegetable production in the Russell Smith Farms operation. Not having adequate storage or drying facilities on farm meant Camgrain was the answer. ‘Camgrain’s transport service is second to none so we don’t have the worry of dealing with the movement of grain during or after harvest. We know that the crop is safe in the Camgrain store and can be delivered out at the click of a mouse without any interruption to our schedule. This allows us to concentrate all our labour towards our vegetable harvest. Camgrain really is the perfect solution for cereal crops in our operation.’

Len Brookes became a Camgrain member back in 2009. After taking on additional rented land without storage, choosing central storage made perfect economic and practical sense. Farming 3500 acres, with the help of daughter Louise, Len uses Camgrain to support his own on-farm storage facilities.

Faced with the prospect of a significant financial investment into an on farm storage facility with the capacity and facilities equivalent to those on offer at the Camgrain site, becoming a member was an easy decision for Len. The acreage he was cutting and the variations in quality and moisture across the farm output required a more sophisticated set up than was financially viable on an individual farm.

‘While the majority of grain is stored on farm, I see using Camgrain as not just buying storage but also an additional marketing arm in selling grain which helps to spread the risk.’

The level of service offered by Camgrain in terms of the logistics capabilities is unrivalled in this region. Even during the busiest periods of summer harvest, Camgrain are still able to guarantee same day collection. With the vast tonnage of wheat they handle, Camgrain are able to segregate the qualities to ensure that every load is delivered to exact specifications on exiting the site, even if it wasn’t up to standard on entering the facility.

For Len, this set up allows him to have the 24 hour flexibility to keep the combines moving throughout harvest. He is able to cut wheat before it loses its quality, as he knows Camgrain have the drying capabilities that he couldn’t match on farm, in either cost or efficiency.

Andrew Pitts became interested in central storage in 2006 at an EFFP event in Market Harborough. At the time he was renting storage space for his oilseed rape and was keen to investigate the Camgrain model to see if it was a viable option for his business.

From the outset it became clear that what Camgrain could offer would mean that storage would become an asset, rather than another cost to the business. He and 37 other like-minded farmers in Northants formed a co-operative and approached Camgrain to see if they would duplicate their Cambridge storage facility in Northamptonshire.

In the last five years Andrew has seen a significant increase in the profitability of his crops that is not just attributed to world commodity price rises. He puts this down to the new levels of efficiency he is able to achieve by working with Camgrain. He now has the ability to cut the harvest earlier, which in turn means that he is able to drill earlier, giving the next year’s crop the chance to become better established and therefore more likely to produce higher yields or quality.

The flexibility of working with Camgrain has made the business more efficient, leading to greater timeliness and profitability. Whether it is establishing rape earlier or getting an extra window to spray off more blackgrass before drilling, these are clear benefits, let alone the access to new, secure premium markets. These advantages of Camgrain membership are above and beyond the grain movement, storage and marketing service.

Specialising in seed crops, Nick had no need to come into contact with Camgrain as all the storage he required was based on his own sites in Hampshire. Rapid expansion in 2004 saw his acreage grow to three times what it had been, as his business extended beyond seed and into commercial growing. Where previously he had been cynical of central storage, assuming it was a solution to shifting crops that were below par, or in excess of what you could store yourself, he came to realise that Camgrain offered much more.

Nick joined Camgrain in 2010, after receiving assistance with a quality issue, he was so impressed with the professionalism and efficiency of the team he has continued to grow his involvement with the co-operative. Initially he saw Camgrain as an alternative to building more of his own storage, however he has come to realise the benefits of the full service offering that Camgrain provides.

In addition to the quality and value of his crop being fully realised through Camgrain’s blending methods, Nick has come to appreciate the unforeseen benefits that reliable logistics and effective marketing bring his business. He says that he had a better return on his crops than he could have anticipated.

As a producer of malting barley, Nick faced the challenge of managing food safety across six different sites within a 20 mile radius. Working with Camgrain gives him the peace of mind that it is in the best place with the best possible laboratory facilities and load testing for every delivery to the site.

As a contract farmer, in addition to farming his own land, Nick said that having enough storage is often a priority when it comes to winning contracts. He feels that, with Camgrain, storage facilities can be sorted immediately and that this can make a deal when bidding to take on more work.

Nick is looking to expand and will consider Camgrain as part of his storage portfolio as he grows his tonnage year on year.