J and E Graham

Thirty years ago, we were an expanding arable farm, managing land on a variety of tenancies. Our various landlords had no interest in investing in grain storage facilities, and our own modest store built in the 1960s was a quarter of the capacity required. So, the choice was between investment on our own farm and investment in Camgrain. Our view at the time was that we intended to remain in cereal production, and Camgrain membership would give us access to world leading storage technology which we would never come close to on farm. The payment structure suited our business model; it was tax efficient and not too onerous on our cash flow. Is cash king? It would be if we had any........

Farmers are notorious for being jacks of all trades, and I will readily confess that the management of stored grain has never been one of my strengths. I understood what I had to do, I knew how to do it, but somehow never quite found the time to do it as well as I should have. The advent of Crop Assurance Schemes was not a bad thing for the industry, but it was a catalyst for my realisation that crop storage was not our strong point. At this point, some fifteen years ago, we decided to commit all our grain to the central store.

During the thirty years of our Camgrain membership the organisation has grown exponentially. On occasions there has been criticism, and perhaps some has been with good reason. But fundamentally, it is a state-of-the-art grain facility of which we are proud to be part of. If I am honest with myself, I do not for one moment think that I can market our grain better or deal with the practical demands of the modern grain market (ergot, Hagberg falling number, protein levels) any better. Our membership equips us for the future, should we continue with cereal production. That, however, is a wider question which is beyond the scope of our membership.

The decaying 1960s grain store is now used to host weddings and events with a reasonable degree of success; we hosted eighty events since the lifting of Covid restrictions last May. Our arable operation has experienced three lean years, but our membership of Camgrain has enabled the diversification which has kept us in business.

Camgrain has become a sector leading organisation, and I hope that it maintains that position. It is inevitable that once one reaches the top of the pile, there is always someone wishing to bring you down. It is the nature of humanity, regrettably. But it is my hope that by retaining the interests of the membership at the centre of decision making, but continuing to adapt to a changing food sector, Camgrain can remain an industry leader for decades to come.