This is my last chance to write this piece to all you who work at Camgrain and before I stand down as a director of Camgrain at our AGM this month. I thought I would take this opportunity to write a little about my time as a director and how the business has evolved.

Here at Waltham Hall Farms (our family farming partnership), we were a little slow off the mark as we only became members in 1992 some 9 years after it got off the ground. Our farm grain storage was old, inefficient, and not fit for purpose and we were persuaded to try Camgrain as a solution by my predecessor as Chairman, Hugh Wiseman. We quickly came to a view we should be storing all our crops with Camgrain and what a good decision that proved to be as we continue, to this day, to receive a fantastic service from the business whilst maximising the value of our crops.

Back in 1992 Camgrain was handling around 35,000 tonnes of member crops through its site at Linton. In 1994, I was approached to see if I would be interested in putting myself forward as a director and was duly elected. I had very little idea what that would entail or indeed how it would affect me, but what a tremendous experience it has turned out to be!

In Camgrain’s early years, including before my time on the Board, the business set a clear strategy to grow and help achieve some economies of scale and that remained a key strategy when I joined the board. Over the next 20 odd years the business grew to its current 4 site operation handling over 700,000 tonnes of grain and with a storage capacity of nearly 500,000 tonnes. Quite some growth! This was all made possible by the support of a growing membership of farmers, its associated business partners, but above all else, the commitment of its management team and staff that offered such an effective service to its membership.

All through this time of rapid growth, Camgrain was fortunate to have had Philip leading the business and utilising his enormous energy, expertise, and dedication to drive the growth and development the Board had wished for. Philip also understood well the strategy that would deliver value to the business and was a great help in guiding the business and the Board through this period of its development. The business would not be where it is today without Philip’s drive and ambition for the business in those earlier years. Philip’s enthusiasm for the business proved infectious and he and I had many years working closely together to help the business grow and develop. Thank you, Philip.

By 2016, the business had come to a point where it wished to restructure the way it operated and to strengthen the management capability it had at its disposal. Simon joined as Group CEO whilst Philip continued in his role of overseeing all operations within Camgrain. Simon has been a great introduction to the business as Group CEO and I have really enjoyed working with him over the last 6 years. More recently, the Board agreed the position of Group FD and we now have Steve fulfilling that role. We are fortunate to have a hugely capable Executive team with a wide range of management skills which leaves the business in an excellent position to move forward and meet the aspirations of the Board and more importantly our farmer members. Whilst stepping off the Board, I am looking forward to watching how the business develops in the future under our current Executive team and Board leadership.

With this strong and capable Executive team, the business and its Board had the confidence to initiate more diverse business opportunities and in December 2018 the Board asked Simon to evaluate the possibility of processing member oats which ultimately led to the formation of the JV, Navara Oat Milling Ltd, of which Camgrain is an investor shareholder alongside Frontier Agriculture. The growth sought by successive Boards over the lifetime of the business was now paying dividends due to its scale and the management expertise it could call on within the business. Our investment in the clean wheat plant, the decision of Yelo to come alongside our Stratford site are other examples of how Camgrain has benefited from growth, development, and expertise within the business.

Camgrain today is much changed to the one we at Waltham Hall Farms joined in 1992. It has been an amazing journey for me to have been a part of this business and I now step down as a director feeling hugely proud of what we all have achieved here at Camgrain. It has required the support of its farmer members, associated businesses, advisors, management, a little government support and importantly all my fellow directors who have given up so much of their time in making sure we make the right strategic decisions, but crucially, through the commitment of all who have worked at Camgrain both past and present and for that I would like to thank you all. Keep up the good work please!

It just leaves me to say I hope you all continue to enjoy working here at Camgrain and support your fellow employees, management, Executive team and Directors, in particular our new Chairman, Carl, and Vice-Chairman, Robbie, and in helping make Camgrain a continued success. I wish you all well in your endeavours and thank you for supporting my time as a director and Chairman of Camgrain. I will miss not being at the heart of the business.

I hope to find the time to visit all the stores over the next few weeks and catch up with as many of you as possible and look forward to our upcoming AGM next week.

Oh, and finally, it’s stopped raining! Enjoy the weekend.

All the best, John