Inputs purchasing critical to dairy farmers' profitability, warns AtlasFram Group

Purchasing inputs at the most opportune time holds the key to farming profitability in the current financial environment, according the AtlasFram Group. The UK’s largest farmer-owned purchasing and crop marketing business, AtlasFram will be exhibiting (Hall 3, Stand 320) at the 2009 Dairy Event and Livestock Show at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire on 16th and 17th September.

"Extreme volatility in the commodity, raw materials and utility sectors over the last 18 months has made inputs purchasing critical to the success of any farming enterprise. Consequently, dairy herd owners and managers must adopt a new outlook in terms of how they view the market and time major input purchases,"

states Roland Wunderle, a dairying expert who manages the Dairy Group. Formed in

1999 to purchase inputs for a small number of AtlasFram Group Members with 4000 cows, it now represents 130 Members with over 25,000 cows in herds which range from 80-head owner-milkers to the 2000-plus on the Grosvenor Estate in Cheshire.

Mr Wunderle adds:

"The prices of all major farming inputs, from feed and fertilizers to fuel and electricity now change so significantly and on such a regular basis that deciding exactly when to buy them is increasingly difficult. Most individual dairy farmers lack the time, up-to-the-minute information and market knowledge, but all of these issues are addressed if they belong to an impartial, professionally-managed purchasing group."

With Members throughout the UK, the AtlasFram Dairy Group has the strength to negotiate very favorable terms with suppliers that even the largest individual farms would find very difficult to match. It purchases everything that farmers require, with significant benefits to Members. In addition to feed, where long- term, strategic partnerships with the most appropriate suppliers in each key geographical area best meet Members’ requirements, the Group also offers a host of other products. Dairy chemicals, for example, can be delivered from the manufacturer or distributor direct to the farm and by taking a link out of the chain the cost saving can be passed on in full.

The AtlasFram Group’s success in obtaining the best deals is increasingly being noticed by individual farmers and groups who are joining to secure the benefits of membership. The Crewe Dairy Discussion Group in Cheshire, for example, which represents more than 2500 cows, recently looked at setting up their own group but realised that purchasing is a highly-specialised area which demands full- time attention and would have detracted time and attention away from their core businesses. To access market expertise and purchasing strength they subsequently joined the AtlasFram Group, which also purchases more than £1.8 million worth of animal health products annually and believes that the potential is there to double that figure. With the average veterinary bill now £60 - £70 per cow, it claims to save Members approximately 10 per cent on their animal health costs, just as it has achieved through its Pig Group.

The AtlasFram Group has an annual turnover of almost £150 million, purchases every type of farm input for 1050 Members, deals directly with more than 1400 manufacturers, importers and local suppliers and markets 180,000 tonnes of Members’ grain, oilseeds and pulses annually through its own in-house Crop Marketing Department.