Appointment strengthens Framlingham Farmers’ grain marketing team

Framlingham Farmers, one of the UK's leading farmer-owned purchasing and marketing businesses, has appointed Bob Bingley as Assistant Trading Manager following the recent promotion of Oliver Hitchcock as Trading Manager.

Bob, who is based at Framlingham Farmers' offices in Suffolk, was brought up in East Yorkshire and after leaving school during 1990 joined Munton & Fison at Bridlington in the grain procurement department. In 1995, Bob relocated to the company's headquarters at Stowmarket in Suffolk, working in the grain trading, procurement and logistics departments before being promoted to Purchasing Manager five years later, a role in which he was responsible for purchasing 85,000 tonnes of malting barley per year from local farmers and trade suppliers, including Framlingham Farmers.

Having left Muntons in 2002 to take up a position outside of agriculture, Bob quickly found that he missed the industry and subsequently joined Allied Grain at Diss as Farm Area Manager. Believing that the subsequent formation of Frontier Agriculture was not right, either for himself or farmers, Bob joined a pet food manufacturer as Production Planning and Logistics Manager, but again found that his heart remained in agriculture.

Having rejoined an industry that he loves, Bob says that he will gain great pleasure from working in the best interests of Framlingham Farmers' Members and obtaining the best possible prices for the range of combinable crops which the business markets on their behalf.

Bob, 35, is married to Lucy, the eldest daughter of a Suffolk farming family, and the couple have a six-month-old daughter, Josephine. When not fulfilling his parental responsibilities, he is actively involved in Stowmarket Young Farmers, enjoys playing golf, engaging in seasonal field sports and photography.

Framlingham Farmers purchases agricultural inputs worth approximately £55 million annually on behalf of 700 Members, who farm more than 300,000 acres and keep 25,000 cows in East Anglia, the South East, North West and South West of England. The company's team of specialist buyers, based at its head office in Framlingham, Suffolk, deal with almost 1,000 suppliers, provide Members with independent 'best buy' advice and advise on timing purchases of products to achieve the best possible terms. A one-stop-shop extension to the farm office, Framlingham Farmers considerably reduces Members' administration, providing significant time savings and allowing them to get on with the business of managing their farms.