Saturn Agriculture increases its influence‏
Saturn Agriculture, which acts as a central facilitator for the collectivenegotiation of products, services and information on behalf of a number ofindependent, farmer-owned purchasing businesses in the UK agriculturalsector, has been joined by Woldmarsh Producers Limited.
Saturn Agriculture was formed in January 2000 by four East Anglia-basedfarming groups, Cambridge Farmers and West Essex Farmers (which combined in2004 to become Atlas Agriculture) together with Dengie Crops and FramlinghamFarmers.Their aim was to gain greater critical mass, thereby increasing theirnegotiating strength, avoiding duplication of resources, effort and costwhen negotiating contracts. It also made it more efficient for suppliers todeal with them, at the same time as allowing each member company to retainits sovereignty. Saturn now produces cumulative benefits which could not beachieved by any individual member company on its own.
Robert Rous, Chairman of Saturn Agriculture, commented: "We are delightedthat Woldmarsh Producers Limited has chosen to become a part of SaturnAgriculture.In a market which is characterised by continuing change and consolidationthe additional volume of business will be a major factor in securing furtherbenefits for all of the farmers on whose behalf we negotiate. SaturnAgriculture, which now represents more than 1800 farmers with 1,250,000-plusacres throughout the UK, negotiates the purchase of more than 250,000 tonnesof fertiliser annually, together with approximately £40 million ofagrochemicals, which represents 10% of the UK market for this productsector. Saturn's increasing scale of operation makes it even more attractivefor large suppliers to do business with us, which is reflected in improvedterms and benefits for members."
Established more than 40 years ago by a group of farmers at Louth inLincolnshire, Woldmarsh Producers Limited remains privately owned by itsmembers, whose numbers have grown significantly ever since. Now one of theUK's leading farmer-owned purchasing groups, the business has an annualturnover of more than £65 million and over 750 members with 600,000-plusacres in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.
Steve Jagger, Chief Executive of Woldmarsh Producers Limited, said: "Saturnenables us to enjoy the benefits of scale without the usual costs,inefficiencies and loss of local identity often found in largeorganisations.Each farmer-owned group continues to service the needs of its own members,with Saturn acting as a centralised platform to allow a level of marketinvolvement that would be either too time-consuming or cost prohibitive forindividual groups acting in isolation."
Paul Burtwistle, Chairman of Woldmarsh Producers Limited, added: "Theagricultural supply industry has contracted significantly during recentyears and continues to move into the hands of fewer and fewer manufacturersand suppliers. Customers such as Woldmarsh Producers therefore need tofollow suit in order to maintain their position in the market and continueto be able to negotiate the best possible deals on behalf of their members.Becoming part of Saturn Agriculture will enable Woldmarsh Producers toachieve even greater negotiating strength, without giving up itsindependence.
"The nature of today's farming industry makes it ever more important forfarmers, whatever their scale of operation, to take advantage of theprofessional, independent purchasing advice and very competitive pricesavailable to members of large buying groups. I would therefore encourage allfarmers who plan to remain in agriculture to give serious consideration tojoining one."
