County & Orion serving the needs of the farming community
As a leading insurance provider for Orion, County Insurance Services Ltd, based in Kidlington, Oxford, is extremely proud to celebrate 40 years in business in 2024. The partnership between Orion & County began in the mid 1990’s under Bob Cantlay’s chairmanship. Together each organisation continues to support farmers throughout Oxfordshire, surrounding counties and beyond.
The Oxfordshire Farming Group had already formed at this stage (being an amalgamation of Evenlode, Sinodun and Thames Cash Farmers) with it’s own roots stretching back to 1960.
In April 2001, Oxfordshire Farming Group and Chesham Farmers merged to form Orion Farming Group, with Andrew Green as the Chairman and Madeline Hale as Office Manager.
County was founded in 1984 by Malcolm Sydenham, with his son Tim Sydenham (now MD), joining the firm in 1994. They have taken the company from strength to strength, employing over 30 insurance experts and insuring over 5,000 policyholders. Their specialisms include farming, rural business and non-standard construction homes. The Farm & Equine department, presently looks after over 1,200 farmers with a wide variety of farming types and diversifications.
To celebrate 40 years in business County are offering clients the chance to win an array of prizes including a tasting lunch for two at Le Manoir, a guided city & college tour of Oxford and more.
On the relationship, Tim said: “We first began talking to Madeline Hale when it was known as the Oxfordshire Farming Group and we’ve worked closely since with Madeline, Lucinda, John and latterly Adam, to make our proposition work for members. By giving access to market leading insurance coverage we try and give members the best advice to protect their businesses and families.
He added: “We often welcome the chance to work with Orion at their events and we love to be able to share our insight on a wealth of topics, from inflationary protection to cyber insurance, claims learnings and more. Our thanks go to all the chairs of the group, as named above and also including Neil Walker, John Tingey, Guy Hildred, Andrew Farrant and Nick Philp, for their continued work in supporting this vital community group.
County insure a good number of Orion members and throughout our association have insured many chairmen and Directors. Members of Orion can access a range of benefits with insuring with County, including a bespoke 10% discount off Directors & Officers insurance arranged via HB Underwriting, enhanced covers on farm business insurance policies and much more.
The team at County have a wealth of insurance knowledge and expertise. All members of the farm department have backgrounds in farming, equine or rural pursuits and include farmers, previous national farmers union group secretaries and competitive show jumpers.
To learn more about County and how we can help you, click here.
Orion Suppliers Latest Promotions posted in March
Lighting Electrical Distribution Ltd. have an exceptional High Bay lighting offer specifically for Orion Members.
Webbs are offering an additional 20% discount to Orion Members.
Farm XS are offering 10% discount to New Members joining their Farm Plastic Recycling Scheme.
If you haven't yet got the Orion App and want to find the latest supplier promotions together with a lot of other features, please click on the button and fill out the contact details at the bottom of this page or contact Adam Donaldson on 07907 581094 or adam@ofg.org.uk
Suppliers, if you would like to ensure all your details are up to date, and add in any promotional material for Orion Members, then please get in touch with Adam or fill in the contact details at the bottom of this page.
Orion welcomes a New Farm Member
Orion welcomes Olly Costar to the Group. Olly farms near Witney in Oxfordshire, just a few miles from the Orion office.
Cefetra Market Report: Late March2024
Since last month’s write up, wheat and barley markets tested previous lows once more. After failing to break lower, values bounced back up to around £5.00 higher than they were at the end of February at the time of writing (22st March). Oilseed rape markets have seen a reasonable rally in recent days also, with old crop reaching £370+ ex farm in some areas and £380+ for Nov. We see funds covering short positions and taking profits as the market takes a breather after a very negative start to the year. That being said, there is no big change to the bearish narrative at present, with a big over supply on the old crop remaining an issue. China cancelled/postponed wheat vessels from the US and Australia in recent weeks, not helping the current bearish sentiment.
European S+D’s are beginning to look more “balanced” than “heavy” on the barley front, as persistent rains slow spring drilling progress across large areas of the continent. France is around 45-50% drilled vs 85-90% this time last year and Germany is facing similar issues. Interestingly, France is currently more or less following the 2019/20 drilling pace (the slowest in the past 5 years). It’s possible that only 5-10% of spring crops have gone in here in the UK – but no official figures have been published. With rains expected across the next couple of weeks, it’s hard to imagine these figures will improve quickly. Unfortunately, this does not necessarily mean that the new crop prices will rally if these weather issues continue. Stocks look balanced, not tight, and there is plenty of wheat and corn expected for Harvest 24, we could however see barley premiums narrow back down vs wheat, if these issues continue.
The outlook for new crop global stocks remains heavy, with around 4MT surplus of wheat and barley combined according to current estimates. Hence, there is no real change to the bearish narrative at present as discussed earlier.
On 22nd March, Brussels officially proposed sanctions on Russian and Belarus grains and oilseeds coming into the EU. The proposition still needs to be validated by member states through a qualified majority vote, the result of which may already be known by the time this report is read. The suggested tariffs are: €95 import tax on Russian and Belarus grains, along with 50% tax on Russian oilseeds and oilseed products. The aim of the suggested tariffs is to try and prevent weaker European commodity prices whilst reducing Russian income revenue from EU exports. There is still some ambiguity around the whole situation at present, and this could just be an aggressive threat towards the Kremlin. Certainly a story to keep an eye on, with the EU taking around a third of Russian Sunflower exports. This could have been a story that spooked funds into covering some positions/taking some profits earlier in the week.
Current levels seem to be bringing forward some reasonable old crop parcels, with growers pleased to be back £10/15 off the bottom of the market. New crop remains a little quieter with some uncertainty as to what might be harvested this summer given the current weather. Those that usually take some cover on new crop sales in advance have already done so and are waiting to see how crops look in a couple of months, once we get some better weather and crops pull away, before doing any more.
Please do get in touch if you would like any prices on old OR new crop, along with any fertiliser top ups on both liquid and solid as we begin the usage period.
To find out more, please contact the team at Cefetra Grain: Simon Wilcox, Manager – UK Farm Grain Origination, 07774 822507, wilcox@cefetra.co.uk; Josef Grinczer, Farm Grain Buyer, 07712 325197, grinczer@cefetra.co.uk ; Ian Jervis, Farm Grain Buyer, 07497 185361, jervis@cefetra.co.uk
Game Feed
This year’s game feed tender has once again been awarded to Keepers Choice ( Duffields). Orders can be placed through the office, with their representative Richard Leach 07831 545035, or if you prefer with their customer service department. For members who live south of the M4 please use 01227 723838, for members north of the M4 please use 01508 470661. When placing orders please state your membership number, contact details, the name of your veterinary practice, farm access (artic or rigid) and unloading facilities. Please allow 5-7 working days for delivery.
Compound Feed Update
GLW, the current Group compound feed supplier have recently started supplying compound feed in 1T tote bags, which attracts a £15/T discount over bagged prices. If you think that taking your compound feed in tote bags is something that would fit into your feeding system and you’d like to take advantage of the £15/T discount, please stipulate this when placing your order.
Forage & Harvest Products
Group prices for this season’s forage and harvest products have been received and are being held at the office. Before placing your order for your requirements, it might be worth giving the office a call to make sure you’re ordering with the most competitive supplier. Your regular supplier of these products, may not always be the cheapest. Alternatively, you can phone or email your order to the office thus guaranteeing it will be placed with the most competitive supplier. Also, please remember that your order may take up to 7 working days to be delivered.
Summer molasses
Invitations have been sent to suppliers asking them to tender for the Group’s summer molasses business, which starts on the 1st May. Currently, it’s unclear if prices will increase or by how much, but due to higher crude oil prices and the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea, there is a strong possibility that prices will go up, as has been the case with other imported products. To that end and if you’re in a position to do so, it may be prudent to fill your tank prior to the end of the month, even if you won’t in all likelihood use it until the autumn.
And Finally…
Totally irrelevant but quite interesting facts of the month… ‘Kerosene lamp bilong Jesus gone bugger-up’ is the expression used by the Koorie people of New Soth Wales to describe solar eclipses and in 2006, volunteers removing litter from Ben Nevis found a piano near the summit.
For more details on any matter raised in the Feed & Livestock section, please contact Joe in the office: Joe Cobb, Feed & Livestock Manager, 01865 393 139
Vale Training Services
Course Availability for February and March 2024. Click HERE to book through our website or contact us at Vale Training Services Ltd., Marsh Hill Farm, Marsh, Aylesbury, HP17 8ST.
Tel: 01296 612201. Email: info@valetraining.co.uk
