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Introduction from Stuart Goodinson, Orion General Manager
I am pleased to introduce myself as the new General Manager of Orion Farming Group. I have admired and respected OFG throughout my career, and I am thrilled to be a part of this team! I enjoyed meeting many of you at John Norton's farewell party and look forward to connecting with more of you in the coming months.
My goal is to continue the culture and legacy that John established during his 21 years, while also bringing in new ideas with the board’s support. Together, we will keep Orion Farming Group modern and responsive to the changing needs of our members and the latest advancements in products and services.
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Joining Orion, I’ve been impressed by the strong sense of community we share. Our team, including Shelley, Phil, Joe, Rachel, and Alison, are deeply dedicated, always striving to secure the best prices and deliver top-notch service to make your farming easier and more cost-effective.
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This autumn has presented various challenges for farming. While many are beyond our control, we are here to help wherever possible. The weather has improved drilling conditions, providing much-needed relief. However, looking at planting and processing figures, spring seed availability could be tight again, so if you’re interested in spring cereal varieties, I recommend placing orders soon.
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Looking at the fertiliser market, the situation in the Middle East remains uncertain. An escalation in conflict could lead to price increases across nitrogen products, so it could be prudent to secure your fertiliser needs ahead of time.
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Thank you for your continued support of Orion Farming Group, and I wish you and your families a Happy Christmas!
Cefetra Market Summary for Orion Members - Late November 2024
After another wet and stressful late Summer/early Autumn, it was a relief to see drills moving again over the past month.  Having said that, there are certainly some areas that won’t dry now until the Spring after the huge volumes of rainfall we have had in some regions.  We are hopeful that a significant proportion of the planned winter cropping area has now gone in across the country, but some areas may see yield penalties, depending on how the rest of the growing season pans out.
Grain values have been under pressure once again.  For the past 6 weeks the market has been struggling to find bullish narratives.  The deficit of grain we were expecting from a smaller harvest this year is being – or has been - resolved by corn and wheat imports, and there is now a risk of a large carry out of stocks in the UK from this season. Unfortunately, cheaper alternatives from other origins have particularly impacted the milling wheat market in a big way, with most mills now using significant volumes of imported material, mainly German. The big question is, with UK Group 1 premiums falling by almost £30 and becoming cheaper than imported wheat, will the UK millers switch back to UK grain or remain on imported when they next come to the market to buy big volumes of material?
OSR has been the saving grace this year for those that have it, with values up to £450 ex farm pre-Christmas trading in some areas earlier in the week.  We have seen some weakness since then (probably due to trade profit-taking), but with crush margins attractive and the EU needing to import possibly as much as 10 million tonnes of OSR this season, demand should remain high.
At time of writing, wheat markets are up slightly for the 5th day in a row, having bounced off the new lows made in the middle of November. Â Wheat is beginning to look more attractive in some areas now vs Corn, with the move lower. Â Barley has potentially found a floor after also falling lower and gaining competitiveness into Ireland, with some demand now coming forward. Â This is positive news, as we have a huge exportable surplus of barley.
I would suggest keeping close to this market, any £10+ spike needs to be viewed as a selling opportunity, in my opinion.  It’s also worth remembering that UK wheat and barley is typically the most expensive in Europe, hence we have had so many imports arriving at our ports.
To find out more, please contact the team at Cefetra Grain: Josef Grinczer, Farm Grain Buyer, 07712 325197, grinczer@cefetra.co.uk
Training Courses offered by NIAB for early 2025
Click on the image below to find out more about NIAB training and to book, or email: niabtraining@niab.com
Orion Suppliers Latest Promotions posted in November
APM Agriplant have promotions focussing on Pest Control, winter supplies for Vehicle Maintenance and Security Products with the nights drawing in.
Agvanced UK are promoting stocks of Franklin Electric Pumps & Motors - 60% off list price for Orion Members. Agvanced UK have recently renamed their company, formerly known as 3 Core.
TVE Hire & Sales constantly add to their New & Used machine sales and hire including Bobcat Agricultural Telehandlers with 3 years 0% finance.
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.
Members, you can see the details of all supplier promotions, and search the Orion online supplier catalogue via the Orion App. Here is a short video on how to find supplier promotions:
First successful deal directly between Orion Members on the secure Orion App
Since the creation of the capability for Orion Members to advertise to each other via the App last month, the first successful connection has been made. A farm near Witney found a Member to take 100T poultry manure regularly from their farm. The agreement was made between the two members within 5 hours of the advert being posted.
The capability covers items for sale, for hire or contract or wanted. As part of the Orion App, the facility is for Orion Members only and is monitored by Orion Farming Group to ensure regulatory compliance. There is no fee for this service with the aim being for Orion to act as a trusted and secure intermediary between Members looking to sell / hire items or contract services from other Members. Please get in touch with Adam Donaldson on 07907 581094 if you would like to find out more. You can find out a bit more about it in the short video below.
Orion Office and Fuel Suppliers Xmas opening hours
The Orion Office will be closed during the Christmas & New Year break, please see below details of Suppliers opening times should you have a need to contact them
Compound feed
Just a quick reminder that GLW can offer compound feed delivered in tote bags, as well as 25kg bags. This is being done primarily to improve sustainability and also to reduce the need to supply pallets with the bags. In addition, there’s a £15/T discount to the 25kg bag price. There won’t always be an exact tonne in a tote, as it’s a catch weight when the bag comes off the scales. If you can accommodate tote bags and you’d like to take advantage of the additional discount, please stipulate this when placing your orders.
Q1 2025 Group mineral tender
An invitation has been sent to suppliers asking them to tender for the Group minerals for Q1 2025. A decision will be made by the 20th December and members will be informed as to which supplier has been successful, at that time.
Mole Valley Farmers
Mole Valley Farmers (Mole Country Stores) have recently installed a new computer system into all their stores and one of the features they’ve included is an automatic Group discount pricing facility. Discounts range from 5% to 25%, depending on the product and are only applicable to agricultural products and exclude clothing, footwear, household products and miscellaneous items. For prices on quantity purchases, such as fencing materials and metalwork, please contact the Orion office, where preferential prices will be asked for.
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And Finally…
Totally irrelevant but quite interesting facts of the month… In 2009, a man dressed as Santa Claus robbed a bank in Tennessee: he claimed he needed money to ‘pays his elves’, for Christmas 1936, Salvador Dali sent Harpo Marx a harp with barbed-wire strings. Harpo sent back a photograph of himself with bandaged fingers, 9 out of 10 artificial Christmas trees are made in China and the first commercial Christmas card featured a drawing of a toddler drinking a glass of wine.
For more details on any matter raised in the Feed & Livestock section, please contact Joe in the office: Joe Cobb, Feed & Livestock Manager, Â 01865 393 139
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