Traditionally farmers are poor at marketing, being predominantly concerned with producing the crop to the best of their ability within the constraints of soil type, climate and utilisation of inputs. Beyond the farm gate was of little concern. This approach was encouraged by a subsidy system put in place at first in the UK after the Second World War though the Agriculture Act of 1947, and then by the European Union through the CAP after Britain joined the Common Market in 1973.

1. Digital Re-print November | December 2013
Market-aware farming: commodities
training at Writtle College
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3. FEATURE
Market-aware farming:
commodities training at Writtle College
by Henry Matthews, Seniour Lecturer in Agriculture, Writtle College, UK
T
raditionally farmers are poor at
marketing, being predominantly concerned with producing the
crop to the best of their ability within
the constraints of soil type, climate and
utilisation of inputs. Beyond the farm gate
was of little concern. This approach was
encouraged by a subsidy system put in
place at first in the UK after the Second
World War though the Agriculture Act
of 1947, and then by the European Union
through the CAP after Britain joined
the Common Market in 1973.
Systems of price support, grants and
tax relief were all put in place to increase
production and, with the emphasis on yield
and producing more, the market was guaranteed. Husbandry improved as fertiliser
use increased, varieties were improved and
fungicides and pesticides were developed to
enable crops to fulfil their potential. Farmers
were very successful and yields doubled
from their 1960 level.
However, by the early 1990s concerns
over the environmental impact of the system, the existence of grain mountains and
the increasing cost of the policy led to
a reappraisal, and the result of this was
the ‘set-aside’ policy through the McSharry
reforms of 1992. The biggest shift in policy
then came with the introduction of the Single
Farm Payment Scheme in 2003. Under this
regime agricultural support was no longer
linked to production but to the land. Farmers
received a payment for the land they farmed,
not what they produced, requiring a different
mindset and approach to their businesses.
No longer was it sufficient to produce
crops and think about where to sell them
afterwards. Farmers instead had to consider the market and adjust management and
agronomy according to the requirements of
the market.
In practice, cropping has changed little
but farmers now are now aware – and have
to be – of commodity prices and events in
30 | november - december 2013
Case study
Business view, W & H Marriage
& Sons
W & H Marriage, a flour and feed miller
founded in 1824 and situated close to
Writtle College in Chelmsford, has always
believed in sourcing cereals from local
farmers and building relationships with
them. This has ensured that over the years
both have benefited from the certainty of
knowing that what is being grown has an
ultimate market destination. The importance of meeting the right specifications
for the right market is crucial for the
success of both farmer and miller. For
example, Marriages supply a wide range
of specific flours to the leading artisan
bakers and this requires excellent and
above all reliable performance from wheat
and flour.
As with all businesses which have
a long history, the company has had
to adapt and evolve to meet changing
markets. The recent acquisition of a pet
food company has diversified the animal
feed part of the business while Marriages
has continued to offer bespoke rations for
specific species from free-range turkeys to
parakeets.
Family member James Marriage, currently responsible for managing farm livestock feed accounts, is keen to maintain
the close link between the company and
local farmers that both supply raw materials and consume feed. James says that this
will help maintain the standard of quality
assurance and good service required to
thrive within niche areas of the market. He
welcomes the introduction of this module
at Writtle College and the way it highlights
this important link.
Marriages currently employs several
former students of the College and hosts
student visits to reinforce the message of
quality for markets and to demonstrate
how the checks are carried out on grain
arriving at the mill. The company has also
supplied the College farm with animal
feed for the pig and turkey enterprises.
&feed millinG technoloGy
Grain

4. FEATURE
FEATURE
bally is handled in bulk, a significant proportion still needs to be packaged and therefore
requires packaging that is fit for purpose.
Grain and grain product spoilage factors
can be grouped into three main categories:
• Physical losses caused by spillages,
which occur due to the use of faulty or
underspecified packaging materials
• Physiological losses including moisture
absorption, heating and respiration
due to exposure to high humidity,
temperature and oxygen, as well as
physical taint and taint from odours
• Biological losses due to micro-organisms,
insects and rodents
The basic functions of any packaging for
cereal and cereal products include:
• Containment – to protect the contents
from spillage
• Protection against external
environmental conditions such as
humidity
• Protection from insect infestation and
pests
• Protection from external odour and
taint
• Ability to withstand mechanical hazards
during transportation
• Ease of handling and stacking to
optimise the use of available space
In addition, the packaging should be economical and may be required to help promote brand awareness through the addition
of graphic designs and printing processes.
Figure 1: Potential environmental impacts of underpackaging and over-packaging
Over recent decades, developments in
grain and feed packaging have gone a long
way towards fulfilling these functions. We
have seen advances in materials from sacks
made from traditional jute and natural fibres,
multiwall paper, high density woven polyethylene or polypropylene sacks, to packaging
made from advanced polymers which have
allowed down-gauging (reducing the amount
of material used) and weight reduction of
materials while maintaining equivalent package strength.
Environmental factors as drivers
for development
The main drivers for these developments have generally been cost reductions
and performance improvements of materials
and sealing systems, which have advanced
alongside the development of high-speed
filling lines. Major cost reductions have also
been achieved through the use of efficient
packaging, which has helped to reduce product spoilage and wastage during distribution
and storage.
However, in recent years an additional
and growing set of drivers have emerged
which may influence the choice of packaging.
These drivers are the environmental concerns surrounding packaging in all production
sectors. Environmental issues have now
become drivers in their own right, due to
increased regulation, greater public awareness, and an increased recognition from
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6. FEATURE
Case study
A student’s experience
Leanne Eyre BSc (Hons), Agriculture
I came to Writtle College with a basic
level of agricultural knowledge. I now
work in assurance, but I could not have
got there without the guidance, dedication and knowledge from my lecturers at
Writtle College. I studied a BSc Honours
degree in Agriculture and it covered
livestock, arable and agribusiness aspects. I
learnt what quality agriculture really is and
what goes into farming in today's world. I
now use my knowledge every single day
in my job.
I learnt that a quality crop is not only
about the physical product at the end of
the process, but is also about everything
that went into producing that product
from the beginning.
For my job I need to know about
seed, environment management, chemical
control, competency, harvesting, storage,
vermin control, machinery, traceability,
haulage and legislation. At Writtle College,
I learnt about all of these. I was taught the
whole system, beginning with preparation,
harvest and storage, to the marketing and
selling of grain.
I learnt about a variety of crops including cereals, sugar beet, fodder beet, potatoes, OSR, linseed, beans, peas and many
other crops from the UK and abroad. I
learnt about what makes a good quality crop and how to measure this. This
included learning about critical timings and
other parts of the world. Where previously a
farmer would be interested in what was happening in the next parish he now is aware of
the problems surrounding the maize harvest
in the US, wheat plantings in Australia and
the prospects for the soya crop in Argentina.
Writtle College in Essex was established
32 | november - december 2013
growth stages, cultivations and machinery
choice, soil and nutrient management;
both natural and artificial fertilisers, disease
and pest management; insecticides, fungicides and herbicides. I learnt about looking
after the environment including water, soil
and air quality. It also included learning
about integrated crop management (ICM)
and entry-level/higher-level stewardship
(ELS/HLS) schemes and good agricultural
practices.
I was taught that a quality crop can be
measured in many ways. I remember from
college learning that the quality is set by
the end market, so it’s important to meet
your specific market targets to get the
level of quality that they want – an aspect
one person regards as a measure of quality, others may not regard so highly. I spent
many hours learning about the measures
of quality for different crops, for example
milling wheat and Hagberg falling numbers and Thousand Grain Weights. Other
crops have other points that determine
quality, for example, sugar or oil contents,
digestibility levels for fodder, potential
seed quality and so much more – it’s
amazing it all sunk in!
Writtle promoted a very ‘hands-on’
approach and I remember spending time
in fields walking crops, digging soil pits and
making my own weed guide. I also went
on many trips to see real life situations
and studied different systems, learning
as I went about how important it is to
find your own niche in the market and
about the many ways to make your crops
achieve a higher quality so as to receive
a positive differential to other producers.
in 1893 to meet the training needs of local
farmers – something it has continued to
do throughout its 120-year history. The
change in policy brought about a change
in the curriculum taught to undergraduates.
A new module was introduced for those
studying crop production called ‘Quality
Assurance and Markets’, which runs alongside an ‘Introduction to Agronomy and
Cropping Systems’, with the purpose of
teaching students about the world market,
the requirements and quality issues associated with each crop.
During the year, the main crops covered
include wheat, rape, barley, oats, beans, peas,
potatoes and sugar beet as well as speciality
crops such as borage, sunflower and soya.
In the same week that students learn about
the agronomy of a crop, they are taught
and given insights into the local, European
and world markets for that crop. As part
of this, market requirements and standards
are discussed as well as how these might be
achieved by good agronomic practice such
as appropriate variety choice and targeted
use of pesticides and fertiliser. The delivery
of the module combines the traditional lecture/seminar approach with visits and external speakers. The College has good links with
the local miller, W.H Marriage and Sons, and
two graduates are among the staff employed
there. Students also visit Clarksons at Ipswich
Docks, a major importer and exporter of
agricultural commodities.
The module is taught by three Writtle
College staff, both with academic and practical agricultural backgrounds. Dr Chris Bishop
is an authority on post-harvest technology
and consults around the world on storage
and processing on a variety of agricultural
and horticultural products. The Writtle postharvest unit has a national and international
reputation for its work with both NGOs
and commercial companies in the areas of
storage, and the maintenance of crop quality
between the producer and the consumer.
Work has also been carried out on behalf of
UK supermarkets on shelf life and packaging
of fruit and vegetables.
Dr Clive Beale, also part of the post-harvest team, lectures on the quality of cereals
using his scientific background and commercial experience, while Henry Matthews,
the module leader, has practical farming
experience in the UK and Eastern Europe.
Students are partly assessed on a presentation on a crop market of their choice.
They are expected to be able to articulate
the main requirements of the market for
the crop of their choice and to be able to
suggest strategies which might enable this to
be achieved. While the popular choices are
wheat and rape, other crops such as poppies
and palm oil have been chosen.
The key to giving students the skills they
need to be attractive employees in the
agriculture industry is flexing the curriculum
according to the sector’s needs. Writtle
College has been proficient in reflecting
the changes in the agriculture industry for
decades – indeed our stand at Cereals 2013
celebrating our 120th anniversary was visited
by alumni who are now among the leaders in
the agricultural economy – and we intend to
continue this over the coming years to keep
pace with this ever-changing industry.
&feed millinG technoloGy
Grain

8. LINKS
November - December 2013
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Animal feeding
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Market-aware
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commodities training at
Writtle College
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