Organic Grain Link

Summary in the original language of the document

What is the Organic Grain Link Project?
• The Organic Grain Link project is designed to help organic arable farmers
produce and market their crops effectively and profitably.
• The lead project partner is Norton Organic Grain Ltd who are supported by Saxon Agriculture Ltd and Lincolnshire Organic Producers.
• The project is supported for 3 years under the England Rural Development
Programme by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA) and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund.
Why is the Organic Grain Link project necessary?
• The domestic production and consumption of organic grain has increased dramatically over a 10 year period in response to consumer demand for organic foods.
• Grain consumers and processors need consistent supplies of good quality raw material to support cost effective production on a year-round basis.
• It is vital that organic grain producers have a clear understanding of the markets that are available for their crops.
• Organic grain producers should be aware of the quality standards their crops need to achieve to be acceptable for each specific market.
• If organic farmers produce crops that are not in good demand, or fail to meet required quality standards, financial returns will suffer and difficulty may be experienced in finding market outets.
• Effective marketing is vital to any business – this is no less true for organic grain producers than any other producer.
• It is no longer good enough to assume that all organic produce is in demand – failure to meet market requirements may have a significant impact on business profitability
How will the Organic Grain Link project help organic arable farmers?
• The project will provide crop marketing support to organic grain producers, through telephone support, newsletters, meetings and seminars
• Information will be provided by people who are experts in organic grain markets and have many years of first hand experience of all aspects of crop marketing
• The project is dedicated to supporting the organic sector, not a small addition to a non-organic business
• Information will be based on direct first hand involvement with the key grain consumers in the organic sector
• Market awareness and support provides farmers a significant opportunity to optimise returns from their cropping and improve ease of marketing
• Assistance in developing applications for grant funding from the DEFRA England Rural Development Programme (ERDP)
- Grants are available for:-
- Marketing initiatives
- Storage and processing
- New product development and branding
- Training
o Contact Organic Grain Link now to discuss the opportunities relevant to your organic business.
o Telephone 01787 210996
Or Email contact@organicgrainlink.co.uk