3 farms using technology to buy the best on fuel

As this year’s dry and early harvest progresses, we have seen fuel purchasing roaring away across the UK. We broke our monthly fuel record by the 13th of July…!

That’s thanks to the hundreds of farms now purchasing through Yagro, who are reaping the rewards of our technology-enabled buying service. Our analysis of three years of fuel buying across the UK shows how effective spot buying is the most reliable strategy to get the best prices in the market.

This week, three leading farm businesses take us through their journeys on fuel buying, and how they have ensured they have a cutting edge on cost this harvest.

“Full information and understanding is key to us running a profitable farm”

Ian Matts, Brixworth Farming, Northamptonshire

THE FARM: 2500 Hectares, cereals, joint venture

THE SETUP: Single red diesel tank @55,000 litres, 10 deliveries per year

THE JOURNEY: “We used to use a buying group, but I wanted to have more control over our spend on farm. I’m keen to utilise tech, so to combine this with sound business principles seemed like the right move for us at Brixworth. And it turns out we’ve bought better than the group anyway!

We do a lot of benchmarking on things like labour and machinery, and I’m so used to being able to measure and analyse things. With Yagro I have full visibility of the market and my spend, and now have the same level of control on my fuel as I do with the rest of my business. I believe we need more tech like this in farming to monitor, benchmark and manage if we’re going to meet the challenges in an uncertain future.”

“We’re a super busy farm, so to save time is worth a fortune to us”

Tabs Hawthorne, Flawborough Farms, Nottinghamshire

THE FARM: 2000 Hectares, cereals, family held

THE SETUP: Single red diesel tank @ 19,000 litres, 21 deliveries per year

THE JOURNEY: “We’ve saved serious amounts of cash, and I reckon I save about 2 hours per order, which adds up to about 2 weeks’ worth of time since we started using it this time last year.

I also really like to be able to look back at my history. To have the information at my fingertips and look back as a reference. We’ve never had anything like this before, it’s brilliant. Helps us make better decisions and keep our costs down.

And I’ve been telling everyone about it! It’s fascinating to see how dynamic the market and suppliers are, I actually get quite excited when the quotes come through!”

“It’s our margin we are giving away for every £1 we buy over the market value”

Craig Livingstone, Lockerley Estates, Hampshire

THE FARM: 800 Hectares, cereals, professionally managed farm

THE SETUP: Two red diesel tanks across two sites @10’000L and 5’000L, plus one @10’000L for the drier, 11 deliveries per year

THE JOURNEY: “Before joining Yagro, we used to use a single fuel supplier as it took us too much time to ring around the suppliers in our area. Using Yagro we now spend less time getting quotes from 7 suppliers than we did from one, and have noticed savings of 3% on our bill by ensuring we get the best deal every time we order.

In just a few clicks we get to see the whole market and compare suppliers’ prices and delivery windows. This gives me the confidence I am buying well on behalf of my landowner. We’ve never been let down and the Yagro team are first class - personal, approachable and working for the farmer!”

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