Openfield is a British grain marketing and arable inputs co-operative based in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
. It is one of Britain's largest agricultural companies and Britain's only national co-operative in its field, with a turnover in excess of £500m. It markets grain for farmers and grain stores. In other countries, mainly
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, this type of company is known as a
wheat pool
A wheat pool is a co-operative that markets grain (mostly wheat) on behalf of its farmer-members.
In Canada in 1923 and 1924, three wheat pools were created. They were farmer-owned co-operatives, created to break the power of the large for-pr ...
. The head office is based on the former
RAF North Witham
Royal Air Force North Witham or more simply RAF North Witham is a former Royal Air Force station located in Twyford Wood, off the A1 between Stamford and Grantham, Lincolnshire, England about north-northwest of London.
The site opened in 1943 ...
and prominent customers include
Coors UK and
Waitrose
Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...
.
Openfield is a member of the
Fertiliser Industry Assurance Scheme, and work with the fertiliser supplier
GrowHow UK. It is also a member of the
Agricultural Industries Confederation.
History
It was formed in November 2008 from the merger of Centaur Grain (of
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
*Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Andove ...
) and Grainfarmers (of
Micheldever
Micheldever is a village in Hampshire, England, situated north of Winchester. It lies upon the River Dever .
The river, and village, formerly part of Stratton Park, lie on a Hampshire grass downland, underlain with chalk and flint. Parts of th ...
,
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
). It is now the largest UK farmer owned grain marketing co-operative and one of the largest companies in Lincolnshire, by turnover. The Colsterworth site opened in 1980.
Centaur Grain
Viking Cereals joined Centaur in 2002. Centaur had been formed in 2001 when Group Cereal Services (GCS) of
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...
joined Lingrain of the
East of England. It was based at
Goodworth Clatford
Goodworth Clatford (formerly Goodworth and Lower Clatford which then joined) is a village located in Hampshire, England. It is south of the town of Andover in the valley of the River Anton. The neighbouring village to the north is Upper Clatford ...
in north Hampshire.
Grainfarmers
This began as the Southern Counties Agricultural Trading Society in 1907. It was renamed as Grainfarmers Group Ltd in 2003. It had offices in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
,
Walton Walton may refer to:
People
* Walton (given name)
* Walton (surname)
* Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer
Places
Canada
* Walton, Nova Scotia, a community
** Walton River (Nova Scotia)
*Walton, Ontario, a hamlet
United Kingdo ...
(near
Wetherby
Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...
),
Bressingham,
Compton Abdale,
Cannington and
Micheldever
Micheldever is a village in Hampshire, England, situated north of Winchester. It lies upon the River Dever .
The river, and village, formerly part of Stratton Park, lie on a Hampshire grass downland, underlain with chalk and flint. Parts of th ...
. It marketed over 20% of the UK's grain and represented over 5000 farmers.
External links
Openfield"Anticipated merger between Grainfarmers Group and Centaur Grain Group"(
Office of Fair Trading, 2008)
*
{{Agriculture in the United Kingdom
British companies established in 2008
Companies based in Lincolnshire
South Kesteven District
Co-operatives in the United Kingdom
Agricultural marketing cooperatives
Agricultural supply cooperatives
Grain companies
Agriculture companies established in 2008
2008 establishments in England