The deal is designed to support Mole Valley Farmers’ customers by getting access to raw materials in a location close to where they will be consumed.
It will also mean safeguarding the security of ingredients for the company’s feed subsidiary Mole Valley Feed Solutions, as well as its farmer shareholders and customers.
Head of agri procurement, Dan McCreadie, said they had access to the port day and night, seven days a week, meaning greater control of what – and when – they bring in, as well as more logistical control over distribution and delivery.
He added: “It’s all about security of supply for our customers and members, continual global uncertainty has meant seeking ingredients from a wider market amid increasing supply chain disruption.
“We are working hard on behalf of our farmers to make sure they are confident they will always be able to feed their animals, now and in the years to come.”
The Plymouth harbour is one of the deepest in the country and is non-tidal, allowing for larger ships to dock and offering Mole Valley Farmers greater flexibility to source ingredients from further afield.
The deal also includes the use of the harbour’s feed storage terminal on the quayside which will allow for tonnes of raw material to be stocked, close to Mole Valley Farmers’ feed mills – or directly to its farmers.
Mole Valley Farmers chief executive, Jack Cordery, said: “This deal with Cattedown Wharves is a game changer. As the largest ruminant feed manufacturer in the South West and one of the largest in the country we must be able to guarantee a continuous supply into our mills.
“The world is changing and supply chains are not as strong as they were just a few years ago. Our priority is making sure the nation’s livestock remain productive and profitable with quality feed at a reasonable price.
“Our role, for our Farmer Shareholders and farming customers, is as their professional procurement and manufacturing partner in the ruminant feed sector. Our ability to source commodities, directly into our own facility, will complement our industry leading relationships with the wider raw material suppliers.
“And our team of traders and on-farm nutritionists can now rely on the ability to source the highest quality ingredients in order to support our farming customers in producing the incredible quality milk, meat and eggs they do.”
Using the port will also take at least 2,500 lorry loads off the region’s roads each year, bringing feed raw materials closer to Mole Valley Farmers’ six regional manufacturing plants, including nearby Lifton Mill, which recently benefitted from a £4.5 million upgrade.
