About

North East Grains is a farmer owned agricultural cooperative based in Northumberland with sites at Longhirst and Swarland.

We provide a complete grain drying, storage and marketing service to our membership whilst offering a wide range of farming focused services.

Alongside our core grain business, we are Northumberland’s largest feed production facility, producing high quality, local livestock feed for all classes of livestock; cattle, sheep, pigs and dairy rations.

In addition to our drying and storage business, we offer:

  • Livestock Feed Milling and Production.
  • Grain Marketing and value-added grain sales.
  • Arable Input purchasing and buying group options.
  • Fuels and energy purchasing.
  • Agri Waste collection site.
  • Agronomy services and Farm Business Consultancy.

History

Founded in 1987 with the objective to provide cost effective and efficient grain storage through a collaborative approach and scale - North East Grains was originally built at our site in Longhirst with 10,000 tonnes of grain storage and just a handful of members, subsequent expansion and increased membership saw the cooperative grow and develop year on year with investments in storage capacity, drying facilities, and the livestock feed processing business. In 2021 we acquired our second site at Swarland and now offers over 100,000 tonnes of grain drying and storage facilities to our ever-growing membership.

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Membership

How does membership work?

Farm businesses can become members of North East Grains by purchasing storage tonnage in the Cooperative.

Members own the Cooperative which provide the following benefits:

  • No annual storage charge.
  • Competitive drying rates.
  • Access to Input Buying Group inclusive of fuels and electricity.
  • Value added grain marketing.

For more information on becoming a member and the unique opportunities North East Grains can offer you with grain drying, storage and marketing, please contact our head office at Longhirst.

Close up on a wheat in a field with a show depth of field
Team

Meet the team

We’re a dynamic group of individuals who are passionate about what we do and dedicated to delivering the best results for our members.

Matthew Curry: North East Grains

Matthew Curry BSc (Hons)

Managing Director

  • Joined the business in 2020 as MD, having previously headed up the Farm Consultancy department of Strutt & Parker, Morpeth.
  • Background in grain, milk and farm trading sectors following time served in food retail & supply chain and previously sat on the Red Tractor Board for Dairy.
  • Heads up team at North East Grains and sits on, and guides the Board of Directors in the key management decisions.
  • Operates the grain and feed sales as well as financial, business development & HR management of the business.
Alex Blott: North East Grains

Alex Blott BSc (Hons)

Company Secretary & Consultant

  • Joined the business in 2021 as a Farm & Business Consultant having previously worked with Matthew at Strutt & Parker.
  • BASIS & FACTs qualified and provides an agronomy and Rural Business consultancy services.
  • In 2023, Alex became Company Secretary and leads on project management and business development.
Mark Hall: North East Grains

Mark Hall BA (Hons)

Operations Manager

  • Mark has been with the business for over 20 years, originally starting as a site operator and progressed to his current role.
  • Manages our team of machinery & plant operators, engineers and feed production operators.
  • Leads on Health & Safety and Staff Training.
  • Monitors grain stocks and grain quality.
  • Head of Compliance: Grain, Feed, Fertiliser and Trading Standards.
Amber Ford: North East Grains

Amber Ford

Business Manager

  • Joined the business 2015 as Assistant Administrator and rapidly progressed to Business Manager in 2021 having gained a wealth of knowledge and experience of NEG’s business workings.
  • Amber assists Matthew with grain stocks, reporting and the financial control of the business.
News

Latest news, updates and opinion from North East Grains.

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Livestock Feed

High-quality animal feed produced from grain grown locally by our membership

Find out more about our livestock feeds
Cows feeding on caustic wheat
A bull looks between fence posts at the camera
Aerial view of North East Grains storage site
Pig, with meal pig feed, staring straight at the camera
Sheep feeding on general ruminant feed from a trough
Ears of wheat in a field, close up with a shallow depth of field
Universal Feed Assurance SchemeTrade Assurance Scheme for Combinable CropsFertiliser Industry Assurance SchemeRed Tractor CertifiedScotch Assured Feeds