Mixing arable, dairy, cheese-making and energy generation, Drs Stephen and Catherine Temple’s farm sits just inland on the north Norfolk coast. Stephen explains why AF membership is delivering more benefits than ever.
“We’ve been Members of AF for almost 20 years. All the time I’m looking at how we can make things more efficient. We’re consolidating, cutting waste and trying to be more effective, while also doing what we can for the environment.”
“We get animal feed and vet meds, seed (maize and grass), machinery and vehicles, fertiliser, liquid fuel, building materials and crop protection.”
“Our biggest spend through AF is on feed and veterinary care of our livestock. Our vet has always had the view that she is not out to make money on vet meds and just gives us the prescription and we order the meds through AF.
Establishing a dairy herd of robust Brown Swiss means Stephen has been able to improve herd health and drive profitability
“Until summer 2025 we used serviced agronomy but it was getting more expensive, and the agronomist who really knew the farm well retired. Plus, we had gone to AF for something the distributor could not provide, but AF could.
“The AF Crop Inputs Team provided costings of products we regularly use, what we had been paying through the previous supplier and what we could save if we did it all differently.”
“Through AF we are now saving ourselves about £10k a year, even with paying an independent agronomist who we are really happy with.”
“We invest a lot in the maintenance of all these farm buildings. Being a Member of AF takes out a terrific amount of time for administration and looking around for stuff.
“For example, I wanted some really specialised galvanised channel sections for repairing stanchions. I wondered where to get what I needed, but didn’t need to worry because one phone call to AF and it happened.
“AF even helped when we were targeted by scammers. We got a solicitor’s letter from Screwfix saying we owed them £22k! We were able to show that’ve we got a Screwfix account through AF and it’s all paid up to date. We could show that we had no liability.”
Watch their YouTube channel to find out what’s going on at the Temple’s.
Want to see how AF can help save your business time and money on vet meds, crop inputs and more? Use our Savings Calculator.
