With Spring come thoughts and plans for building projects on farms and other rural businesses. AF’s General Inputs Procurement Manager Darren Maclaren is upbeat about the number of construction projects underway and how satisfying it is to get builds underway easier, cheaper and faster than ever.
"As we remember all too well, there was a long period of turbulence in the price and availability of building materials. Thankfully the supply chain has quietened down. Better still the prices of essential building products for your project – bricks, concrete blocks etc. have stabilised and, in some cases, even fallen.
Grand designs underway
"Grand or not so grand, I’m deeply interested in the building projects that AF Members ask for my help with.
"In Cambridgeshire, a Member has just ordered £130,000 of concrete (just under 1,000 m3) to concrete his main farmyard, ahead of his busy harvest season.
"We’re raising lots of quotes and orders for drainage materials at the moment. A clear sign changing climate and weather patterns are being felt across rural businesses. Recently for one Member in Buckinghamshire I saved £1,500 against the drainage pipe quote he’d sought from the same supplier thanks to our buying power.
"And as we’d expect at this time of year, we’ve seen a marked increase in orders for fencing materials. The combination of good weather and need to turn animals out has prompted a flurry of new fencing and repair jobs! For a Member in Herefordshire, we recently ordered £11,000 worth of electric fencing materials for just this reason.
Topping out without top prices
"My contribution to making the build project a success is to ensure materials are available on site when needed and for the best possible price.
"This balancing act can be challenging and these negotiations are a key part of AF’s role. I want farmers and others running rural businesses to know they need not get caught out by price creep.
"The robust tender process we put in place last year means that every 4 months national merchants compete for AF Member’s business on the most commonly purchased products. I score them against set criteria around both price and service, and our current supplier has been consistently ahead on both for the last 4 tenders.
"When it comes to bricks, we procure up to 500,000 a year for our AF Members. This volume meant that earlier this year I could negotiate a new supply agreement with leading supplier TBS Bricks. This guarantees AF Members exclusive prices, with logistics facilitated by a national merchant.
"These are just some of the ways I can save Members up to 40% on key construction materials."
"National statistics reported a drop in construction overall last year, but predict an uplift this year and next, making savings even more important.
"The calls we take and make at AF HQ are a part of building rural UK. I may not ever catch sight of all the sites that we contribute to, but I can’t help keeping tabs on what’s happening where. The stores, farm shops, liveries, extensions, renovations underway.
"So do I think now is a good time to start a project? Yes. The predicted industry ramp-up in coming months can mean materials and labour shortages, which tend to come with price hikes. The work we at AF do gives Members budget certainty to greenlight projects they may have been putting off. The right time for them is now and we’re seeing that in the conversations we’re having and orders we’re taking."
Maclaren D. 2025. Construction positivity: one storey at a time. East Anglian Daily Times. 5th April.
