For decades, agricultural co-operatives have helped farmers strengthen their buying and selling power. Now, they're taking collaboration a step further. By joining forces with one another, farmer-owned businesses are challenging traditional procurement models, creating greater scale and putting more power back into the hands of farmers.
But while policymakers debate the future, many farmer-owned businesses are already taking action. Across the UK, agricultural co-operatives are beginning to work more closely with one another, pooling expertise and purchasing power to help Members secure better value, manage risk and respond to the changing needs of modern farming.
The momentum is reflected in a recent report, Building Resilience: The Case for Co-operative Agriculture, which argues that doubling the number of UK agricultural co-operatives by 2050 could unlock billions of pounds of economic growth, strengthen food security and improve the resilience of British farming. Today, there are an estimated 526 agricultural co-operatives in the UK, generating over £9 billion in annual income and representing almost 236,000 memberships. The report concludes there is significant scope for expansion, setting an ambition to double both the number of co-operatives and their economic contribution by 2050.
Research cited in the report found that regions with a higher density of agricultural co-operatives benefit from stronger prices, while collaborative purchasing, machinery sharing and joint investment help reduce costs and improve profitability. Co-operatives also help to shield farmers from volatile input markets, allowing Members to invest in more resilient farming systems while strengthening supply chains.
For agri-buying groups, that has prompted a shift in thinking. Rather than operating independently, some are now looking at how they can work together to create even greater value for their Members.
One example is the Agri Procurement Alliance (APA). The collaboration brings together three farmer-owned procurement co-operatives, AF (Anglia Farmers), Fram Farmers and Woldmarsh, with a shared objective: to explore new ways of purchasing agricultural inputs collectively and achieve greater value through larger buying volumes.
For AF, the alliance forms part of a broader strategy of strengthening relationships across the co-operative sector to help Members navigate an increasingly complex farming landscape.
Helen Whittle, AF Chief Executive Officer, believes collaboration between agricultural co-operatives is becoming increasingly important as Members face tighter margins, greater market volatility and more diverse business needs.
"Our role is no longer just to help farmers buy better. It's about helping them become stronger, more resilient businesses. By working alongside other farmer-owned co-operatives, we can achieve things that none of us could achieve alone,” says Helen.
“Around the world, successful co-operatives own processing facilities, logistics networks and infrastructure that give their Members greater influence throughout the supply chain. That's the level of ambition we should be aiming for in the UK.” she says. “We need to think differently.”
This collaborative approach extends beyond the APA. AF already works alongside a number of farmer-owned organisations through corporate membership arrangements, including First Milk, Southern Farmers, Borders Machinery Ring and Thames & Kennet Machinery Ring, while its recent collaboration with Camgrain has expanded grain storage opportunities for Members.
The same thinking is shared by AF’s APA partners, Fram Farmers. Andrew Knowles, Chief Executive Officer, says changes in agriculture, including supply chain consolidation and fewer decision-makers within larger farming businesses, have made closer collaboration a natural next step.
"Farming businesses are looking to work more efficiently, more effectively and more collaboratively, so bringing procurement organisations together is a logical and necessary evolution that creates new opportunities."
One clear example is fertiliser purchasing. "If it's a product coming from outside the UK, such as fertiliser, aggregating demand across our co-operatives allows us to buy at a larger scale. That creates efficiencies throughout the supply chain and secures better value for our Members."
The Alliance has already delivered strong results in areas such as fertiliser and vehicle procurement - while discussions continue around other categories, and hopefully other farmer owned buying groups.
However, Andrew believes the benefits extend well beyond purchasing.
"Membership is becoming much more diverse in its needs. Buying groups are investing more heavily in digital services and technology, and where there are opportunities to work together to improve efficiency, that's good for everyone."
That view is echoed by Rose Marley, CEO of Co-operatives UK. "Having resilient, productive and profitable farms is critical to the UK's food security. Increasingly, we're seeing farmers looking for practical ways to reduce costs, strengthen their businesses and manage risk, and co-operation is one of the most effective tools available.
"By working together, farmers can achieve outputs that would be difficult or impossible on their own, from securing better buying power and accessing new markets to investing in shared facilities and creating more value from what they produce.
"Creating economies of scale is not the only benefit. Done well, agricultural co-operatives create communities of knowledge, where farmers share experience, test new approaches and adopt innovation faster than they could alone.
"Across Europe, agricultural co-operatives are central to successful farming economies. The UK has enormous, untapped potential to do the same, benefiting farmers, rural communities and our long-term food security."
Those ideas will be explored further on 9 October, when Co-operatives UK will bring agricultural co-operatives together to discuss how greater collaboration can strengthen the sector. The event will be hosted by international co-operative, Arla, at its HQ in Leeds.
Paul Dover, UK Agricultural Director at Arla Foods, is a big advocate for Member-owned farming co-operatives. "With rising challenges from geopolitical tensions, shortages of people, higher input costs and even the changing weather farmers are naturally looking for ways to improve their financial resilience. Co-operatives play a vital role in this - whether they are producer co-ops or buyers' groups - allowing farmers to secure fairer treatment in the market and a better return for their hard work.
"As the biggest agricultural co-operative, Arla is proud to be playing our part as a founder member of the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council, putting forward proposals to help farmers form and scale up co-operatives. We think that increasing the number and scale of co-operatives in agriculture will help the whole industry to flourish, supporting UK food security."
Robinson, S. 2026. AF chief asks: Can British farming stand on its own two feet?. East Anglian Daily Times. 3rd October.
