Fram Farmers
Fram Farmers Ltd. is a UK farmer-owned cooperative serving more than 1,400 farming businesses with aggregated purchasing of inputs, crop marketing, consolidated administration, and adjacent finance, insurance, utilities and fuel services via a Members Portal, Grain Portal, and 2025-launched mobile app.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1960
- HeadquartersWoodbridge, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Fram Farmers does
Fram Farmers Ltd. is a UK farmer-owned agricultural cooperative, founded in 1960 in Framlingham, Suffolk, and operating nationwide as a not-for-profit mutual in which all farming members are equal shareholders. The cooperative serves more than 1,400 farming businesses by acting as an extension to their farm offices, providing aggregated purchasing of inputs (seed, fertiliser, crop protection, feed, animal health, fuel, machinery parts, building materials), crop marketing services (including pool marketing and an ADM-supported grain intelligence capability), consolidated administrative functions (single monthly direct debit, integrated invoicing), and adjacent services in utilities, finance, insurance, and HR support. A wholly-owned subsidiary, Framtrade Ltd. (registered 1986), handles bulk and bottled gas (over 3.8 million litres of LPG and 20,000+ cylinders per year), liquid fuels, and bird-scaring products.
The cooperative's technology stack centres on member-facing digital platforms: a secure online Members Portal for account and invoice management, a dedicated Grain Portal for crop marketing, price tracking, contract management and pool participation, and a Members App launched in 2025 for iOS and Android providing mobile ordering, deal access, electricity meter submissions, and direct contact with specialists. An online parts store, built on partnerships with Kramp and MDT, exposes 550,000+ SKUs to members 24/7. The organisation employs specialist teams with BASIS, FACTS, R-SQP and BETA qualifications, and over 1,200 supplier relationships underpin its purchasing leverage.
Fram Farmers generates revenue through annual membership fees, area-based fees scaled to productive hectares, and quarterly feed and animal health levies calculated on turnover, with supplementary service income from finance, insurance, utilities and the Framtrade subsidiary. Because it is a not-for-profit, savings negotiated with suppliers are passed back to members rather than retained as profit. The go-to-market combines community-led acquisition (member referrals, NextGen events for farmers aged 18-35 sponsored by Bayer, regional farm walks, Trials Day, the Farmers First magazine) with a field-based membership development team handling enquiries via phone, website forms and brochures. Customers span arable, livestock, mixed, diversifying and rural enterprise segments, all within the United Kingdom.
Fram Farmers firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fram Farmers
- Legal name
- Fram Farmers Ltd.
- Website
- https://framfarmers.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1960
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Fram Farmers Ltd. is a UK farmer-owned cooperative serving more than 1,400 farming businesses with aggregated purchasing of inputs, crop marketing, consolidated administration, and adjacent finance, insurance, utilities and fuel services via a Members Portal, Grain Portal, and 2025-launched mobile app.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fram Farmers industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Cooperative Services
- NAICS
- Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42491), Farm and Garden Machinery and Equipment Merchant Wholesalers (42382), Other Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers (424590)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150), Agricultural Services (700), Wholesale-Lumber, Plywood, Millwork & Wood Panels (5031)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Farm Finance, Input Procurement & Risk Tools (Budgeting, Inventory, Insurance Links) (AFAAAFAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Softwood Lumber Distribution & Trading (IMAMAIAA)
Keywords
Where Fram Farmers is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Woodbridge
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Fram Farmers business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: Annual membership fee structure with area-based charges tied to productive hectares. Members know their annual membership cost upfront.
- Feed and Animal Health Levies: Levies charged quarterly in arrears based on turnover for feed and animal health products
- Input Purchasing Aggregation: As a not-for-profit cooperative, savings from aggregated purchasing are passed back to members rather than retained as profit. Revenue is generated through membership fees and levies to cover operational costs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Membership Fee - upfront annual cost for membership access |
| Subscription | Annual | Area Fee - based on productive hectares |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Feed and Animal Health Levies - turnover-based charges |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Fram Farmers product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fram Farmers is a UK farmer-owned cooperative that provides the purchasing, crop marketing and administrative function for over 1,400 farming businesses. It aggregates members' buying power to negotiate exclusive prices and terms with more than 1,200 suppliers on inputs such as seed, fertiliser, crop protection, feed, fuel, building materials, electricity and parts. It also markets members' grain through pools, contracts and spot sales, with grain sales credit-insured, and offers consolidated administration through a single monthly direct debit.
Product overview
Fram Farmers is a farmer-owned cooperative providing a comprehensive suite of purchasing, crop marketing, and administrative services for over 1,400 farming businesses across the UK. The core offering is the Fram Farmers Membership, which aggregates buying power to secure exclusive prices and terms. This is supported by a portfolio of service modules including Accounts and Administration, Arable Inputs, Building Materials, Utilities, Crop Marketing, Fuel and Machinery, Livestock and Animal Health, and Professional Services. The company operates a members platform and grain portal for online access, supplemented by a mobile app. A subsidiary, Framtrade, provides gas and bird scaring products. The Fram Farmers Finance scheme offers agricultural finance solutions. A NextGen program supports younger members. The cooperative leverages over 60 years of experience and partnerships with over 1,200 suppliers nationwide.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fram Farmers Membership
- Arable Inputs Service
Quantifiable outcome
- Members received £150,000 in machinery rebates last year
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Fram Farmers
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Fram Farmers technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Fram Farmers partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ADM (Archer Daniels Midland)coreADM partnership provides Fram Farmers grain marketing team with inside track on global trends, world stocks, yields, tonnages traded and market requirements. Enables comprehensive marketing service for members' cereals, OSR and pulses.
- Framtrade LtdcoreWholly owned subsidiary of Fram Farmers providing bulk and bottled gas (Calor and Avanti Gas), liquid fuels (Kerosene, Gas Oil, Derv), and bird scaring products. Handles over 3.8 million litres per annum.
- Fuel Card Provider (UK Leading Provider)corePartnership with UK's leading fuel card provider giving members access to all leading brands and supermarkets with savings up to 15p per litre.
- Kramp and MDT (Online Parts)corePartnership with Europe's leading online parts supplier providing access to over 550,000 parts and consumables at competitive prices delivered direct to farm, exclusive for Fram Farmers members.
- Machinery Manufacturers (Various)coreFleet partnerships with leading machinery manufacturers including Massey Ferguson, Kubota, Amazone, Spearhead Machinery, Weaving, Strimech, Wessex, Votex, Protech, and all main agricultural dealerships.
- Vehicle Manufacturers (Various)coreFleet partnerships with leading vehicle brands including Land Rover, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Audi, Volkswagen, Vauxhall, Seat, Honda and many more.
- One BrokercorePartnership with local specialist insurance broker providing bespoke insurance protection and risk management advice specifically to the agricultural sector including farm combined, motor fleet, livestock disease cover.
- Asset Finance SolutionscoreFCA authorised credit broker partnership offering finance for agricultural assets including commercial mortgages, bridging loans, invoice finance, and secured/unsecured business loans.
- Clarkson's Port ServicesminorPort operator handling imported and exported cereals, oilseed, and pulses with weighing, sampling, loading, collection, commodity cleaning and bagging facilities. Relevant to grain marketing logistics.
- Planning Consultancy PartnerminorFull service planning consultancy partner with vast experience in rural diversification projects providing pre-planning advice and full scale planning applications.
- Calor GascoreLPG supplier for Framtrade cylinder and bulk gas operations.
- Avanti GascoreLPG supplier for Framtrade cylinder and bulk gas operations.
- Micron Bio-SystemsminorUK based family owned business supplying Advance silage inoculants for livestock farmers.
- Mole Valley Feed Solutions LtdminorFeed solutions partner with knowledgeable team well placed to help members make purchasing decisions.
- BayerminorSponsorship partner for Fram Farmers NextGen group providing support for next generation decision makers in agriculture.
- Suffolk New CollegeminorIndustry Partner with Suffolk New College developing next generation of skilled workers in the agricultural sector.
- Farming Cooperatives (Electricity)coreCombined purchasing power partnerships with other farming cooperatives to negotiate competitive electricity unit rates for members.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves12 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Fram Farmers competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mole Valley Farmers: Mole Valley Farmers is a UK farmer-owned cooperative serving over 9,000 members with farm inputs, feed, fuel, and rural supplies. It is the most direct comparable to Fram Farmers in structure (member-owned cooperative), scale of operations, and breadth of agricultural product categories.
- AF Group (formerly Anglian Farmers): AF Group is a UK farmer-owned cooperative with over 2,500 members, providing inputs purchasing, crop marketing, and farm administration services. Closely comparable to Fram Farmers in cooperative structure and core service offering, with significant East Anglia overlap.
- Woldmarsh Producers: Woldmarsh Producers is a UK farmer-owned cooperative based in Lincolnshire, aggregating purchasing of farm inputs for members. It is directly comparable to Fram Farmers in cooperative structure and input procurement focus, though smaller in scale.
- Openfield: Openfield is the UK's largest farmer-owned arable marketing cooperative, providing grain marketing and input procurement services. It directly overlaps with Fram Farmers' Crop Marketing and Arable Inputs services, particularly for cereals, oilseeds, and pulses.
Others
- AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board): AHDB is a statutory levy-funded body providing market intelligence, research, and knowledge transfer to UK farmers. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant — not a competitor — but several Fram Farmers board members (e.g., Matthew Cobbald advising on the AHDB Recommended List Committee) connect the two organizations.
Broad incumbents
- Agrii (part of Origin Enterprises): Agrii is one of the UK's largest agronomy companies, providing crop protection, nutrition, and digital farm management services. It is a broad incumbent competing with Fram Farmers' arable advisory and input services across the UK.
- Frontier Agriculture: Frontier Agriculture is a major UK agronomy and crop marketing business (joint venture between Cargill and Associated British Foods) that competes directly with Fram Farmers on grain marketing and input supply but operates as a broader commercial player rather than a member cooperative.
Emerging players
- Farmplan (Proagrica): Farmplan provides farm management software including accounts, crop records, and livestock management. It competes with the digital capability of Fram Farmers' Members Portal and Members App at the farm office software layer.
- Cropmark Seeds: Cropmark is a seed supplier (originally New Zealand-headquartered) operating in the UK forage and arable seed market. While not a direct cooperative competitor, it overlaps with Fram Farmers' seed procurement and grassland/forage use cases for livestock and mixed farmers.
Regional players
- Hutchinsons: Hutchinsons is a leading UK agronomy business providing crop protection, fertilizer advice, and farm inputs. It overlaps with Fram Farmers' Arable Inputs and BASIS-qualified advisory services, though Hutchinsons operates as a commercial agronomy firm rather than a cooperative.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Fram Farmers social profiles
Digital presenceFram Farmers financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fram Farmers leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles18 records
Fram Farmers subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Fram Farmers funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fram Farmers M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fram Farmers
What does Fram Farmers do?
Fram Farmers is a UK farmer-owned cooperative that provides the purchasing, crop marketing and administrative function for over 1,400 farming businesses. It aggregates members' buying power to negotiate exclusive prices and terms with more than 1,200 suppliers on inputs such as seed, fertiliser, crop protection, feed, fuel, building materials, electricity and parts. It also markets members' grain through pools, contracts and spot sales, with grain sales credit-insured, and offers consolidated administration through a single monthly direct debit.
Is Fram Farmers a public or private company?
Fram Farmers is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Fram Farmers founded?
Fram Farmers was founded in 1960. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Fram Farmers based?
Fram Farmers is headquartered in Woodbridge, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Fram Farmers make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are feed and Animal Health Levies and input Purchasing Aggregation.
Who are Fram Farmers's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mole Valley Farmers, AF Group (formerly Anglian Farmers), Woldmarsh Producers and Openfield. AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Agrii (part of Origin Enterprises) and Frontier Agriculture. Emerging players are Farmplan (Proagrica) and Cropmark Seeds. Hutchinsons is listed as a regional player.
Does Fram Farmers have an API?
No public API is recorded for Fram Farmers.
What industry is Fram Farmers in?
Fram Farmers's product category is Agricultural Cooperative Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAAAFAO, Farm Finance, Input Procurement & Risk Tools (Budgeting, Inventory, Insurance Links), with a secondary code of IMAMAIAA, Softwood Lumber Distribution & Trading. Its NAICS code is 42491 and its SIC code is 5150.