COBB AGRI LTD
Cobb Agri Ltd is an independent UK agricultural merchant headquartered in Herefordshire that provides soil nutrition advisory and fertiliser, lime and seed supply to arable, grassland, fruit and mixed-enterprise farms across England and Wales. Its service combines 20+ years of field-record data, RB209-based recommendations and GPS sampling, delivered via a small FACTS-qualified team.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersHereford, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What COBB AGRI LTD does
Cobb Agri Ltd is a UK-based independent agricultural merchant specialising in soil nutrition advisory and crop input supply. Founded in 1980 (originally as Charles Mayson Ltd), the business was acquired by Paul and Joanna Cobb in 2008 and rebranded as Cobb Agri on 1 January 2015. The company operates from a 15th-century barn-conversion office on a working farm in Madley, Herefordshire, and serves arable, grassland, potato, maize, fruit and mixed-enterprise growers across England and Wales through a small in-house team of approximately 8-10 staff, including FACTS-qualified advisers.
The company's core offering integrates soil and crop tissue testing with bespoke nutrient management planning, backed by a proprietary database with field records spanning over 20 years and a customised recommendation engine built around the UK's RB209 fertiliser guidelines. Field operations are enabled by GPS-enabled soil sampling (covering 4,000-5,000 fields annually), application mapping, and a logistics network of nationwide hauliers, seven in-house lime spreaders across Herefordshire, Shropshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Powys and Monmouthshire, and contract spreaders. Cobb Agri supplies a broad portfolio of liquid and solid fertilisers (including Origin Fertilisers, Fibrophos, Thomas Bell, Nitrasol), lime and grass/forage seeds from suppliers including Oliver Seeds and Germinal.
Commercially, Cobb Agri generates revenue through fertiliser and crop input sales on a transactional basis and through nutrient management advisory and buying-strategy services sourced from multi-supplier agreements rather than exclusive distribution deals. Customer engagements range from 40-hectare farms to 3,500-hectare enterprises, with case studies naming Garnstone Farms, Boughton Farming, Vaughan Farms, Upper Court and Kingstone Grange. The company positions itself as an objective, independent advisor with national reach, supporting clients with strategic purchasing timing to optimise fertiliser spend and compliance documentation for farm audits.
COBB AGRI LTD firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- COBB AGRI LTD
- Legal name
- Cobb Agri Agricultural Merchant Herefordshire
- Website
- https://cobbagri.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Cobb Agri Ltd is an independent UK agricultural merchant headquartered in Herefordshire that provides soil nutrition advisory and fertiliser, lime and seed supply to arable, grassland, fruit and mixed-enterprise farms across England and Wales. Its service combines 20+ years of field-record data, RB209-based recommendations and GPS sampling, delivered via a small FACTS-qualified team.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
COBB AGRI LTD industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Crop Nutrition and Soil Management
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Nutrient Management Planning & Fertility Programs (AFACABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Fertilizer & Nutrient Retail (Dry, Liquid, Blends) (AFABAJAF)
Keywords
Where COBB AGRI LTD is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hereford
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
COBB AGRI LTD business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Fertiliser and Crop Input Sales: Sale of fertilisers (liquid and solid), lime, specialist crop products, and grass/forage seeds. Products sourced from multiple suppliers including Origin Fertilisers, Fibrophos, and other national and local providers.
- Nutrient Management Advisory Services: FACTS-qualified advisers provide bespoke nutrient recommendations and soil nutrition advice as part of the product offering.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
COBB AGRI LTD product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cobb Agri is an independent agricultural merchant that supplies liquid and solid fertilisers, lime, Fibrophos, specialist crop products, and grass/forage seeds to UK farmers, bundled with FACTS-qualified bespoke nutrient management advisory, GPS soil sampling, and application mapping services.
Product overview
Cobb Agri is an agricultural merchant offering a unified advisory and supply service focused on soil nutrition. The core offering combines bespoke nutrient management planning (powered by a proprietary database with 20+ years of field records and RB209-based recommendation software) with supply of fertilisers (liquid, solid, Fibrophos, lime) and grass/forage seeds sourced from multiple national suppliers. Services include GPS soil sampling/testing of over 4,000 fields annually, leaf/manure/grain analysis, application mapping, and market monitoring for strategic purchasing. Deliveries and applications are coordinated through a network of national hauliers and contract spreaders operating across Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, and beyond.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fertiliser Supply (Liquid and Solid) Sale of liquid and solid fertilisers matched to per-field nutrient management plans, supplied to UK arable, grassland, and mixed farmers.
- Lime Supply Supply of lime as part of soil pH and nutrient management programmes for UK farms.
- Fibrophos Supply Supply of Fibrophos as a phosphate-rich nutrient input within crop nutrition programmes.
- Specialist Crop Products Supply of specialist crop products alongside fertilisers and lime for tailored crop programmes.
- Grass and Forage Seeds Supply of grass and forage seeds for livestock and mixed farming systems.
- FACTS-Qualified Nutrient Management Advisory Bespoke FACTS-qualified nutrient management advice producing per-field nutrient plans compliant with the RB209 fertiliser manual, delivered by in-house advisers to UK farmers.
- GPS Soil Sampling and Analysis Field-by-field GPS soil sampling service feeding nutrient management recommendations and application maps, with 4,000–5,000 fields sampled annually.
- Application Mapping and Spreader Coordination Production of per-field application maps and coordination of the haulier, farm contractor, and spreader network to deliver and apply fertiliser, lime, and Fibrophos.
- Market Monitoring and Buying Strategy Ongoing fertiliser market monitoring and tailored buying strategy service to time purchases for UK farmer clients.
Quantifiable outcome
- Saved one client over £80,000 on a single Nitrogen deal through strategic purchasing timing.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use COBB AGRI LTD
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
COBB AGRI LTD technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
COBB AGRI LTD partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Origin FertiliserscoreCobb Agri is an agent for Origin Fertilisers. Origin supplies a wide range of fertiliser products. The partnership has a long trading history with Paul Cobb, providing professional crop nutrition recommendations tailored to individual farm circumstances.
- Fibrophos LtdcoreCobb Agri is one of the largest independent agents for Fibrophos PK Fertiliser. The 25-year supplier relationship is described as providing in-depth knowledge, thorough attention to detail, and high repeat business. Fibrophos is a major influence on Autumn PK requirements.
- John Hatcher & Co Ltd (Fibrophos)minorParent company of Fibrophos, supplying Cobb Agri for 25 years with PK fertilisers.
- ScottsminorDescribed as one of the most organised and professional clients, with a valued trading relationship.
- Thomas Bell & Sons FertilisersminorSupplier of fertilisers listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
- Oliver SeedsminorSupplier of grass and forage seeds listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
- GerminalminorSupplier of seeds listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
- NitrasolminorSupplier of nitrogen fertilisers listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
- Hatcher FertilisersminorSupplier of fertilisers listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
- KWSminorAgricultural seed supplier listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
- QLFminorAgronomy supplier listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
- Agri VitalminorNutrients and adjuvants supplier listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
- PRGminorAgricultural products supplier listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
- Breedon AggregatesminorAggregates supplier listed on Cobb Agri's products page.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
COBB AGRI LTD competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Origin Fertilisers: Origin Fertilisers is a major UK independent fertiliser blender and supplier. Cobb Agri is an Origin agent; Origin sits upstream but its product portfolio and customer base overlap directly with Cobb Agri's merchant business.
- Yara UK: Yara is one of the world's largest nitrogen fertiliser producers with UK operations supplying farmers directly and via merchants. It is upstream but competes for the same farmer wallet on the fertiliser side of Cobb Agri's offering.
- CF Fertilisers UK: CF Fertilisers is a major UK manufacturer of nitrogen and NPK fertilisers. It sells partly through merchants like Cobb Agri but also directly to large farms, making it a partial competitor and supplier.
- Agrii (Origin Group): Agrii is one of the UK's largest agronomy service providers with national coverage in crop advice, soil testing and input supply. It overlaps Cobb Agri's offering but at much broader scale and as part of a multi-service portfolio.
Direct peers
- Hutchinsons: Hutchinsons is a UK-wide agronomy group offering crop nutrition advice, soil sampling, and agrochemical/fertiliser supply. Listed as a Cobb Agri partner, it is the closest direct competitor in the same advisory-plus-merchant niche.
- Eurofins Agro UK (formerly NRM): Eurofins Agro UK provides soil, leaf, manure and grain analysis underpinning nutrient management decisions. It supplies the testing backbone Cobb Agri uses but also competes in adjacent advisory/data services.
- SOYL (Frontier Agriculture): SOYL is a precision crop production service within Frontier Agriculture, offering GPS soil sampling, variable rate nutrition and crop recording software. Direct overlap with Cobb Agri's GPS sampling and recommendation capabilities.
- Agrovista: Agrovista is a UK agronomy distributor offering crop nutrition, soil analysis, seed and agrochemical supply. It competes head-on with Cobb Agri for farmer customers across arable and grassland segments.
Others
- NIAB: NIAB is a UK agricultural research and knowledge-exchange organisation providing crop and soil science to growers. Adjacent rather than competing; it shapes the agronomic standards Cobb Agri follows.
Emerging players
- Agriton UK: Agriton UK distributes natural soil conditioners and biological inputs targeting regenerative and organic farms. Partial overlap with Cobb Agri's specialist farm operations segment and an emerging alternative to mineral fertilisers.
Market position
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
COBB AGRI LTD social profiles
Digital presenceCOBB AGRI LTD compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
COBB AGRI LTD financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
COBB AGRI LTD leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
COBB AGRI LTD funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
COBB AGRI LTD 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 COBB AGRI LTD
What does COBB AGRI LTD do?
Cobb Agri is an independent agricultural merchant that supplies liquid and solid fertilisers, lime, Fibrophos, specialist crop products, and grass/forage seeds to UK farmers, bundled with FACTS-qualified bespoke nutrient management advisory, GPS soil sampling, and application mapping services.
Is COBB AGRI LTD a public or private company?
COBB AGRI LTD is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was COBB AGRI LTD founded?
COBB AGRI LTD was founded in 1980. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is COBB AGRI LTD based?
COBB AGRI LTD is headquartered in Hereford, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does COBB AGRI LTD make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Fertiliser and Crop Input Sales are the primary driver. The others are nutrient Management Advisory Services.
Who are COBB AGRI LTD's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Origin Fertilisers, Yara UK, CF Fertilisers UK and Agrii (Origin Group). Direct peers are Hutchinsons, Eurofins Agro UK (formerly NRM), SOYL (Frontier Agriculture) and Agrovista. NIAB is listed as an others. Agriton UK is listed as an emerging player.
Does COBB AGRI LTD have an API?
No public API is recorded for COBB AGRI LTD.
What industry is COBB AGRI LTD in?
COBB AGRI LTD's product category is Agricultural Crop Nutrition and Soil Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFACABAB, Nutrient Management Planning & Fertility Programs, with a secondary code of AFABAJAF, Fertilizer & Nutrient Retail (Dry, Liquid, Blends). Its SIC code is 700.