FAQs

Chichester Grain operates to high industry standards and is fully TASCC (Trade Assurance Scheme for Combinable Crops) assured, ensuring all grain handling and storage meets strict requirements for food safety and traceability.

Our weighbridge is trade-approved and calibrated every six months, giving members confidence in the accuracy of all recorded weights.

All grain delivered to the store must be assured under the ACCS (Assured Combinable Crops Scheme), maintaining full compliance across the supply chain.

We also operate a fully equipped on-site laboratory for testing and grading all grain and oilseeds on intake.

Our laboratory staff are fully trained and undertake refresher training prior to each harvest, ensuring consistent and reliable results.

Commitment at Chichester Grain is an ‘off farm assett’ and should be displayed on farm balance sheets. This asset can be sold to another member or farmer with the approval of the board. The board will where possible match up commitment vendors with commitment buyers.

Chichester Grain is completely owned by its members, each of which owns an equal share. Any profits that are made are either re-invested to improve the efficiency or expand the store or they are repaid to the members as a rebate. Rebates are paid on throughput tonnage.

Members are allowed to be over or under their committed tonnage by 10%. In some years some members are over commited while others are under commited and in this situation these members can be paired up to use up commitment. If a member habitually exceeds 10% over their commitment they will be asked to purchase more commitment at  the open market price.

Chichester Grain will accept all cereals up to 20% moisture without prior arrangements (notification of harvesting must be given). In a poor year it is understood that some members will want to cut much wetter than this and this is possible (up to 26%) with prior arrangement. This is to ensure a drier is working on that commodity as you cannot store grain that wet for any length of time.

All commodities stored at Chichester Grain are marketed exclusively through our appointed partner, Robin Appel Ltd.

We operate a single, structured Long Pool marketing system. Grain committed to the pool is sold strategically over the course of the season, with the aim of achieving a strong average price while reducing exposure to short-term market volatility.

This approach allows members to benefit from professional marketing decisions without the need to actively manage sales themselves.

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Chichester Grain accepts most varieties of wheat, barley, oats, oilseed rape and beans.

Ahead of each harvest and drilling season, members are advised by Chichester Grain and Robin Appel Ltd on the specific crops and varieties that can be stored and marketed.

To maximise the performance of our marketing pools, we currently accept only Laureate spring barley and Mascani winter oats for storage within these categories.

During harvest, the grain store is open seven days a week from 08:00 to 21:00.

In challenging harvest conditions, opening hours may be extended to allow members to maximise daily deliveries.

Outside of peak harvest periods, the store operates from 08:00 to 17:00.

Members must deliver their crops directly from the field, either by tractor and trailer or by lorry.