Illustrative Case Study · Agriculture
Note: This is an illustrative case study based on realistic data from comparable procurement exercises. It represents a typical outcome for a farm of this profile. Individual results will vary based on current market conditions, specification, and supplier competition at the time of tender.
How a 340-Cow Dairy Farm Saved £31,200 on Compound Feed — Without Changing Ration
Bundle IQ Research·
Compound Feed Pool · Yorkshire·
Illustrative
£173k
Previous annual feed spend
£31,200
Annual saving — recurring
The farm
A family-run dairy operation in the Yorkshire Dales. 340 milking cows, Holstein-Friesian herd, producing approximately 3.2 million litres annually. Dry matter yield and milk quality are the priorities — ration consistency matters. The farm had been buying compound feed from the same merchant for eleven years. The rep visited every six weeks. The relationship was good. The price had never been formally challenged.
Annual compound feed and mineral spend: approximately £173,000. The farm manager estimated they were probably "paying somewhere near the market rate" — but acknowledged they had no real way of knowing, because they had never tested it.
The situation before the pool
The farm was buying at a rate that had been adjusted incrementally by the merchant over eleven years of the relationship. No single year's adjustment was large enough to prompt a review. The cumulative drift between what the farm was paying and what the market would offer had never been quantified.
The farm manager had considered running a competitive process twice in recent years — once when margins were squeezed particularly hard, and once when a neighbouring farm mentioned they had achieved a better rate elsewhere. On both occasions the process felt too time-consuming. The specification would need writing. Multiple merchants would need approaching. Quotations would need comparing — and they would inevitably be structured differently, making comparison difficult. The task was deferred both times.
"I always knew we were probably paying a bit over the odds. I just never got round to doing anything about it because it felt like a lot of work for a result I wasn't sure about. I wish I'd done it five years ago."
Farm manager, Yorkshire — illustrative account
What joining the pool involved
1
Registered on Bundle IQ — 8 minutes
Farm type, herd size, annual feed spend estimate, postcode area. IQ confirmed the registration and added the farm to the compound feed pool for Yorkshire and surrounding region.
2
IQ requested the ration specification — 15 minutes
The farm provided their current compound specification — ME values, crude protein, NDF, and key mineral inclusions. IQ's agricultural procurement team reviewed the specification to ensure like-for-like comparison in the tender. The specification was not simplified or altered — the farm's nutritional requirements were maintained exactly.
3
Pool window closed — 23 farms, £1.9M pipeline spend
The pool reached 23 farms with a combined estimated annual feed spend of £1.9M. IQ went to market with the aggregated requirement, approaching qualified compound feed manufacturers and approved merchants. The incumbent supplier of several pool members was included in the tender.
4
Responses received and evaluated — IQ did this work
Five suppliers responded to the pool tender. IQ evaluated responses against the specification for nutritional equivalence first — disqualifying one response that did not meet the minimum ME specification — then ranked on delivered price, delivery logistics, and payment terms. The farm manager reviewed IQ's evaluation summary: a single-page document comparing the compliant responses side by side.
5
Farm switched — annual contract placed
The farm placed an annual supply contract with the pool's recommended supplier at a delivered price of £302 per tonne against their previous rate of £369 per tonne for equivalent specification. 1,040 tonnes per year at £67/tonne saving — £69,680 total. Farm's proportional share based on their 450 tonne requirement: £31,200 saving.
The numbers
| Item |
Before |
After |
Saving |
| Compound feed unit price (per tonne) |
£369 |
£302 |
£67/tonne |
| Annual tonnage |
450t |
450t |
unchanged |
| Annual feed cost |
£166,050 |
£135,900 |
£30,150 |
| Mineral supplements |
£6,800 |
£5,750 |
£1,050 |
| Total annual saving |
£172,850 |
£141,650 |
£31,200 |
What £31,200 means on a dairy farm
£31,200 per year is not an abstract procurement saving. On a dairy farm operating on net margins of 8–15%, it is a material contribution to financial sustainability. In concrete terms:
👷
Equivalent to 600+ additional labour hours at current farm worker rates
🚜
Covers the annual lease cost of a mid-range utility tractor
📈
Adds approximately 0.9 pence per litre to effective milk margin at 3.2M litres output
The ration did not change. The supplier did. The winning supplier delivered a nutritionally equivalent compound to the same delivery schedule at £302/tonne against the incumbent's £369. IQ's pre-evaluation of nutritional specifications ensured the farm was not comparing different products — they were comparing prices for the same outcome. The saving came entirely from competitive pressure, not from compromising on quality or nutrition.
Year two — the community model
When the pool opened for its second annual cycle, the farm received a 72-hour early access notification before new members could join. They re-registered in four minutes — their details were pre-filled, their specification on file. They referred two neighbouring farms who both joined the same cycle, increasing the pool's pipeline spend and strengthening the negotiating position for all members.
The pool has now run two complete cycles. The results archive on the pool page shows both years' outcomes — building the evidence base that makes every new farm's decision to join easier.
Ready to find out what your feed contract is actually costing?
Join the compound feed pool. Ten minutes. Free. You see the price and you decide.