ForFarmers subsidiary CirQlar UK plans to deploy fully electric vehicles to deliver wheat feed to its feed mill in Selby, England.
Courtesy ForFarmers
The company will work on a trial basis with Voltloader, an electric transport service based in the United Kingdom.
“We are taking part in a three-month trial in agreement with Voltloader, running a fully electric vehicle to help with the delivery of wheat feed to our Selby mill,” said Leighton Wood, ForFarmers CirQlar logistics manager. “To support this new electric setup, we’re also installing a rapid electric vehicle charging station on the site.”
Wheat feeds are integral to SelcoPlus, a ForFarmers co-product manufactured at its Selby mill, and this initiative represents a key element of the company’s ambition to reduce its overall carbon footprint.
After the trial, ForFarmers aims to expand and introduce more electric vehicles into its fleet.
“The hope is the trial goes well and signals the beginning of a growing commitment to electric delivery vehicles and the supporting infrastructure we need in place to operate them effectively,” Leighton said. “We have another electric vehicle expected to join our CirQlar fleet by January 2025 at the latest, providing further electric-powered logistic capability at the site.”
More on CirQlar and VoltLoader
CirQlar purchases and sells co-products from other industries for use in animal feed. It makes products for poultry, pigs, and dairy and beef cattle, among others.
VoltLoader provides a fully electric transport service, charging infrastructure and guidance in the U.K. Its Solis fleet mainly moves grain (wheat, barley and oilseed rape) and vegetables, typically from farms or centralized storage to mills and processing sites. Its trailers are pulled by electric 4x2 tractors with 540 kWh of installed battery capacity and 666 horsepower, allowing them to achieve a range of 150 to 170 miles on a full charge. They are easily equipped to pull specially adapted tipping trailers that have been designed to achieve a payload of approximately 24 metric tons.
ForFarmers focused on sustainability
ForFarmers CEO Pieter Wolleswinkel told Feed Strategy in early 2024 that the company had reworked its vision and mission statement, and sustainability is central to its goals.
“Lowering carbon footprint, enhancing circularity and protecting biodiversity are the crucial pillars of our sustainability journey,” Wolleswinkel said. “We spend a lot of time talking with our suppliers to see how we can improve things. … We also have interactions with retailers, we also talk with the processors, dairy processors, slaughterhouses, to make sure we set a dot on the horizon that is feasible – feasible for the farmers, feasible for the chain, and at the end of the day, also feasible for the consumer. So, based on that, sustainability is very high on our agenda.”
