A stable partner in organic ancient grains
Natur Gold Farms Kft. has been working with organic ancient grains for more than 25 years. For us, contract farming does not mean occasional purchasing, but long-term cooperation with reliable growers.
Our core activity is the processing of hulled ancient grains: incoming raw material is stored, cleaned, dehulled, polished and, after quality control, prepared for our customers either in milling quality or in food-grade quality. In addition, we produce our own Grana Antico product line of flours, ferments and baking mixes.
This is what distinguishes us from occasional traders. We do not appear on the market only when there is immediate demand. For us, contract farming is the first step in a complete value chain: from the field through processing all the way to flours and bakery products.
Our aim is to provide our growers with a predictable, long-term market – and our customers with reliable, high-quality organic raw materials.
Three hulled ancient grains we build on
The contract farming programme of Natur Gold Farms Kft. focuses on three hulled ancient grains: einkorn, emmer and spelt. These grains do not grow as free-threshing kernels, but in a hull. Therefore, harvesting, storage and processing require special expertise.
Einkorn
Einkorn is one of the oldest cultivated grains. Among hulled grains, einkorn has the lowest nutrient requirement and therefore offers good opportunities in organic farming even on weaker, poorer soils.
Emmer
Emmer is an old and valuable ancient grain that can play an important role in organic farming and in a diversified crop rotation. It is a distinctive, characterful grain with a smaller market, but with high-quality processing it can become a valuable raw material.
Spelt
Spelt is the best-known and most widely used hulled ancient grain. It has a more stable market than einkorn or emmer, but its processing also requires specialised technology.
Contract farming models
Based on the market experience of recent years, we have redesigned our contract farming models. Our aim is to offer growers a more predictable cooperation model, better aligned with customer demand and sustainable in the long term.
In the future, we will not contract speculative volumes. Instead, we offer contract farming models based on real processing capacity, actual market demand and clear sales channels.
Fixed-price contract
A fixed-price contract may be suitable for growers who want to know in advance at what price they will be able to sell their crop. This model offers greater predictability, as the price is set at the beginning of the production period.
The advantage of a fixed price is that the grower can plan ahead. The disadvantage is that if market prices rise, the grower no longer participates in the higher market price.
Minimum-maximum price contract
The minimum-maximum price model is a more flexible solution. The contract defines a minimum price, which provides protection in an unfavourable market situation, and a maximum price, which sets an upper limit to price movements.
This model allows the grower to participate in favourable market developments, while a pre-agreed minimum price provides security.
Individual contract farming agreement
For certain crops, varieties or larger-scale cooperation, we also enter into individual agreements. In such cases, we take into account the grower’s conditions, the planned volume, the seed, any financing needs and the expected customer side.
The purpose of an individual agreement is to create a cooperation model that is viable in the long term for the grower, Natur Gold Farms Kft. and the final customer.
What we provide to our grower partners
Seed
We provide our grower partners with seed suited to the contracted crop, or support them in sourcing it. With ancient grains, variety, purity and seed quality are particularly important, because they directly influence the quality of the harvest and later processability.
Technical support
Throughout the contract farming cooperation, we support our partners with practical experience. The cultivation of einkorn, emmer and spelt differs in several respects from modern grain crops. The right technology, good timing and careful organisation of the harvest are therefore especially important.
Organic approach
Our contract farming programme is based exclusively on raw materials from organic farming. We work with growers who are committed to organic agriculture or are open to conversion to organic farming.
Processing background
The harvested grain does not stand alone on the market. Through our own processing facility, storage capacity and customer relationships, the crop becomes part of an organised system: we check, store, clean, dehull, polish and prepare the raw material for the appropriate end use.
For us, contract farming means partnership
Natur Gold Farms Kft. does not see contract farming as a one-off transaction. We want to work with growers who think long-term in organic ancient grains and are looking for a processing partner that not only purchases the crop, but also turns it into value.
For the grower, the greatest security comes from working with a partner that has not only market relationships, but also its own processing background, professional know-how and sales channels reaching all the way to the final product.
We do not merely purchase ancient grains – we build long-term markets for them.