A farmer-owned Norfolk grain store and processing facility is continuing to grow - after finally hitting a 30,000-tonne target set 12 years ago.

Yaregrain, at Cantley, offers Norfolk farmers access to storage and processing to upgrade the quality of their combinable crops.

After its initial fundraising launch raised £1m from farmers and investors in 2010, the goal was set to build and sell 30,000 tonnes of committed storage by harvest 2018.

Since then, the site's capacity has grown and in 2016 there was a £1.95m investment including an advanced processing unit with a high-capacity dryer, colour sorter and gravity separator.

And now - albeit five years later than planned - the 30,000-tonne ambition has been fulfilled after Simpsons Malt bought the last available 6,500 tonnes of storage under a long-term service agreement.

After post-harvest storage, malting barley grown by local farmers will make the 30-mile journey to the company’s maltings at Tivetshall St Margaret near Diss.

Grain trader Andrew Dewing, of project partner Dewing Grain, said the ability to process, blend and dry wheat and barley loads to ensure they achieved premium prices for milling and malting was "probably the biggest reward for farmers over the last 12 years".

"It took longer than we wanted, but to get our last committed tonnage sold is a fabulous achievement," he said.

"We have widened the goalposts, so farmers achieve a premium for the product instead of having a massive discount to feed prices. That more than covers the cost of their storage charge and it reduces the risk when they grow a premium product."

Eastern Daily Press: Yaregrain processes and stores combinable crops harvested by farmers across Norfolk - Picture: Brittany WoodmanYaregrain processes and stores combinable crops harvested by farmers across Norfolk - Picture: Brittany Woodman (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Dewing added that completing the tonnage allocation has generated money to invest in more storage.

Construction is under way for another 2,700 tonnes at Cantley, which can currently hold around 23,000 of the 30,000 tonnes allowed by planning permission.

Yaregrain chairman Nick Hood said: "Our board has quietly managed this incremental, slow but sensible growth. The model has worked."