A company based in Oxfordshire has launched the UK's first live Internet grain trading site.

The exclusive site will provide farmers with direct access to world grain markets and revolutionise the way that they do business in the future.

The site, developed by one of the UK's largest grain exporters Glencore Grain UK based at Bell Lane in Thame, will also provide a package of financial information to enable farmers to make better marketing decisions when selling crops.

Glencore director Keith Davies said the trading platform www.grainman.co.uk has been specifically designed to use the power and speed of the Internet to enable farmers to track the increasingly volatile world grain markets and decide when the best time is to sell their crops.

Using grainman, farmers can offer cereals, oilseed and pulses to the market at their own convenience and if the price they get is acceptable they can trade instantly.

Grainman on-line trading uses a database of more than 62 million lines which is constantly updated by Glencore traders to calculate the highest available market price for every individual UK farm

Farmers can choose to trade on the spot or forward sales for up to 18 months in advance.

Farmers will have free access to the markets and latest financial information, including currency markets and futures trading. The site will include regular market updates from traders, who currently buy over one million tonnes of cereals and oilseeds a year direct from UK growers.

Mr Davies said farmers selling through the company's website had the security of dealing with one of the world's largest commodity traders Glencore International AG, which has more than 30 years experience of grain trading worldwide.