One in Four Dairy Farmers to Benefit from Arla's £31M Windfall Share

 Once a year, Arla distributes its profits equally between all of its farmer owners in its so-called supplementary (13th) payment1. This will be paid as a cash bonus this Friday, 10 March. £7 million of the windfall will be invested into each farmer’s individual savings accounts for each farmer to build up a lump sum should they decide to leave the cooperative.

The 13th payment is equally distributed to all farmer owners; proportionate to the amount of milk they supply rather than based on their equity investment in Arla. This year, the 13th payment is equivalent to an average of almost £9,000 to each Arla farmer across England, Wales and Scotland.

The bonus was agreed by the company’s Board of Representatives, which is almost wholly comprised of elected farmer owners and includes 20 British farmers. In 2017, this will increase to 23 British farmers, reflecting the increasing strength of British farming within the dairy cooperative.

Farmer owner and Arla Foods Board Director, Jonathan Ovens, said: “The 13th payment is one of many important benefits for farmer owners like me and is particularly welcome as we begin to come out of a difficult year. It enables us to invest in our farms, and also save for the future.

“It’s an annual benefit and a return on my investment that I couldn’t achieve elsewhere. It’s good to work together with Arla to back British dairy farming. As we need to increase the country’s milk production to meet growing demand, it’s also reassuring that Arla promises to collect every drop of milk I produce at the Arla price.”

1 Arla farmer owners received a monthly payment for their milk, called the milk price, based on the amount of milk they have provided. The ‘13th Payment’ is so-called as it sits outside the usual monthly payment structure, based on the cooperative’s profit. Some farmers choose to receive their proportion as a cash payment; some use it towards their original investment in the cooperative.

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