£31 million windfall for one in four British dairy farmers

Arla Foods is a dairy cooperative owned by 12,000 farmers in Europe, 2,500 of whom operate in the UK. Arla distributes its profits once a year to its farmer owners and this means that for 2016 nearly a quarter of all British dairy farmers have received a share of £31 million. Bonus payments – the company's so-called thirteenth payment scheme - are calculated on the basis of the volume of milk supplied by each farmer. The level of bonus was agreed by the Board of Representatives, consisting mainly of elected  farmer owners.  With British dairy farms playing an increasingly important role in the cooperative, the number of UK farmers on the board is to be increased.

The payout is a welcome boost to farm incomes in the UK's dairy sector, that had been going through hard times. Farmers appreciate the bonus because it enables them to invest in their farms and ensures they have a more secure future in dairy farming.

source: www.farminguk.com