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Agri-Mark and DFA Send More Cash
Dairy co-ops sending $10.8 million to farmer members.
Compiled by staff
Published: Oct 26, 2009
Last week, Agri-Mark, the Methuen, Mass., dairy cooperative announced it would send a second round of cash payments of $1 per hundredweight of milk shipped in September by 1,300 members in New England and New York. In May, the co-op sent a 30-cent-per-hundredweight payout for milk shipped in April. That puts Agri-Mark's total extra payout during 2009 at $2.6 million
In Kansas City, Dairy Farmers of America announced it is mailing checks to more than 10,600 members for 30 cents per hundredweight of milk marketed in September. The extra payment totals $8.8 million and follows a July payment of $9.5 million.
Both cooperatives profitable
"Our Cabot and McCadam brands continue to be profitable to the point that we feel comfortable making this second payout to members," says Neal Rea, a dairy farmer from Cambridge, N.Y., and Agri-Mark's board chairman. "One hundred percent of our profits go to dairy farmers."
"We clearly recognize that our farmers need immediate help to pay their bills," adds Paul Johnston, Agri-Mark's President and General Manager. "This payment will help in the short-term."
"We are encouraged by early signs of recovery for the dairy industry," says Tom Camerlo, chairman of DFA's board of directors. "Our intent is that this special cash payment will help these farmers hang on until recovery is in full swing and positive cash flows return."
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