British dairy cooperative First Milk has announced a ‘member premium’ in the form of a 13th payment to its farmer members from next year.
The First Milk Board has confirmed that a 13th payment of 0.25 pence per litre will be introduced from April 2019, paid annually to members.
The payment will be pro-rata adjusted based on achievement of the members’ capital target
In addition, First Milk has confirmed that capital targets will be fixed with immediate effect, based on current milk production levels as calculated in March 2018.
The cooperative said that this will enable farmers to "grow and expand" milk production without a requirement to contribute additional capital.
Farmer capital contributions will continue for those that have not yet reached their capital target.
The changes have been announced to drive "growth and prosperity", the cooperative said.
Share trading
Increased transparency in share trading and the freezing of capital contribution targets has also been confirmed.
The cooperative announced that it will work with Asset Match, an independent trading platform to be launched on 1 December, to provide a trading system for members that will deliver market-derived trading prices.
Commenting on the announcements, Chief Executive, Shelagh Hancock said: “These developments have been agreed in direct response to member feedback and have the full support of the Board and Member Council. In combination, these changes will recognise the loyalty of our long-standing members, remove some existing barriers to expansion on farm, and provide a simple and transparent way for members and retired members to trade shares.
“As we look to the future, these changes will help us deliver our growth strategy, which sees us investing significant capital into our sites to ensure we can meet the growing demand from our customers for our high-quality milk and cheese.”
