The Michigan Milk Producers Association recently paid $1.5 million in cash patronage refunds to its dairy farmer member-owners. This cash allocation represents 100 percent of the farm supply earnings and 25 percent of the milk marketing earnings. All members who marketed milk through MMPA for fiscal year 2018 received a portion of the allocation.
MMPA members received other cash payments in April 2018 of $4 million through retirement of the cooperative’s 2008 equities. With the current payment of $1.5 million, cash payments in the last 10 months total over $5.5 million.
“The nearly $6 million in patronage refunds and equity retirements we’ve recently returned to our member-owners speak to the financial strength MMPA,” Joe Diglio, MMPA CEO said. “These patronage refunds are the earnings achieved from our efforts on behalf of our member-owners.”
Cash patronage funds and equity allocations are based on the amount of milk each individual member farm marketed and on the supplies purchased through the cooperative during the year in which the earnings were achieved. Under the current board policy, the non-cash balance of the equity allocation will be revolved back to the members in future years.
The Michigan Milk Producers Association–established in 1916–is a member-owned and operated milk marketing cooperative and dairy processor serving approximately 1,600 dairy farmers throughout Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. In addition to a cheese plant in Indiana, MMPA operates two SQF Level 3 dairy ingredient plants in Michigan, producing butter, nonfat dry milk powder, condensed skim milk, cream and whole milk powder.
