Tirlán’s farmers will share in a €6m windfall as part of the co-op’s 2023 trading bonus scheme.

The payout will be worth €1,270 on average for the co-op’s 4,700 farmer shareholders.

Over €3.1m will be paid out in February to milk supplier members who qualified for the trading bonus last year.

A further €300,000 will issue to Tirlán’s drystock farmers through the feed bonuses.

A payment of €1.3m is currently being paid to grain suppliers, with a further €1.1m to issue in the summer months.

Rolled over

Tirlán confirmed that the co-operative’s trading bonus scheme will be rolled over for 2024, with milk suppliers receiving a bonus of 0.25c/l for farmers who spend the equivalent of 8c/l or more with the business on inputs.

The co-op confirmed that the extension of the tillage trading bonus to non-shareholders will be continued in 2024. The bonus is worth €10/t for grain growers who purchase inputs to the value of €60/t or more with the business.

Beef and sheep farmer customers of Tirlán that are co-op members will also qualify for a feed bonus in 2024. This is worth €10/t for concentrates and €3/t for straights.

Commenting on the payout to farmers, Tirlán’s chair John Murphy said: “The trading bonus scheme rewards our members for trading with their co-op. As a 100% farmer-owned co-op, with €1.1bn in equity value, it is more important than ever that we support our own business.”

Meanwhile, Tirlán has doubled its bonus allowances on protected urea in 2024 to encourage usage of the environmentally-friendly fertiliser.

The co-op confirmed that very €1 spent on protected urea in 2024 will count as €2 towards the calculation of farmers’ trading bonus for milk and grain.