Glanbia Co-op has confirmed the payment of €8 million to 4,800 farmer suppliers as part of the 2021 Trading Bonus Scheme.

The co-op has also confirmed that the same scheme for 2022 has been launched.

A trading bonus of 0.25c/L will be paid on all milk from suppliers that spend 8c/L or more with Glanbia in 2022.

For grain growing members, a trading bonus of up to €10/t of grain supplied is available for the 2022 harvest.

“The 2022 Trading Bonus Scheme is a continuation of the very successful scheme that has operated since 2018. The trading bonus rewards our members for trading with their own business,” Glanbia Co-op chairperson John Murphy said.

“As we continue our transition into full co-op ownership of our agri-trading business, it is more important than ever that we support our own co-op. I would again like to thank all members for their continued support of the Glanbia Ireland business during 2021,” he added.

“Our focus is on paying the best possible milk and grain prices for our members. The board also believes that it is important to reward members who trade with their own co-op.”

The 2022 Trading Bonus Scheme will be paid to co-op members based on their purchases from Glanbia Ireland and its subsidiaries.

For grain growers and beef and sheep farmers, the terms of the 2022 trading bonus scheme are largely unchanged from the 2021 scheme, Glanbia Co-op said.

For milk suppliers, a member who supplies 550,000L (an average supplier, according to the co-op), spending at least 8c/L with Glanbia Ireland, will see a payment worth €1,375.

Similar to previous years, purchases made through purchasing groups count at 50% for 2022.

At the end of the year, a milk supplier’s total spend with Glanbia Ireland will be divided by the liters of milk delivered to see if they reach the 8c/L threshold for payment.

For grain trading, there will be three rates of bonus payment. If a supplier spends greater than €60/t with Glanbia Ireland, they will receive a bonus of €10/t; a spend of between €50 and €60/t will see a bonus of €7.50/t; and a spend of between €40 and €50/t will see a bonus of €5/t.

The applicable trading bonus will be paid in February 2023.

Beef, sheep and pig farmers who are both members of Glanbia Co-op and customers of Glanbia Ireland will be eligible for a feed bonus.

For non-milk suppliers, the 2022 Feed Trading Bonus will be €10/t of beef, dairy and sheep feed products purchased from Glanbia Ireland, and €3/t of straight feeding stuffs.

For pig farmers, the 2022 Feed Trading Bonus will be €3/t of pig feed.