The cooperative model is still very much alive, the Agrifirm management is convinced of that. The 'green and yellow' party wants to play a leading role in guiding the Dutch farmer through a difficult period of transformation, full of social and environmental issues.
During the presentation of the annual figures for 2018 at the head office in Apeldoorn, Agrifirm's ambitions were once again explained in detail by CEO Dick Hordijk, together with Director of Northwest Europe Ronald van de Ven and CFO Jaap Vessies. In addition, the challenges facing the sector were also discussed in detail; consider the transformation to circular agriculture and growing social suspicion of farmers.
'The year 2018 was challenging'
The year 2018 was a challenging year for Agrifirm, the management acknowledges. Due to last summer's drought, arable farmers purchased significantly fewer crop protection products, while the number of cows and pigs has also fallen sharply. "Over the past 2 years, the cattle herd fell by 10% and that has had a huge impact on our company," Hordijk said. This also explains why the cooperative once again sold less feed last year.
"On the other hand, Agrifirm sold approximately 1,5% more pig feed in the past year," Van de Ven said. This is most likely a result of the renovated production location in Veghel (North Brabant), which previously sometimes caused problems.
African swine fever
Conditions are also currently challenging in China, as African swine fever has broken out there. “Our most important animal category in China are pigs,” Hordijk explains. "Many of our customers are (in)directly affected by the consequences of the animal disease." Vessies adds: "In China we mainly sell special feeds, and not so much bulk flows." Now that the Chinese pig sector is struggling with African swine fever, sales are declining. Although he did not want to give exact numbers.
Agrifirm also made a number of acquisitions last year; for example, an interest was taken in Diam Grain, a supplier of premixes in Algeria. According to Hordijk, this is a strategic move for the future. "In Africa, the number of inhabitants will increase to 3 billion in the coming years and we have now gained a foothold there." One factory has also been taken over in Belgium. Hordijk confirms that Agrifirm will also be looking for acquisitions in the coming period, both at home and abroad.
Happy with circular agriculture
Conditions in the home market in the Netherlands are also more than challenging. The management is therefore pleased that Minister Carola Schouten (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) has put a dot on the horizon in the circular vision. “As the largest farmers' cooperative in the Netherlands, we embrace this vision,” says Hordijk. According to Hordijk, the fact that Agrifirm is large in both feed and plants offers an advantage. "This allows us to bundle our knowledge and creates synergy."
-Dick Hordijk
An example of where the interests of livestock farming and arable farming intersect is in the regional cultivation of proteins that can be processed into animal feed. The management states that it supports regional protein crops, but also knows that Brazilian soy is sometimes more sustainable. Agrifirm focuses on optimization by linking the right feed flow to a specific meat or dairy concept.
Together with the supermarket chains, Agrifirm wants to take the lead in forming chains. According to the management, this is also where the strength of the cooperative lies. "We think in the interests of the farmers and are prepared to reduce the use of crop protection products or concentrates in some concepts, even if we lose out on turnover as a result," says the CEO.
Hordijk knows that these are turbulent times for Dutch farmers, in which both society and politics impose all kinds of demands. "As a cooperative, it is our job to ensure that the measures on the farm remain manageable." According to Hordijk, 'efficiency' has taken on a completely different meaning: "It used to be the lowest cost price per m2 and now it has the lowest environmental impact per m2."
Profit from foreign shareholdings
Agrifirm's approximately 10.000 members will receive a profit distribution of €2018 million for 28. According to Vessies, this is not a cigar from its own box, as is sometimes thought. This is due to the 'coop+ factor', which is a distribution key between the net profit and the dividend; in 2018 the factor is 1,4. According to Hordijk, the Dutch members benefit additionally from the participations that Agrifirm has in, for example, Poland, Germany or Brazil.
The more profitable activities Agrifirm has abroad, the more lucrative it is for members. According to Vessies, members will receive approximately 2018% of the amount they spent at Agrifirm back in 5. Van der Ven says this amounts to approximately €10 per tonne of feed for livestock farmers. "That's really a lot," says Van de Ven.