'As ForFarmers, we want to maintain our leading role'

With Pieter Wolleswinkel, ForFarmers has appointed a CEO from its own ranks for the longer term. He may lead the listed feed company through challenging times in the coming years. Are nomination early April was an unexpected turn, but not a surprise in any way. "I consider it an enormous honor to be able to lead ForFarmers. The aim is to jointly implement the strategy that was adjusted last year."

A lot preceded the appointment of Wolleswinkel earlier this month. After the departure of former CEO Yoram Knoop in April last year, ForFarmers found a successor in the person of Chris Deen, who came over from Aviko. Due to illness, he had to lay down work within a few months. This was unfortunate, because ForFarmers was then busy with the adjust strategy. Subsequently, former Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings was appointed in November, but he also resigned early this month due to personal circumstances. The Supervisory Board then acted appropriately and Wolleswinkel was appointed as the new CEO, he was previously operational director and responsible for the Dutch market.

Congratulations on your appointment as CEO of ForFarmers. What kind of leader are you and what accents do you want to place?
'Thank you. That's a tough question to answer about yourself. But I dare to say that I am a man of substance with a heart for livestock farming. The feed process from purchase to sale – with everything in between – intrigues me enormously. I consider it an enormous honor to lead ForFarmers. The aim is to jointly implement the strategy that was adjusted last year. Supplying high-quality feed at a competitive cost price is the basis. Today's markets are challenging and competitive, so creativity is called for. In addition, as an agricultural sector, we are also faced with a major sustainability issue, which we would like to give practical shape to with our knowledge on the farm.'

Due to the many changes in management, it seemed restless within ForFarmers in recent months. How did you experience this yourself?
'The departure of Chris Deen and Theo Spierings is unfortunate. Tasks had to be redistributed within management, which required rapid switching. Much has been said and written about us from the outside, often based on assumptions. Within ForFarmers we have experienced this differently and have tried to keep our eyes forward. We succeeded quite well given the circumstances.'

Can the Supervisory Board be blamed for not giving you confidence immediately after Yoram Knoop's departure?
'After Knoop's departure, I fully understood the decision to strengthen the management with an external and experienced director. All the more so to implement necessary changes in the strategy, which then had to be reassessed. I am extremely proud that I can now lead ForFarmers.'

A day after you took up your position as CEO, ForFarmers announced that it would be leaving Belgium. You don't waste time on it, but I'm sure this was a coincidence?
'That was indeed a coincidence. We had been working on this for months. The reason for leaving Belgium is a strategic one. Animal numbers there are under great pressure, particularly in pig farming as a result of African swine fever. With the nitrogen measures imminent, it is logical to expect the contraction to continue. We strive for a leading position in a country. Due to the still highly fragmented feed sector, the acquisition opportunities in Belgium were not suitable, so we had to rely on organic growth. When we were approached by Arvesta, we therefore decided our activities to sell. For the outside world, this may have been a significant change of course, but keeping the tons afloat at marginal margins is not sacred to us. Of course, keeping tonnages afloat is important, don't get me wrong. However, it is not an end in itself. We strive for a good utilization of our factories in order to be able to produce efficiently. Especially in the Netherlands, which is our most important market, we want to maintain or expand our leading role.'

You say expand, but animal numbers in the Netherlands are under pressure and your sales are declining…
'Animal numbers are indeed under pressure. Nevertheless, we believe it is possible to grow under our own steam, where in the past the focus was more on acquisitions. We believe that independent growth in market share in all subsectors is possible, although the markets are certainly challenging. Based on the circular idea, we strongly focus on co-products and also organic feeds. We are also looking at whether we can take steps in growth markets, such as Poland. However, we do this deliberately. A new country is no longer an end in itself, as stated in the revised strategy last year.'

Today, NGOs such as Milieudefensie make a 'moral appeal' to CEOs of large (agri) companies to become more sustainable. To what extent do you feel external pressure?
'I don't experience any pressure from TV commercials or whatever, but I do feel a responsibility to contribute to a reliable and sound food system. The bulk of the meat, dairy or eggs produced is consumed in the triangle of Berlin, Paris and London. We consider this to be local production. Food production is crucial, my main concern is that the Netherlands, as an agricultural country, will become an importer from a net exporter. Hopefully we can guarantee this in an agricultural agreement. In addition, it is clear to me that we as a sector must become more sustainable. We as ForFarmers would like to play a leading role in this. For example, reducing the amount of soy in the rations. Another concrete example is that our factory in Deventer has recently started running on biogas, based on manure from cows that we feed.'

Finally, the turmoil on the raw materials and energy markets has subsided somewhat, but the price of feed has not yet fallen very sharply. What can livestock farmers expect in the coming months?
'Looking forward is impossible in the current uncertain world, looking back I see a decline. Hopefully that trend will continue, but commodity markets are uncertain. Think of the war in Ukraine and the tensions between China and the United States. What is current today may be obsolete tomorrow. The fact is that volatility has increased considerably in recent years, making risk management even more important.'

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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