Ceres Solutions paying out $45M to members
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Farmer members of Ceres Solutions will receive nearly $45 million this year in shared earnings, the Crawfordsville-based agriculture and energy cooperative announced this month.
“It is a cornerstone of the cooperative model to provide returns to farmer-owners whose membership and purchases help the cooperative prosper,” Ceres Solutions CEO Jeff Troike said in a news release. “Patronage and equity [payments] provide added value to our members for their support and bolster rural economies across Indiana and Michigan where our farmer-owners live, work, and conduct business.”
Ceres said it will redeem $33 million in patronage from the 2023 fiscal year and $11.5 million of equity earned in 2008-2013.
The amount of patronage paid back to each farmer is based upon the volume of business they complete with the cooperative. For 2023, about 5.5% of member business is being paid back, the news release said. The $44.5 million give-back represents nearly 65% of the company’s annual earnings.
On March 1, the Crawfordsville-based Ceres Solutions Cooperative Inc. will merge with Indianapolis-based Co-Alliance Cooperative Inc. The new organization, to be called Keystone Cooperative, will serve 20,000 farmer owners, operate 195 locations with 1,700 employees and have $3.1 billion in combined sales revenue. Company leadership has said that there are no plans for a reduction in workforce as a result of the merger.
The combined co-op will be based in Indianapolis and serve farmers in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.