Friesland­Campina opens its doors to new members

Sybren Attema, Chair of Zuivelcoöperatie FrieslandCampina U.A.: ‘We are keen to be and remain an appealing cooperative for our member dairy farmers, and to that end, it is important to have sufficient scale. That will aid continuity, help us to maintain a solid competitive position, ensure optimum utilisation of our production network and thus keep our products and brands widely available on the market. Besides giving existing members ample scope for entrepreneurship, we are now opening our doors to new members too. The Board has been engaged in talks on this with the members, district council members and business recently. The insights gained now prompted this decision’.

Make joining easier

Applying for membership of FrieslandCampina was only possible subject to very strict conditions from the merger between Friesland Foods and Campina at the end of 2008 until now. That will now change. In order to facilitate joining through partnership with an existing member, the criterion pertaining to the duration of the partnership has been reduced from five years to three. In addition, the cooperative will be opening up to new members starting out or currently supplying another buyer. To make joining easier, the joining fee has been reduced from 15.00 to 5.00 euros per 100 kg of milk. A 2.00 euros discount per 100 kg of milk on the joining fee is given to loyal suppliers within the cooperative sphere. Financing options are offered to help with payment of the joining fee. On top of the joining fee, new members as well as existing members are required to purchase milk certificates for 8.00 euros per 100 kg.

Satisfying Foqus planet

Applicants are required to pass a joining assessment designed to ascertain whether the prospective member’s milk suits what the business is capable of processing and valorising. New members must satisfy the requirements set by Foqus planet, FrieslandCampina’s quality and sustainability programme. Furthermore, businesses need to have the potential to develop themselves in the area of sustainability. New members’ dairy cows should also have free-range throughout the year.

FrieslandCampina will be looking into whether it might be advisable to expand the scope of the cooperative beyond the current active areas in Germany and Belgium. Decisions will be made on this matter in December 2022. The member recruitment policy is reviewed at least once every three years.