Cooperative ForFarmers now Europe’s largest feed supplier

LOCHEM - Cooperatives have done well in the Netherlands. Its largest mortgage provider had its start as a rural-based cooperative money pools, now known as the Rabobank, a stable institution which does not depend on stock market value fluctuations. FrieslandCampina ranks among the world’s largest dairy concerns. Another cooperative is ForFarmers, the Lochem-based feed supplier which, through growth and notably mergers, is now the largest in its field in Europe. ForFarmers produced 8.8 million tons of feed with revenue of €6.6 billion, an accomplishment of the firm’s 2500 employees. ForFormers recently acquired BOMC Pauls in the U.K. Last fall, it acquired the feed arm of Nutreco in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, which included the well-known Hendrix brand. ForFarmers is controlled by another Dutch cooperative: FromFarmers.