Dairy Farmers of Ontario financials

Thursday, January 9, 2014

by SUSAN MANN

Dairy Farmers of Ontario is projecting a $66,620 surplus for the 2014 fiscal year, delegates at the annual meeting in Toronto were told this week.

Revenues are pegged at about $18 million, while expenses are $17.9 million for 2014. For the second year in a row dairy farmers’ administrative license fee stays the same at 61.5 cents per hectoliter, as does the CQM (Canadian Quality Milk) license fee (two cents per hectolitre).

The 2014 budget, which was approved by the board in October 2013, is based on a number of assumptions. The organization’s 2014 fiscal year runs from Nov. 1, 2013 to Oct. 31, 2014. Some of the assumptions are:

• A 0.5 per cent milk production volume decrease and an increase in butterfat composition to four kilograms per hectolitre from 3.98 kilograms per hectolitre.
• An interest rate of 1.3 per cent up to May and 1.55 per cent after that.
• Building rental income of $120,000.
• Target inflation rate of two per cent.
• 2.5 per cent merit allowance for staff salary increases.

For the 2013 fiscal year, Dairy Farmers finished the year with a $307,108 operating surplus after projecting it would complete the year with a $539,093 deficit. Revenues in 2013 were $17.6 million, while expenses were $17.3 million.

The reasons for the strong financial results were “higher than budgeted interest revenues, other income and milk quality penalty revenues and lower salaries and benefits and depreciation costs,” the 2014 budget document says.

In other Dairy Farmers news, Ontario farmers produced 2.6 billion litres of milk in 2012/13 with a farm gate value of $2 billion. There were 3,980 dairy farms in the province, 207 trucks transporting the milk and 71 dairy processing plants. In addition, 425 farmers donated 845,710 litres of milk to Ontario food banks.

The number of dairy farms dropped slightly in 2013 from 4,042 in the previous year.

During a special board meeting after the annual meeting ended Thursday afternoon, Bill Emmott, board member for Region 7 (Brant, Haldimand, Halton, Niagara, Norfolk and Wentworth), was re-elected chair. Ralph Dietrich, board member for Region 11 (Bruce and Grey), is the first vice-chair while second vice-chair is Paul Vis, board member for Region 9 (Elgin, Essex, Kent, Lambton and Middlesex).

Graham Lloyd, general counsel and communications director, was reappointed as secretary to the board, while Patrick Hop Hing, corporate services director, was reappointed treasurer. BF