ForFarmers considers the opinions of its stakeholders to be important. At least once every three years, ForFarmers conducts a structured survey to assess which topics external and internal stakeholders consider important in relation to the agricultural sector in general, and the role of ForFarmers in particular. The results of that survey form the basis for the materiality analysis presented in the chapter on sustainability. The last survey took place in 2017. For this annual report, short interviews were held with a number of different stakeholders to ask them about their experiences with, and expectations of, ForFarmers. Issues such as sustainability, the Total Feed approach and the mission ‘For the Future of Farmers’ were also raised during these interviews. The survey yielded some interesting insights, a selection of which are given below:

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Johan Arkink
Dairy farmer in Weerselo, Netherlands, member of Coöperatie FromFarmers (the 'Cooperative’) and shareholder of ForFarmers

“My wife and I run a dairy farm in Weerselo together with our youngest son.
We have long been a customer of ForFarmers and its predecessors, even before the merger between ABC and CTA. And we are members of the Cooperative, of which I have also been a member of the Members' Council since 2013. In that role, I fully experienced the process surrounding the IPO in 2016. At the time, there were Members who had reservations but I thought otherwise. As a compound feed company, you can only survive if you can innovate. You need a certain scale for that, so you do need to grow. The acquisitions in Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands this year are a good example of this.”

“The IPO did lead to a dilemma. As a member of the Cooperative we are a shareholder of ForFarmers, but also a customer. As a shareholder, you want to see the share price - and dividend - increase as much as possible, but if the feed becomes too expensive, the farmers will leave. Focus groups have therefore been set up for all sectors to make an objective comparison of the price/quality ratio of ForFarmers' and competitors' feeds. This guarantees market conformity. This balance must also exist in the Supervisory Board. This board should comprise enough farmer members, because that leads to a greater alignmentwith the farmers.”

“Besides good feed for a good price, I think good advice is also worth a lot. ForFarmers employs specialists who know everything about a variety of subjects ranging from milking robots to manure legislation. This is sorely needed because environmental problems have a major impact on the sector. The pressure continues to increase while farms in the Netherlands are super-efficient with a relatively small carbon footprint. Perhaps ForFarmers can do better at demonstrating what we are doing already.”

Olivier and Steven Algoet
ForFarmers acquired Voeders Algoet in Zulte, Belgium in October 2018

“Voeders Algoet is a Belgian animal feed company. We sell compound feed to pig and ruminant farmers. ForFarmers acquired our company in 2018. The main reasons that led to us selling our company were scale and growth. In our sector, scale is of increasing importance. For our customers, but also for us as an animal feed company. We need to work ever more efficiently, so we need to optimise, generate volume and keep costs under control. Our feed mill was already operating at full capacity so we had to take the next step to continue to fulfil our ambitions for growth. And then ForFarmers came up with a proposal. It took us some time to accept it, also because we are a family business. We already knew each other quite well. We had some common customers - leading companies - and this gave us confidence about the way they worked.”

“What is really striking is that everyone within ForFarmers is doing their utmost to ensure that the integration of Voeders Algoet is running as smoothly as possible. This testifies to a strong ambition. Ambition that is absolutely necessary in order to be ready for the future. Our ‘family’ way of working wasn't just replaced by ForFarmers’ current way of working. No, the aim was to combine the strengths of the two organisations so that they would jointly become even stronger. Of course, it speaks for itself that there are also differences when you compare a family business with a listed company. But through good collaboration and mutual respect, we are succeeding in creating added value for our staff and clients.”

Jan Katerberg
Dealer Agro Noord, Hoogeveen, Netherlands

“As a ForFarmers dealer, we sell ruminant feed to a large number of customers in the Netherlands. In addition to feed, we also supply seed and fertiliser, for example. ForFarmers sells feed through us; our customers are therefore also customers of ForFarmers.”

“We were dealers of HendrixUTD. When ForFarmers took over this company in 2012 they decided to continue with the dealers. The whole ‘dealer’ phenomenon was new to ForFarmers, as they had always delivered directly to the farmer. The combination of dealer and direct delivery has proven to be very strong. We, as a small organisation, are the familiar face. ForFarmers is a large innovative organisation with a great deal of specialist knowledge that is able to produce feed for a good price-performance ratio, partly thanks to its large scale. Our team consists of our own employees and those of ForFarmers: and there's no difference between them. Everyone is happy to get on the farm.”

“The collaboration with ForFarmers is characterised by equality. It's like a good marriage. We share the same ambition: growth and continuity. For our organisations, but also for our customers - the farmers - and the sector. We do this by ensuring a good result on the farm and by working together to make livestock farming more sustainable. Although, I must say that the increasing pressure from society on this issue is demoralising for many farmers. Knowing what is happening on the farm is crucial to our work. That remains the challenge for ForFarmers in the future. And being proud of its roots and not forgetting its heritage: a farmers' cooperative.”

Mark Hayward
Dingley Dell, Outdoor Pig Producer, Suffolk, United Kingdom

“Dingley Dell is an Outdoor Pig Farm which produces pigs in a very high welfare environment. The farm has a strong focus on its own eco-system applying elements of circular farming; by giving back to the land, environment and wildlife. We use our own unique genetics and sell our high quality product to restaurants in the UK and Internationally. On and off we have been a customer of ForFarmers and its predecessor BOCM PAULS for an awful long time. First and foremost our decision for the supplier is triggered by a good price. The perfect feed company should be delivering on farm efficiencies as well as giving the best possible quote. We have recently experienced that ForFarmers is focusing big on innovation, trial work and using their knowledge to help us farmers. I would expect this focus on innovation to be translated to on farm solutions which provide us with better returns and efficiency.”

“Our ForFarmers team has a fair bit of practical experience on different pig farms and this is always helpful. We value this benchmarking advice. The guidance from specialist expert advisors has ensured we have a very close working scenario – we are always interested in what helps us reduce the cost of rearing a pig to deliver better returns. I believe ForFarmers are transparent (Team, Products and Planning) and, while in some cases the nutrition may not be that different, the value added comes from improving our efficiency.”

“I’m more than happy to work with ForFarmers although there have been some delivery problems. When they were highlighted everyone did their best to sort them. The rest is all very good. Product Quality is good, innovation is excellent and noticed. Sustainability is less tangible for a feed company. Whereas my company can tangibly adopt a sustainability strategy through improving our farms eco-system this is less evident in feed. With the focus on anti-biotic reduction ForFarmers are essentially relying on the customers to reduce their anti-biotic use. You can only provide advice but not actually reduce it. I know ForFarmers works e.g. on sustainability in their transport and manufacturing process, but this is not as sexy!”

Marco Meyer
Egg-laying poultry farmer in Wardenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany

“We currently have a barn with 30,000 laying hens and an extra barn under construction for another 30,000 laying hens. In 2013, we started with ‘free range’ and since then we’ve been buying our hen feed from ForFarmers. Before that, my father was also a customer of ForFarmers. In April 2018, we switched to Split Feeding. This is a feeding concept in which we give the laying hens two different types of feed every day: a morning and afternoon feed. The feed is adapted to the phase in the egg production cycle and thus to the changing nutrient requirements of the hen throughout the day. ForFarmers was the first company in Germany to introduce Split Feeding to the market. This drive for innovation appeals to me. Not to mention the result. This feed concept leads to a higher quality eggshell. It also reduces the costs of manure removal because the manure is much drier. In addition, the feed consumption per animal per day has decreased. This is an important result because in this business feed costs are often decisive to the success of a company.”

“But it's not just about feed. I’m interested in long-term business relationships. It's only when you know and trust each other that you can work well together. The relationship with ForFarmers is mainly determined by the local advisor. For me, it’s important to be on the same wavelength, and that is absolutely the case with us. If we encounter problems, a solution will be found together quickly.”

“We are participating in Agroscoop. This is a digital monitoring program from ForFarmers that enables us to assess our technical and financial data at any time. We can also compare the technical results with those of fellow poultry farmers. Handy. And we are apparently doing well, because in 2018 our company became the Agroscoop champion in the laying hen category with the lowest feed consumption per hen, a top quality eggshell and very good feathering.”

Anna Czwarno-Barszcz
Operational Director Farms, FERMA KLWÓW SP. Z O.O. in Pionki, Poland

“FERMA KLWÓW is part of the KPS Group. In 2018, the KPS Group had three companies with 1.2 million chickens, but in 2019 we're expanding to six companies with 2.5 million chickens. We’ve been working with Tasomix for more than two years now. We used to work with other feed producers, but as we, jointly with our customers, place high demands on the quality of the feed, we started looking for another producer who could meet our requirements. That was Tasomix. Tasomix is a reliable partner that works with us to produce broilers of the highest possible quality.”

“Tasomix offers farmers comprehensive advice on how to improve production results. The professional and personal approach of Tasomix is truly remarkable. It's one of the few companies that are willing to help you personally to put together an individual feeding programme based on expected results, the health of the animals and the current situation on the farm. We also attach great importance to the fact that the Tasomix blending mill is very clean, incorporates the latest technology and is operated by trained personnel. This is of great importance for the quality and safety of the product, and especially for us as a producer of animal products. After all, we deliver to retailers, customers who have very high demands. One thing that Tasomix does need to keep working on though is the punctuality of their deliveries.”

“We are very excited about the collaboration between Tasomix and ForFarmers. And, of course, we hope that as customers we will also benefit from the international knowledge and experience that ForFarmers brings to Tasomix, and vice versa.”

Anne-Sophie Heiltjes
ForFarmers, Marketing & Communication Ruminants, Lochem, Netherlands

“My interest in ForFarmers was aroused when I read an article about ForFarmers' Nutrition Innovation Centre (NIC) during my studies in Animal Sciences at Wageningen University. After graduating, I wanted to gain practical experience in an organisation with its own research department and signed up for the ForFarmers Commercial Trainee Programme. After the first job interview I was already 'completely sold'. The interview itself and the way in which the organisation was described - as progressive and with many opportunities for further development - appealed to me greatly.”

“The traineeship is well designed and it's special because you're being trained by colleagues. They know the company, know how things work in practice and can therefore train and advise you really well. My interest turned out to be broader than just sales, so after a few months in the field I got the chance to gain some experience in NIC and marketing. This allowed me to get to know the company in a relatively short time. Since September 2018, I’ve been here on a permanent basis and I am really enjoying it. Communication lines are short and you get a lot of freedom. Everyone is ‘committed to the company’ and ambitious; the bar is high, but that keeps you on your toes.”

“Of the three core values, ambition and partnership are the most familiar to me. They come together on the farm. Farmers are professionals and want serious advice from a specialist who knows what happens on a farm and how we can improve his business results. We are particularly strong in this area. With regard to sustainability, we do need to communicate this better. I know that we're doing a lot about it, I see it every day at work. In things like higher feed efficiency and animal health. Perhaps we should be doing that together with the farmers. That fits in perfectly with our mission ‘For the Future of Farming’.”