A solid year for the Pineland Co-op saw it make $2.26 million over the last fiscal year.
That’s not as high compared to fiscal year 2015, which saw it make $2.83 million. The weather affecting 2016’s harvest was one of the major factors affecting the bottom line. The co-op’s fiscal years end on Oct. 31.
“It’s actually in pretty good shape,” said Morley Doerksen, the co-op’s president, at his organization’s annual general meeting March 16. “Our balance sheet looks better than it has been for a lot of years.”
One of the biggest improvements for the co-op this year was its cash flow. In 2015, it began the year more than $62,000 in the hole in terms of cash and ended it with almost $278,000 in the black. For 2016, it ended with $1.94 million in cash.
Members received $1.39 million in patronage, compared to $1.91 million in 2015.
A good chunk of the co-op’s profit depended on a $2.58 million patronage refund from Federated Co-ops Ltd. Without that, the co-op would have made slightly more than $59,000. Doerksen said that dependence on Federated Co-ops is something the board’s watching.
“We’re definitely aware of that,” Doerksen said. “We have to make money on our own means, our own local earnings, make sure we make money for our own bottom line.”
As for the future, Doerksen said the Co-op is putting lots of effort travelling to farms to improve sales in that department. It’s also looking at future projects.
“We’re always doing feasibility studies in the background to see if certain projects are feasible to go forward with, but until we see those numbers, we can’t say for sure,” he said. “We’re always looking for somewhere to grow. We have to keep growing to stay relevant in our communities.”
The co-op’s also looking for a new general manager, with the previous one, Geoff German, leaving about a month ago. Doerksen said while the co-op’s finding the right candidate, its group of seasoned managers and help from the Federated Co-ops system will make sure everything runs smoothly in the meantime.
