The decision comes one and a half months after the two cooperatives’ board of directors presented a proposal to merge, which led to a debate in the two owner groups.
“We are delighted to welcome the new dairy farmers to our group of owners,” said Åke Hantoft, chairman of Arla Foods.
“Arla is a bigger business than Walhorn, but we have exactly the same desire to be part of a cooperative that enables us to grow and develop our farms,” said Åke Hantoft. “Some of Walhorn’s owners are already neighbours of Arla farmers, so in every way it feels like a natural step to merge with our colleagues at Walhorn.”
Following the merger, Arla will have 13,500 members. For the first time, the cooperative will have members in the Netherlands, resulting in Arla having owners in seven different northern European countries.
The merger will mainly impact Arla’s access to raw milk in Germany and Belgium, and the dairies in Pronsfeld, Germany and Nijkerk in the Netherlands.
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