The co-operative’s Platinum and Gold shareholders, who supply 100 per cent of their stock to the co-operative, have received the quarterly payments, which cover the period July-September 2018.It brings the total amount distributed to loyal shareholders for the 2017/18 season to $16.77 million, an increase of 9.3% compared to the 2016/17 season.Farmers supplying 100 per cent of their lambs are paid an additional 10 cents per kilogram for each lamb, 6 cents/kg for sheep, 8.5 cents/kg for cattle and 10 cents/kg for deer. David Surveyor, Alliance Chief Executive, said: “These loyalty payments reflect how serious we are about rewarding consistent and committed supply.“As New Zealand’s only 100 per cent farmer-owned major red meat co-operative, farmers are at the heart of every decision we make. We’re committed to delivering our profits back to farmers or re-investing them into the business so we can deliver greater returns.“Our farmers receive a range of other benefits above the price on the day including through our yield mechanism, priority processing and free store stock facilitation.”The $1.73m was distributed in shareholders’ bank accounts on 31st October.