Waikato dairy co-operative Tatua has announced its highest ever financial surplus and milk payout.
Tatua is paying its farmer shareholders $8.10 a kilogram of milk solids for the past season.
It is keeping back 58 cents a kilogram from its earnings of more than $104 million.
Tatua chief executive Paul McGilvary says strong returns from its product mix, and astute foreign exchange management, helped to deliver the record result to the 87 farming families that own the co-operative.
Mr McGilvary says most dairy companies in New Zealand produce milk powder, but Tatua produces milk protein in the form of caseinate, and milk fat in the form of anhydrous milk fat, and the performance of both products in 2011 has been very strong.
Last week, dairy giant Fonterra also announced a record cash payout for its farmers of $7.90 a kilogram in milk payments and share dividends.
The country's other co-operative, Westland Milk Products, has announced its second-largest milk payout of $7.80 a kilogram of milk solids.
