CEREAL-growing members of Tynegrain are to receive an unexpected bonus.

The co-operative has enjoyed such an exceptionally successful year that the directors have decided to return most of the profits to members. They have also decided to split drying charges for this year to tie in with payments available to members.

The rebate will be £2, plus VAT, totalling more than £800 for the average farmer-member who contracted a 400-plus tonnage in the store for the 1999 harvest. It could be very much more for farmers who contracted larger amounts.

Mr Forster Holmes, chairman, said there was not a lot of good news around for farmers. "The directors therefore thought this was a particularly fitting time to do what they could to lessen the burden and alleviate some of the cash-flow problems that affect many members," he said.

Mr Holmes, who has Whinney Hill Farm, Morpeth, along with land in Sunderland, is a founder-director of Tynegrain and has been a board member throughout its 17-year history.

He said the co-operative had long experience in grain pool management and consistently generated very high returns for crops sold on behalf of its members.

It had consistently out-performed virtually every other grain pool in the country, building up its cash reserves to a highly satisfactory level in the process.

But Mr Holmes said that, even with that consistently high level of achievement, this past year's performance had been far beyond expectations.

"An excellent contribution from our marketing arm, GrainCo; better than expected profits from export handling and prudent management practice combined to create a surplus well above our original budgets for the year," he said.

As well as the rebate, the directors have also agreed that invoices for this harvest's drying charges will be payable in two instalments, half on December 15 this year and half on March 15, 2001.

"The rebate on the 1999/2000 drying charges will be credited to individual members on December this year, thus reducing the amount they would normally have to pay on that date," said Mr Holmes.

Meanwhile Tynegrain has strengthened its purchasing activities by merging its fertiliser purchasing with the Tyne Valley Dairy Group. It represents a combined annual purchase of 20,000 tonnes