ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, US — CHS Inc., the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States, intends to return $600 million in cash patronage and equity redemptions to its owners during calendar year 2025.

The CHS board of directors determines the total amount of cash to be returned to CHS owners at the close of each fiscal year in the form of cash patronage and redeemed equity. Based on business done with CHS in fiscal year 2024, which ended on Aug. 31, the CHS board elected to return $300 million in cash patronage and $300 million through equity redemptions to CHS owners. This is the third highest amount of cash returns to owners in CHS history.

When the cash returns earmarked for distribution in 2025 are complete, CHS said it will have returned more than $2.3 billion to owners over the past three years and nearly $3.5 billion over the past 10 years. CHS owners are member cooperatives and farmer-owners.

“The cooperative model is based on the concept of building strength by working together,” said Dan Schurr, chair of the CHS board of directors. “As a leading cooperative, CHS is committed to sharing that financial strength with our owners, the farmers, ranchers and cooperatives who make up rural America. As CHS continues to build capabilities and efficiencies to better serve our owners, customers and communities, we are acting on our purpose of creating connections to empower agriculture.”

Final financial results for fiscal year 2024 are expected to be announced in November. Additional patronage-related details will be available at that time, including the amount of fiscal year 2024 patronage equity certificates that will be issued to members, CHS said.

CHS serves customers in 65 countries and employs nearly 10,000 people worldwide. The cooperative’s agronomy, grains, foods and energy businesses recorded revenues of $45.6 billion in fiscal year 2023.