12. Equities

The authorized capital stock at December 31, 2002 consists of 2,000 shares of Class A Common, $1,000 par value; 50,000 shares of Class B Common, $1 par value; 500 shares of nonvoting Class C Common, $1,000 par value; 10,000 shares of nonvoting Class D Common, $1 par value; and 1,000,000 shares of nonvoting, 8% non-cumulative Preferred, $10 par value.

The following details the activity in membership shares during the three years ended December 31, 2002:

	NUMBER OF SHARES
			common					Preferred
	A		B		C		D
December 31, 1999	878		7,754		117		3,099		106,723
New Members	327		295		84		671		-
Redemptions	(39	)	(2,195	)	(4	)	(2,270	)	(9,289
December 31, 2000	1,166		5,890		197		1,500		97,434
New Members	47		716		18		364		-
Redemptions	(41	)	(739	)	(15	)	(426	)	(4,865
December 31, 2001	1.172		5,867		200		1,438		92,569
New Members	3		321		2		137		-
Redemptions	(48	)	(981	)	(8	)	(470	)	(6,289	)
December 31, 2002	1,127		5,207		194		1,105		86,280

Patronage refunds to members of $96.9 million, $70.6 million and $142.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000, respectively, are based on earnings in specific patronage or product categories and in proportion to the business each member does within each category. For 2002, Land O'Lakes will issue qualified patronage and non-qualified refunds in the amount of $13.7 million and $83.2 million, respectively. Qualified patronage refunds are tax deductible by the Company when qualified written notices of allocation are issued and non-qualified patronage refunds are tax deductible when redeemed with cash.

The allocation to retained earnings of $12.3 million in 2002, $(1.8) million in 2001 and $(34.0) million in 2000 represents earnings or (losses) generated by non-member businesses plus amounts under the retained earnings program as provided in the bylaws of the Company.