the person should also keep in mind that the transaction price between a patron and a cooperative is of little consequence if the cooperative follows strictly the business-at-cost principle. the final cost or return is not known until the books are closed for an accounting period and net income is distributed based on patronage. for example, if the net income of a cooperative is distributed based on patronage by major product lines, the cost per ton of fertilizer to a patron includes the initial transaction price less the value any patronage refund associated with the business. the net cost includes allowance for ant return to member-patron capital invested in the cooperative. the value of the patronage refund includes the amount paid in cash plus the prevent value of the retained portion to be received at some time in the future. to determine the short-term value of cooperative patronage for given product, you must compare the IOF product price to cooperative's initial price adjusted first for the present value of the patronage refund and then for the alternative yield of the member-patron's capital invested in the cooperative.