The company's recently released annual report, for the year ended September, said the payments made to Mr Cooper reflected a combination of base salary for a period, a short-term incentive related to the prior year, a retention incentive that related to prior and future years, annual and long-service leave, and a payment that reflected his ''significant contribution'' to the company.
Mr Cooper resigned in October last year, saying the time was right for change, and was replaced by Dean Hamilton.
He had worked at Silver Fern Farms since 1989, when it was known as PPCS, and was appointed chief executive in 2007.
There were 176 employees paid $100,000 or more during the year, the report said.
In their review of the year, Mr Hamilton and chairman Rob Hewett said it had been ''very significant on a number of fronts''.
The company achieved earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) of $86.9 million, a 28% improvement on the $68.1 million the prior year.
Net profit before tax was $27.2 million, up from $1.8 million the previous year.
Shareholders overwhelmingly supported the joint-venture proposal with Chinese-owned Shanghai Maling.
That investment was now only subject to regulatory approvals in China and New Zealand.
It was hoped to ''positively conclude these processes'' and begin the partnership in the second quarter of 2016.
The board intended to undertake a review in the next three to six months of the co-operative constitution, governance requirements and the approach to distribution of dividends it received from Silver Fern Farms Ltd in the future.
The board also wanted to increase the level of suppliers who were shareholders in the co-operative.
