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[letterhead]
LUTIN & COMPANY
575 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022
Telephone (212) 605-0335
Facsimile (212) 605-0325
April 16, 2003
By telecopier:
310/320-2436
Messrs. John M. Anglin,
Guenter W. Berger,
Lewis A. Coffman,
Roy E. Farmer,
Roy F. Farmer, and
John H. Merrell
c/o Farmer Bros. Co.
20333 South Normandie Avenue
Torrance, California 90502
To the members of the board of directors
of Farmer Bros. Co.:
You are each invited, either
individually or collectively, to state your views regarding the issues which
are currently being addressed by participants in the Forum for Shareholders
of Farmer Bros. Co.
It is assumed that you are
informed of reported shareholder concerns about such matters as the
company's compliance with federal regulations and management's provision of
information required by investors, and of the interest in strategic
alternatives to optimize shareholder value. Forum participants should know
how you view your essential responsibilities to public investors in relation
to these and other issues, aside from the legal requirements which may be
addressed by others. I therefore encourage you to simply state your
understanding of those public investor interests.
In this context, I should note my
observation of a nearly universal confidence among Forum participants in the
ability of Farmer Bros. management to operate the company's food business.
That business could clearly be successful as either a public or a private
company. But your current policies and practices clash with the company's
current status as an issuer of public securities, depriving both management
and shareholders of the rewards they could be enjoying. I therefore urge
you to consider which way Farmer Bros. Co. can best progress, choosing
between the public and private alternatives, and then decide how to make the
transition in a manner that satisfies your fiduciary duties to existing
public shareholders.
Sincerely yours,
Gary Lutin
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