(a) The net earnings and losses of an association formed under this Act shall be apportioned and distributed in such manner as the articles or cooperative agreement shall specify. Net earnings declared as patronage allocations with respect to a period of time, and paid or credited to patron members, shall be apportioned among the patron members in accordance with the ratio which each patron member’s patronage during the applicable time period bears to the total patronage by all patron members during that period.
     (b) The apportionment, distribution, and payment of net earnings required by subsection (a) of this Section may be in cash, credits, or written notices of allocation issued by the association.