California Dairies Inc.

California Dairies Inc., a small agricultural cooperative based in Visalia, California, manufactures and supplies dairy products — ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk, butter, and evaporated milk — to the Department of Agriculture as a prime contractor for federal food assistance programs. The vendor operates exclusively as a prime (100% of awards) under full-and-open procurement; no set-asides characterize its federal footprint.

California Dairies is a for-profit agricultural cooperative with a named subsidiary, Challenge Dairy Products, Inc. Its federal work falls under NAICS 311514 (Dry, Condensed, and Evaporated Dairy Product Manufacturing) and NAICS 311512 (Creamery Butter Manufacturing), with PSC 8910 (Dairy Foods and Eggs) covering commodity food procurements for domestic food assistance.

The vendor's customer base is entirely concentrated within the Department of Agriculture, with all five awards spanning three distinct organizational units: the Agricultural Marketing Service Washington Office (2 awards, $72.6 million combined potential value), the Food and Nutrition Service (1 award, $286 thousand), the Agricultural Marketing Service (1 award), and the Agricultural Marketing Service Dairy Program (1 award). The two largest awards are definitive contracts from USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service: a $70.56 million butter procurement for salted butter in 1-pound cartons under Section 32 (ultimate completion December 31, 2026, performance at Turlock, California) and a $2.08 million UHT milk award for 2% and 1% milkfat products (ultimate completion December 31, 2026, performance at Pumpkin Center, California). A third recent award from the Food and Nutrition Service carries $286 thousand for 2,640 boxes of 1% milkfat UHT milk, also completing September 15, 2026, with performance in Pumpkin Center.

California Dairies also holds two federal grant awards as a recipient under the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (PMVAP, CFDA 10.183) through cooperative agreements with USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. The vendor distributed pandemic relief assistance to eligible dairy farmers, including a $9.8 million award (December 6, 2021, ultimate completion June 30, 2022) and a second PMVAP cooperative agreement (April 5, 2023, ultimate completion December 31, 2024). Under these agreements, California Dairies disbursed funds to producers, obtained income attestations, issued 1099-MISC forms, and conducted dairy policy education; no subrecipient activities were involved.

Activity is sparse but recent: one award in 2021, one in 2023, and three in 2026 (most recent May 6, 2026). Three awards — the two largest commodity contracts and one grant — carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, exposing a combined potential value of $72.9 million to recompete. Combined dollars obligated across all five awards ($88.9 million) exceed the combined potential value ($72.9 million), indicating invoicing beyond contract ceiling on at least one award.