California Dairies Inc.

California Dairies Inc., a small agricultural cooperative headquartered in Visalia, California, manufactures and supplies dairy commodities to the Department of Agriculture as a prime contractor under full-and-open procurement. The cooperative does not hold set-asides and competes unrestricted across all federal awards.

California Dairies operates under NAICS 311512 (Creamery Butter Manufacturing) and 311514 (Dry, Condensed, and Evaporated Dairy Product Manufacturing), with PSC 8910 (Dairy Foods and Eggs) framing its federal work. The vendor's capability portfolio centers on evaporated and ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk products, salted butter in carton format, and related dairy commodity production for federal food assistance and nutrition programs.

Recent prime contract work is concentrated in two streams. The dominant award is a $70.6 million definitive contract from the Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (awarded April 13, 2026, performance through December 31, 2026) for salted butter in 1-pound cartons under Section 32 commodity procurement, with performance at the Turlock, California facility. Supporting that anchor are three UHT milk awards: a $2.08 million firm fixed-price contract (April 10, 2026) for 2% and 1% milkfat UHT milk delivered through December 31, 2026; a $286,089 contract (May 6, 2026) for 1% milkfat UHT milk in 27/8-fluid-ounce boxes completing September 15, 2026; and an $81,412 contract (August 13, 2026) for the same UHT milk specification completing November 30, 2026. These three UHT awards flow through the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service under agricultural marketing solicitations, with performance at the Pumpkin Center, California facility.

The Department of Agriculture accounts for 100% of recent contract work. Within that concentration, the Agricultural Marketing Service Washington Office dominates potential value at $72.6 million across two awards, while the Food and Nutrition Service carries $368 thousand across two awards. California Dairies holds no parent vehicles, GWACs, or BPAs; all work flows through individual definitive contracts under unrestricted IFB competition.

Three of the six total awards (combined potential value $72.7 million) reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete exposure starting in the fourth quarter of 2026. Notably, combined dollars obligated ($88.9 million) exceed combined potential value ($73 million) by 122 percent, signaling that invoiced delivery has exceeded contract ceilings — a pattern consistent with firm fixed-price commodity procurement where actual volumes or pricing shift during performance.

California Dairies operates a named subsidiary, Challenge Dairy Products, Inc., a for-profit organization. The cooperative also administered pandemic relief assistance through cooperative agreements with the Agricultural Marketing Service Dairy Program: a $9.8 million Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (PMVAP, CFDA 10.183) award (December 6, 2021, completed June 30, 2022) and a second PMVAP cooperative agreement (April 5, 2023, completed December 31, 2024). Under those agreements, California Dairies distributed assistance monies to eligible dairy farmers, obtained income attestations, issued 1099-MISC forms, and provided dairy policy education to farmers whose milk was marketed through federal milk marketing order handlers during July–December 2020.