Prairie Farms Dairy Inc.

Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. is a major Midwest dairy cooperative and manufacturer of fluid milk and dairy products based in Edwardsville, Illinois, operating as a prime contractor on full-and-open federal procurements with no set-aside designations. The company competes across 414 federal awards spanning contract vehicles and grant programs with no subcontractor presence; 100% of awards are prime. Prairie Farms holds a for-profit structure and operates multiple subsidiaries including Hiland Dairy Foods Company LLC and Roberts Dairy Company LLC, which extend the company's federal footprint across civilian and defense feeding programs.

Prairie Farms' capability portfolio centers on fresh fluid milk procurement and dairy commodity supply for federal food assistance programs, correctional facility feeding, VA medical center nutrition, and military subsistence operations. The company fulfills definitive contracts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service and Food and Nutrition Service for fresh milk in multiple fat percentages and container sizes—1%, 2%, whole, and skim milk in 64-ounce and 128-ounce containers—supporting domestic food donation initiatives. Representative awards include a $2.012 billion definitive contract with USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service for fresh fluid milk commodities to support food assistance programs (awarded March 19, 2024), a $1.762 million USDA contract for milk supply to domestic food assistance (awarded August 1, 2024), and a $1.056 million Food and Nutrition Service definitive contract for fresh milk delivery (awarded August 25, 2021). The company also supplies dairy products to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Veterans Affairs, and Defense Logistics Agency through monthly and quarterly purchase orders and indefinite delivery contracts.

Customer concentration is heavily tilted toward USDA. By award count, the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Subsistence dominates with 135 awards ($273 thousand combined potential value), but that reflects numerous small delivery orders (many under $300) for low-fat and chocolate milk to military subsistence. By potential value, the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service Specialty Crops Program anchors the portfolio at $125.1 million (1 award), followed by AMS Washington Office ($30 million across 45 awards) and Food and Nutrition Service ($14.5 million across 35 awards). This concentration underscores Prairie Farms' role as a primary supplier to USDA food commodity programs; the Department of Justice Bureau of Prisons accounts for $740 thousand across 30 awards, and Veterans Affairs $1.2 million across 11 awards. The 63% coverage of the top five customers shows a concentrated but multi-agency customer base.

Prairie Farms holds five named indefinite delivery contracts (IDCs) supporting task-order activity. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Subsistence IDC (SPE30021DV383) carries 134 task orders with $23 thousand combined potential value, primarily small milk delivery orders to military customers. Three Bureau of Prisons IDCs (DJB40904BPA005, DJBP041800000100) total 26 task orders and $408 thousand combined potential value. The Department of Veterans Affairs IDC (36C25020D0024) holds 3 task orders valued at $244 thousand. A second VA contract vehicle (36C25023D0025) carries 3 task orders at $255 thousand. These vehicles enable efficient quarterly and monthly replenishment of dairy products to federal feeding operations.

Activity shows a sharp decline in recent years. Prairie Farms recorded 82 awards in 2022, dropping to 13 awards in 2023, 10 in 2024, and holding at 13 in both 2025 and 2026 year-to-date. The most recent award—a $37,339 purchase order from Federal Correctional Complex Terre Haute for dairy products (awarded July 1, 2026)—indicates continuing operational presence but at significantly reduced volume. Five awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months carry combined potential value of $1.5 million, exposing the company to minimal recompete cliff in that window; the dominant recompete exposure centers on the $125.1 million AMS Specialty Crops Program award, which has not yet reached completion.

Prairie Farms operates exclusively in prime-contractor capacity with no subcontractor relationships in the source data. The company is a manufacturer of goods classified primarily under NAICS 311511 (Fluid Milk Manufacturing) and 311520 (Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing), with PSC coding dominated by Dairy Foods and Eggs (393 awards). Federal grant work includes two cooperative agreements with USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service under the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (CFDA 10.183): an $11.3 million award (January 5, 2022 through June 30, 2022) and a $1.5 million award (April 5, 2023 through December 31, 2024) to distribute pandemic relief payments to eligible dairy farmers and conduct dairy policy education. These represent Prairie Farms' role as an administrator of producer assistance rather than a service contractor.