Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc.

Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc., doing business as Bison Products, is a for-profit dairy manufacturer based in Lancaster, New York, that supplies fresh fluid milk, evaporated skim milk, and dairy products (including chocolate milk, yogurt, and cheese) to federal agencies as a prime contractor, competing exclusively in unrestricted, full-and-open procurements with no SBA certifications or set-aside designations.

Bison Products operates as a commodity supplier to three distinct customer bases. By award count, the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Subsistence dominates the footprint—2,363 awards across small-value delivery orders for chocolate milk and low-fat dairy products to military dining facilities, though these orders average under $400 each and carry a combined potential value of $4.4 million. By dollar concentration, the Defense Commissary Agency anchors the portfolio with 34 awards valued at $70.5 million combined potential value, representing a significant recompete exposure window. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service accounts for 43 awards worth $8.9 million combined potential value—predominantly definitive contracts for evaporated skim milk and fresh fluid milk in 24-pack cases and bulk containers supporting domestic food assistance programs, with deliveries to Batavia, New York and distributed to USDA commodity recipients nationwide. The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Integrated Service Network 2 maintains 78 awards worth $5.1 million combined potential value, including single-award indefinite delivery contracts running through September 2027 to supply milk and dairy products to Canandaigua, Bath, Buffalo, and Batavia VA medical centers. The Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Washington Office holds 47 awards worth $4.9 million combined potential value for fresh fluid milk in various container sizes.

Recent activity has declined sharply. The vendor captured 427 awards in 2022, declining to 190 in 2023, 14 in 2024, 8 in 2025, and 3 year-to-date in 2026—a trajectory suggesting either loss of prime contract positions or shift toward lower-volume, higher-value vehicles. The Defense Commissary Agency contract (HDEC0107G6712) carries 23 task orders worth $60.5 million combined potential value and represents the highest-value concentration, followed by two DLA Troop Support indefinite delivery contracts (SPE30020DV365 and SPE30017DV282) that together hold 2,355 small-value task orders totaling roughly $835 thousand. Only $350 thousand combined potential value across four awards reaches ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, limiting near-term recompete exposure.

The vendor holds one cooperative agreement as a prime recipient from the USDA Dairy Program: a Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (PMVAP) agreement awarded April 6, 2023, with completion December 31, 2024, under which Bison Products disbursed pandemic relief funds to eligible dairy farmers and provided dairy policy education, with no subrecipient activities. The vendor also acts as a sub-recipient on a workforce development grant from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture (From Farm to Future: Expanding a model workforce program through apprenticeship), awarded November 18, 2025.

Bison Products' federal footprint is almost entirely manufacturing commodity—fluid milk (NAICS 311511), evaporated dairy products (NAICS 311514), and related PSC 8910 (Dairy Foods and Eggs). The company operates manufacturing and distribution infrastructure at Batavia, New York and maintains headquarters in Lancaster, New York, with SAM.gov registration dating to February 2002. The vendor competes in unrestricted procurements and has not pursued or won awards under set-aside vehicles, positioning it as a conventional commercial supplier rather than a small-business vendor.