California Dairies, Inc.

California Dairies, Inc. is a dairy cooperative established in 1999 through the merger of three California-based dairy cooperatives - California Milk Producers, Danish Creamery Association, and San Joaquin Valley Dairymen, with its headquarters located in Visalia, California. The cooperative is owned by nearly 300 independent family-owned dairy farms across the state, spanning from San Diego County to Sacramento County.

Business/Product Breakdown

California Dairies, Inc. operates as a milk marketing and processing cooperative, sourcing raw milk from its member farms and transforming it into dairy products at facilities located within 100 miles of the producers. The company manufactures butter, milk powders, nutritional powders, fluid milk, aseptic milk products, and cheese, supplying these items for private label retail, foodservice accounts, industrial applications, and export markets. Through its subsidiary Challenge Dairy Products, it produces salted and unsalted butter under the Challenge and Danish Creamery brands, primarily for foodservice and retail channels. DairyAmerica, another subsidiary, handles milk powder production, including nonfat dry milk, whole milk powder, skim milk powder, buttermilk powder, milk protein concentrate, and milk protein isolate, serving domestic and international customers in food and nutritional sectors across more than 60 countries. Los Banos Foods focuses on cheddar cheese production for foodservice and industrial use. The cooperative maintains processing plants throughout California to ensure milk is handled within 24 hours of arrival, supporting distribution to grocery stores, club stores, mass merchandisers, the U.S. military, and global trade partners.