Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America Inc. (DFA) is a national milk marketing cooperative in the United States. DFA markets members' raw milk and sells milk and derivative products (dairy products, food components, ingredients and shelf-stable dairy products) to wholesale buyers both domestically and abroad. Net sales in 2016 were $13.5 billion, representing about 22 percent of raw milk production in the United States. History. DFA was formed in 1998 through the merger of four dairy cooperatives: the Southern region of Associated Milk Producers Inc.; Mid-America Dairymen Inc.; Milk Marketing Inc.; and Western Dairymen Cooperative  Inc. Officials from the four cooperatives determined that merging would give the nation’s dairy farmers a fair voice in national policymaking and the ability to address the needs of national customers. Since then, five other cooperatives have become a part of DFA – Independent Cooperative Milk Producers Association, Valley of Virginia Milk Producers Association, California Cooperative Creamery, Black Hills Milk Producers and Dairylea Cooperative Inc. Its headquarters from 1998 until 2017 was near Kansas City International Airport in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2011, DFA acquired Kemps of St. Paul, Minnesota, and its subsidiaries from HP Hood. In 2014, DFA acquired  Oakhurst, and Dairylea Cooperative Inc. merged with the farmer-owned Cooperative. DFA became the sole owner of DairiConcepts in 2015, which was once a partnership between DFA and Fonterra Co-operative Group Unlimited. DFA also acquired Cumberland Dairy, a processor of ultra-pasteurized dairy products, in 2017. In February 2020 Dairy Farmers of America agreed to buy a “substantial” part of Dean Foods, the largest U.S. milk producer, for $433 million, the company said. As part of the deal, Dairy Farmers of America, an agricultural cooperative that represents roughly 14,000 dairy producers, would acquire 44 of Dean's plants . In May 2020 that deal was finalized and the acquisition was completed. Commodity price manipulation issues. In 2008, the Dairy Farmers of America and two former executives agreed to pay $12 million to settle Commodity Futures Trading Commission charges for attempting to manipulate the Class III milk futures contract and exceeding speculative position limits in that contract.