Dairy Farmers of America wins bid for bankrupt Dean Foods’ assets, including Greeley plant

DALLAS and GREELEY — The Dairy Farmers of America won the majority of milk-production plants owned by Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) in a bankruptcy auction, including the Meadow Gold plant in Greeley.

The Wisconsin-based cooperative paid $443 million for 44 production plants, including the Greeley plant and a sister Meadow Gold plant in Englewood, according to a list of preliminary results released Tuesday.

A bankruptcy hearing to approve the auction results is scheduled for Friday.

Dean Foods had notified the state in February that it planned to lay off the 82 employees at the plant at 450 25th St. as part of its ongoing bankruptcy, particularly because the plant was closed by federal regulators due to wastewater-treatment violations. Those layoffs were scheduled for March 13.

DFA has previously said that it plans to re-hire every laid off Dean employee at the acquired plants. A spokeswoman for the cooperative could not immediately reaffirm if that commitment is still in place while the world economy reels from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four other producers purchased 12 other Dean production facilities at the auction, with Illinois-based cooperative Prairie Farms buying 10.

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