DFA retains top spot as Lactalis USA reaches third

Dairy Foods’ 2026 Dairy Top 100 recorded changes in the North American processing rankings while the two leading positions remained unchanged. Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), the Kansas City-based cooperative, held first place for a fourth successive year. Its annual revenue rose by $100m from the previous year to $23.1bn.

Saputo, headquartered in Montreal, stayed at No. 2. The company processes cheese, fluid milk and dairy ingredients. The ranking was published before the completion of Saputo’s announced divestment in the UK.

Lactalis USA made the largest move among the leading processors, advancing four places from No. 7 to No. 3. The company’s acquisition of General Mills’ US yoghurt business added a division with $1.2bn in revenue, almost 1,000 employees and two large production sites.

The new Midwest Yogurt division includes the Yoplait, Go-Gurt, Oui and :ratio brands, alongside Lactalis labels Siggi’s and Stonyfield Organic. The transaction placed Lactalis among the three largest participants in the US fresh-dairy market, according to the ranking’s accompanying report.

The Magnum Ice Cream Co. appeared in the list for the first time at No. 5, following Unilever’s separation and spinoff of its worldwide ice-cream operations. The standalone company reported global revenue of $9.1bn. Its brands include Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Talenti and Klondike.

Nestlé North America ranked fourth. It was followed by Savencia Fromage & Dairy’s US operations at No. 6, Danone North America at No. 7, Schreiber Foods at No. 8, Canadian cooperative Agropur at No. 9 and Mexico-based Grupo LALA at No. 10. Further down the list, Wells Enterprises, part of Ferrero Group, Hilmar Cheese Company, Darigold and Glanbia were identified as processors recording volume growth. The report linked that growth to higher values for protein components and the separation of value-added ingredients.