Perhaps more than any year since the 1990s acquisitions race, 2006 has started out with a bang in terms of buyouts of dairy and cheese companies.
Last month Prairie Farms Dairy Inc., Carlinville, Ill., acquired Turner Dairy Holdings LLC, Covington, Tenn. Turner Dairies is one of the largest independent dairies in the Southeastern United States, with five plants in Tennessee and Arkansas. Prairie Farms owns 17 of its own plants in the Midwest and mid-south.