US dairy processor Dean Foods profits rise

America’s largest milk processor, Dean Foods, is forecasting a rise in profits, as the price it is paying to farmers has been driven down by a ‘glut’ in milk production.

Dean Foods buys raw milk from farmers, pasteurises and processes it, and then sells it on to retail stores, restaurants, and food-service vendors.

In the first quarter of 2016, the average price for Class I Mover, a raw-milk benchmark, will drop about 14% from a year earlier, Dean’s analysts said.