Prairie Farms officials announced this week the company will discontinue production of two longtime Central Dairy products.
Central Dairy Chip ‘n Dip and Sour Cream will be discontinued “due to declining sales over the last several decades,” the company announced in a social media message to customers Monday.
Prairie Farms, which is based in Carlinville, Illinois, bought out Central Dairy in June 2007. Central Dairy had been in operation in Jefferson City for 75 years at the time of the sale. The company kept the Central Dairy name and has continued operation of the Jefferson City plant and ice cream shop on Madison Street.
Company officials said production of the two products nearly stopped several months ago when the machine that packages them broke down. The software to run the machine is no longer supported and it would be too expensive for running the products once a week, they added.
Prairie Farms plans to replace the two Central Dairy products with its French Onion, Bacon Cheddar and Jalapeno dips. Prairie Farms will also distribute its own sour cream.
Central Dairy management could not be reached for further comment Tuesday.
The company also noted there would be no reduction in jobs due to the product discontinuation.
The company discontinued production of Central Dairy’s cottage cheese in September 2018 after sales of the product, which was distributed only in the Jefferson City market, fell over the previous 15 years. Central Dairy ceased its Jefferson City home delivery service in 2016.