Summary: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declined to suspend or exclude from participating in school milk contracts a number of dairies and individuals convicted of bid-rigging because the Food and Nutrition Service lacks investigators and lawyers with expertise in such matters. Although both the Justice Department and USDA oversee agricultural cooperatives, currently no formal process is in place for sharing information on cooperatives' pricing. Instead, officials have relied on an informal ad hoc method for sharing information on bid-rigging. USDA has yet to suspend or disbar any of the 16 dairies or the 35 individuals convicted of bid-rigging from participating in federally funded child nutrition programs. Big-rigging awareness training for contracting officials has proven effective in deterring improper collusion. USDA has provided such instruction for school procurement officials in areas in which bid-rigging is known to have occurred and is expanding this training to other jurisdictions.
