General (Policies)	9 Months Ended
General (Policies)	Sep. 30, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Nature of Our Business	Nature of Our Business — We are a leading food and beverage company and the largest processor and direct-to-store distributor of fluid milk and other dairy and dairy case products in the United States. We have aligned our leadership teams, operating strategies and supply chain initiatives under a single operating and reportable segment. We manufacture, market and distribute a wide variety of branded and private label dairy case products, including fluid milk, ice cream, cultured dairy products, creamers, ice cream mix and other dairy products across the United States. Our portfolio includes DairyPure^®, our recently launched national white milk brand, and TruMoo^®, a leading national flavored milk brand, along with well-known regional dairy brands. In all, we have more than 50 local and regional dairy brands and private labels.
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation — The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been prepared on the same basis as the Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 (the “2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K”), which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 17, 2015. In our opinion, we have made all necessary adjustments (which include only normal recurring adjustments) to present fairly, in all material respects, our consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows as of the dates and for the periods presented. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been omitted. Our results of operations for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2015 may not be indicative of our operating results for the full year. The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in our 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unless otherwise indicated, references in this report to “we,” “us,” “our” or "the Company" refer to Dean Foods Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements	Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued FASB Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-08, Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity, which changes the criteria for determining which disposals can be presented as discontinued operations and modifies related disclosure requirements. We were required to adopt the standard prospectively for new disposals and new classifications of disposal groups as held for sale beginning the first quarter of 2015. The adoption of this standard had no material impact on our financial statements as of September 30, 2015. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. ASU 2014-09 supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in “Revenue Recognition (Topic 605)”, and requires an entity to recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In July 2015, the FASB deferred the effective date by one year to December 15, 2017, for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after that date. This standard also permits early adoption, but not before the original effective date of December 15, 2016. We are currently evaluating the effect that the adoption of this standard will have on our financial statements. In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-12, Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period. ASU No. 2014-12 requires that a performance target that affects vesting and that could be achieved after the requisite service period should be treated as a performance condition. A reporting entity should apply existing guidance in Topic 718 as it relates to awards with performance conditions that affect vesting to account for such awards. As such, the performance target should not be reflected in estimating the grant-date fair value of the award. ASU 2014-12 is effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. Earlier adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the effect that the adoption of this standard will have on our financial statements. In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern. ASU 2014-15 provides guidance on determining when and how to disclose going concern uncertainties in the financial statements. The new standard requires management to perform interim and annual assessments of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year of the date the financial statements are issued. An entity must provide certain disclosures if conditions or events raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. ASU 2014-15 applies to all entities and is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods thereafter, with early adoption permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on our financial statements. In January 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-01, Extraordinary and Unusual Items - Simplifying Income Statement Presentation by Eliminating the Concept of Extraordinary Items. ASU 2015-01 eliminates the concept of extraordinary items and their segregation from the results of ordinary operations and expands presentation and disclosure guidance to include items that are both unusual in nature and occur infrequently. The new accounting standard is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2015. We are currently evaluating the effect that the adoption of this standard will have on our financial statements. In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-03, Imputation of Interest - Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs. ASU 2015-03 requires debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability to be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts or premiums. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by this ASU. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-15, Presentation and Subsequent Measurement of Debt Issuance Costs Associated with Line-of-Credit Arrangements. ASU 2015-15 clarifies ASU 2015-03 by allowing the presentation of debt issuance costs related to a line-of-credit to be recorded as an asset instead of as a direct deduction of the carrying amount of the debt liability as required by ASU 2015-03, regardless of whether there are any outstanding borrowings on the line-of-credit arrangement. ASU 2015-15 is effective immediately. ASU 2015-03 is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015; early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the effect that the adoption of this standard will have on our financial statements. In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-11, Inventory - Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory. Under ASU 2015-11, entities utilizing the FIFO or average cost method should measure inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value, where net realizable value is defined as the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. The amendments in this ASU should be applied prospectively and will be effective beginning January 1, 2017 with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the effect that the adoption of this standard will have on our financial statements.
Asset Impairment Charges	Asset Impairment Charges We evaluate our long-lived assets for impairment when circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Indicators of impairment could include, among other factors, significant changes in the business environment or the planned closure of a facility. Considerable management judgment is necessary to evaluate the impact of operating changes and to estimate future cash flows. As a result of certain changes to our business and plans for consolidating our production network, we evaluated the impact that we expect these changes to have on our projected future cash flows as of September 30, 2015. Testing the assets for recoverability involved developing estimates of future cash flows directly associated with, and that are expected to arise as a direct result of, the use and eventual disposition of the assets. Other inputs were based on assessment of an individual asset’s alternative use within other production facilities, evaluation of recent market data and historical liquidation sales values for similar assets. As the inputs for testing for recoverability are largely based on management’s judgments and are not generally observable in active markets, we consider such measurements to be Level 3 measurements in the fair value hierarchy. See Note 6. The results of our analysis indicated no impairment of our plant, property and equipment, outside of facility closing and reorganization costs, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, we recorded an impairment of our plant, property and equipment of $7.4 million. We can provide no assurance that we will not have impairment charges in future periods as a result of changes in our business environment, operating results or the assumptions and estimates utilized in our impairment tests.