A federal court in Minnesota has given final approval to the US Justice Department’s settlement with Agri Stats, the data and consulting firm used by most of America’s big chicken, turkey and pork processors. Law360 reported the decision on 11 September. Under the deal, Agri Stats must stop offering the sales reports that were at the heart of the government’s case.
The DOJ sued in 2023, joined by California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. It argued that Agri Stats gave competing processors detailed, non-public information on production, costs and prices that helped them coordinate. A trial had been due to start in Minnesota in May 2026 before the parties settled on 7 May.
What Agri Stats has to change
According to a summary by law firm Arnold & Porter, the settlement ends sales reports and non-public pricing information made available only to producers. The company can no longer report production, cost and labour data at company or plant level. Information it does share has to be offered to all interested domestic buyers on reasonable terms, and must generally be at least 45 days old on average, or 90 days for some production data.
No single contributor may account for more than 70% of a report’s data, and each statistic needs at least three contributors. A monitor will be appointed and the company must run an antitrust compliance programme. Price reports from its subsidiary Express Markets, which are available to anyone, can continue.
A settlement without a verdict
The deal includes no admission or finding of liability. Lee Hepner of the American Economic Liberties Project, quoted by The American Prospect, described it as “laundering the cartel”, arguing that it does little to deter others. The Prospect also noted that Agri Stats’ rankings reports can continue.
The case was never about a single price; it was about who gets to see the numbers, and how fresh they are.
What to watch
- Who is appointed as monitor, and how the data-age limits are enforced.
- Whether the settlement shapes benchmarking services in other food sectors.
- Related private price-fixing cases involving chicken, turkey and pork.
