DOJ Settles Agri Stats Antitrust Case

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Agri Stats Inc. will be required to substantially change how it provides data on the pork, turkey and broiler markets after a series of legal settlements in multiple antitrust cases, with the latest settlement announced Thursday in a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration.

The DOJ announced it filed a settlement proposal with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in a lawsuit that alleged the company shared "unlawful" information on chicken broiler prices, output and costs among competing meat processors.

In the past week, Agri Stats also agreed to settle an ongoing antitrust case filed by pork processors in the same federal court in Minnesota.

At the end of March 2026, Agri Stats agreed to similar non-monetary settlements in antitrust cases filed by the turkey and broiler industries in the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern Illinois.

Earlier this week, the DOJ announced the latest settlement was coming as part of a press conference updating the ongoing federal investigation into the meatpacking industry.

Once finalized, all the settlements would restrict the information Agri Stats would be allowed to share, essentially changing the company's business model as a granular data-collection company that required meat processors to provide proprietary data to receive industry reports.

The latest proposed settlement with the DOJ would require the company to stop providing any sales reports in the chicken broiler industry or non-public pricing information, which the DOJ alleges has been used by chicken, pork and turkey processors to "identify opportunities to increase prices," according to a DOJ news release.

Agri Stats would have to stop reporting production, cost and labor data at either the company or facility level because it "enabled competing processors to adjust output, pricing or both based on near-total visibility into their rivals' operations."

Most of the information distributed by Agri Stats would have to be made available to all interested domestic purchasers.

As is the case with all of the settlements, the DOJ would require the company to report to a court-appointed monitor and to establish an antitrust compliance program.

In a statement released Thursday, Agri Stats addressed rumors that it was providing the same kind of data to the beef industry.

"Contrary to online statements and other reports, Agri Stats has never provided any benchmarking services to companies in the beef industry and thus the case never had any application to beef prices, cattle ranchers, or any other aspect of the beef industry," Agri Stats said in a news release.

The DOJ on Thursday said the settlement would help to reduce food prices.

In Agri Stats' statement this week, however, said chicken prices have fallen since the company's founding.

Eric Scholer, president of Agri Stats and CEO of Express Markets, Inc., said the data provided to the chicken industry has helped improve its operations and efficiency.

"Since Agri Stats' founding, chicken prices have declined significantly and the amount available to consumers has increased several-fold," he said in a statement.

"Agri Stats has been instrumental in the efficiency improvements in the chicken industry that have made such wonderful results possible and we look forward to continue helping our subscribers improve their businesses, which will make chicken more affordable for all Americans."

Agri Stats' lead counsel Justin W. Bernick said in a statement that the company was confident it would have won in court.

"The overwhelming evidence in the case shows that Agri Stats' benchmarking services have been a great benefit to chicken, pork and turkey processors and consumers," he said, "and while we are confident that we would have prevailed at trial, the settlement we have reached will allow Agri Stats to continue its business without the burden and distractions of litigation and permit the company to keep providing the vital services to customers that, in turn, lower the prices of chicken."

As a result of the pork antitrust lawsuit filed in 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, a total of $180 million in settlements have been reached.

Read more on DTN:

"Agri Stats Settlement Coming, DOJ Says," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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