The Justice Department, together with six state governments, has reached a settlement in its civil lawsuit against Agri Stats, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Thursday. According to Blanche, the agreement will expand access to Agri Stats' industry reports and should lead to lower retail meat prices for consumers.
In a complaint filed in September 2023, the Justice Department alleged that Agri Stats - an Indiana-based company known for issuing weekly reports on meat pricing and sales - had created conditions that enabled anti-competitive behavior across the chicken, pork and turkey sectors. The civil case had been scheduled to go to trial this month.
Agri Stats has previously described the government's claims as baseless, arguing that its reporting services have the effect of lowering prices. The company did not immediately provide comment in response to requests.
Blanche has argued that Agri Stats' prior business practices allowed confidential information to be shared only among meat producers, "putting buyers of meat - like grocery stores and restaurants - at a competitive disadvantage." He said the settlement requires Agri Stats to make its reports available to all buyers and sellers so that each level of the food supply chain "operates on an even playing field." On X, Blanche added that "This settlement means that meat prices will go down for consumers."
No settlement documents were immediately released publicly, leaving the precise mechanics of the report access changes and any compliance timelines unspecified in the announcement.
The resolution comes as the current administration has emphasized affordability, a theme Blanche and others have highlighted as politically salient amid public concern over the rising cost of living and opinions about how President Donald Trump has handled that issue.
The settlement with the Justice Department follows a series of related legal actions involving Agri Stats. In January, the company agreed to resolve a federal antitrust class action that alleged it conspired with major red meat processors to suppress wages for U.S. workers at processing plants. At that time, Agri Stats said it planned to alter how it reports certain labor-related data going forward.
Separately, in October Agri Stats reached a settlement in a Maryland federal court case that accused the company of conspiring with major poultry processors to keep worker wages artificially low. Those prior settlements and the new agreement with the Justice Department and six states form a cluster of legal outcomes tied to the company's reporting practices.
With settlement documents not yet released, questions remain about the specific changes Agri Stats must implement and the enforcement mechanisms that will oversee compliance. Until those details emerge, observers will be limited to the public statements offered by the Justice Department and state officials announcing the agreement.
Sector implications: The announcements touch on packaged meat producers, grocery retailers, restaurant buyers and labor in processing plants. The reported requirement to expand access to industry reports could alter competitive dynamics among suppliers and buyers across the poultry and red meat supply chains.