Meat packing company JBS has agreed to a partial settlement of $52.2 million in an anti-trust lawsuit alleging price fixing.
The lawsuit was originally filed in June 2020 through the US District Court of Minnesota alleging cattle market manipulation by the nation’s four largest meat packers: JBS, Tyson, Cargill and National Beef.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said while this is separate from the case his organization filed, it’s watching it very closely and believes it’s a good sign for the cattle industry on this front.
National Cattleman’s Beef Association Vice President Todd Wilkinson of South Dakota, though, told Brownfield that his organization is concerned the settlement might prompt the Department of Justice to back off on its related investigation.
