Utah secures settlement targeting practices that drove meat prices up 

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — Utah joined a bipartisan coalition of states working with the US Department of Justice in resolving the civil antitrust lawsuit against Agri Stats, Inc. for helping meat processors share confidential business information in ways that undermined fair competition. The settlement, reached just before trial was set to begin, requires Agri Stats to stop sharing that type of sensitive data and to make its reports available to anyone who wants to buy them, not just meat processing companies. 

“When companies secretly share pricing data to avoid competing with each other, everyday Utahns pay more at the grocery store,” said Attorney General Derek Brown. “This settlement stops that conduct and puts rules in place that force the market to work the way it’s supposed to work.”  

In their November 2023 lawsuit, Utah, along with the DOJ and the states, alleged that Agri Stats’ sharing of sensitive information violated Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act and allowed competing meat processors to collude with one another resulting in higher prices for American consumers. The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial in Minnesota on May 18, 2026.  

Under the terms of the settlement:   

• Meat processors a prohibited from using Agri Stats to share certain types of sensitive pricing data with one another, an industry practice that made it easier for competitors to artificially keep prices high.  
• Agri Stats can no longer publish rankings that show the meat processors exactly how they stack up against their rivals, which also helped fuel anticompetitive behavior.  
• Agri Stats’ reports, previously available only to large meat processors, must now be made available to anyone who wants to purchase them, including businesses, workers, and the public.  
• The Department of Justice will monitor Agri Stats going forward to make sure it follows the new rules, and the states involved will receive financial compensation.  

The coalition led by the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General includes California, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and the DOJ.