Antitrust — Latest Stories

2023 Year End Round Up

A recap of some of our biggest stories of 2023 and a look ahead to antimonopoly action expected in 2024.

Policy, Poultry & Livestock, RetailClaire KellowayMarch 17, 2022GIPSA, Executive Order, meatpacking, retail, USDA, Antitrust, Right to Repair, wage-fixing, mergers

White House Pushes Plan for Fairer Meat Markets – Will it Work?

The Biden administration will invest $1 billion in new plants and issue new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act. Will this help bring down meat prices?

Policy, Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayJanuary 6, 2022meatpacking, Biden, Vilsack, Antitrust, USDA

FTC Vote to Repeal Vertical Merger Guidelines Signals Shift to Stronger Enforcement

Antitrust agencies have had a light touch on vertical merger enforcement for decades. That may be about to change.

Mergers & Acquisitions, PolicyClaire KellowaySeptember 16, 2021Antitrust, mergers, vertical integration, FTC

Cargill, Continental Grain Take Over Chicken Leader Sanderson Farms for $4.5 Billion

As poultry corporations face price- and wage-fixing scandals, Cargill and Continental Grain want to further consolidate the industry.

Cyberattacks Aren’t the Only Issue in America’s Concentrated Cattle Market

Lawmakers and ranchers want answers from antitrust enforcers about rising consumer beef prices and stagnant live cattle prices.

Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayJune 10, 2021cattle, Antitrust, JBS, commodity markets

Attorney General Directed Agriculture Antitrust Investigations to Harass Cannabis Businesses, Whistleblower Says

A whistleblower from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division testified before Congress last week that Attorney General William Barr had disproportionately directed antitrust enforcement resources to scrutinize relatively small mergers between cannabis firms out of a personal dislike for the industry.

EnforcementClaire KellowayJune 30, 2020Antitrust, cannabis, DOJ, enforcement, Makan Delrahim, William Barr, mergers

Farmers Join Labor Union in Call to Protect Workers, Citing Need for Farmer Labor Solidarity - Poultry CEOs Indicted for Price Fixing

A group of farmers and ranchers last week joined the leading meatpacking workers’ union to demand greater protections for meatpacking workers, acknowledging a shared fight against mistreatment by large meatpackers in the wake of COVID-19.

LaborClaire KellowayJune 4, 2020Antitrust, COVID-19, meatpacking, ranchers, safety, solidarity, UFCW, workers, pork, resiliency, slaughter

Ranchers and Lawmakers Decry Market Manipulation, as Cattle Prices Plummet and Monopolies Profit on Coronavirus

Wholesale beef prices have jumped to record levels, as shoppers stockpile meat in response to the global coronavirus pandemic. But this run on beef isn’t helping cattle ranchers. On the contrary, cattle prices have plummeted since January, putting many ranchers on the brink of collapse.

Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayMarch 25, 2020Antitrust, collusion, consolidation, COVID-19, DOJ, JBS, price fixing, R-CALF, tyson, USDA, resiliency, Beef

Canadian Antitrust Enforcers Investigating Big Ag for Stifling Startup

Canada’s Competition Bureau is looking into an allegation that agribusiness giants Bayer, Corteva, BASF, Cargill, and others tried to crush an online ag retailing startup, the California-based Farmers Business Network (FBN), according to court filings reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Seeds & AgrichemicalsClaire KellowayFebruary 25, 2020Antitrust, Bayer, monsanto, seeds, Seeds & Agrichemicals, GMO, Big Data

Expanding the Frontier of Agricultural Co-ops, Maine Loggers Gain Collective Bargaining Rights

Last week, the Governor of Maine signed a law granting loggers and haulers the right to bargain collectively with forest owners and sawmills. Previously, loggers and haulers have had difficulty striking better contract terms with timber buyers because antitrust laws against price fixing prohibit independent contractors from coordinating.

Democratic Candidates Call for Antitrust Reform at Heartland Forum in Northwest Iowa

Last Saturday, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, and other Democratic Party presidential hopefuls gathered in Storm Lake, Iowa at the Heartland Forum to present their platforms for revitalizing rural communities. Preceding the forum, a coalition of farming groups held a rally nearby calling for a moratorium on large agricultural mergers and a Farmers Bill of Rights.

PolicyClaire KellowayApril 2, 2019Antitrust, Bayer, checkoff, consolidation, COOL, Farm Bureau, GIPSA, Iowa, merger, monsanto, politics, seeds