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JBS agrees to $52 million settlement in antitrust lawsuit

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 says while this is separate from the case his organization filed, they are watching it very closely and believe it is a good sign for the cattle industry on this front.  

“Obviously this means that these cases have merit, and we look forward to continuing to litigate our case.”

But, National Cattleman’s Beef Association Vice President Todd Wilkinson of South Dakota tells Brownfield they are concerned the settlement might prompt the Department of Justice to back off on their related investigation.

“The fact that there is a settlement in the civil case should not end the DOJ investigation and I certainly hope that door isn’t closed. We want everything as transparent as possible so all the producers across the country know if there has in fact been market manipulation.”

The settlement is still subject to court approval.