The Trump administration announced a proposed settlement in an antitrust case that targets data sharing in the meatpacking industry, an effort the Justice Department says is aimed at restoring competition and reducing grocery prices. In a statement tied to the case, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department was “laser-focused on making everyday life affordable for all Americans,” framing the settlement as part of a broader push to address drivers of food costs.
The case centers on Agri Stats, an Indiana-based company that compiles nonpublic information from meat processors and provides detailed industry reports. Federal officials said the government’s allegations—originating with a Biden administration case—contended that the company’s practices helped allow meat processors to inflate the prices charged to restaurants, grocery stores and other buyers that federal authorities said were not permitted access to Agri Stats’ underlying data.
According to the Justice Department, the proposed settlement would require Agri Stats to share with U.S. buyers most of the information it collects from processors. Justice Department officials said that change would help ensure buyers have more comparable information when setting prices, under the department’s view of the competitive dynamics in meat markets.
Agri Stats’ president, Eric Scholer, said the company was “pleased to put this case with the Department of Justice and six states behind us.” In the same statement, Scholer said Agri Stats has been involved in “efficiency improvements” in the chicken industry and said the company expects to continue helping subscribers improve their businesses in a way that, he said, would make chicken more affordable for Americans.
Blanche’s statement also placed the case within a larger context: combating high food costs, federal officials said, remains difficult and does not have a single or simple solution. The settlement comes as U.S. beef prices continue to rise and remain near record highs, with government figures used to track recent movement.
In March, federal government figures showed the average price of a pound of ground beef at $6.70, which the AP account described as 16% higher than a year earlier. The Justice Department’s settlement announcement did not describe the beef market as directly tied to the Agri Stats allegations, but it arrived as other forces affecting livestock supplies and inputs continued to pressure prices.
The AP account pointed to supply-side conditions behind the broader cost picture. It described a three-year drought that began in 2020, which left less grass for grazing and drove up feed costs, with dry weather persisting into the present and affecting cattle in drought areas.
The account also cited the U.S. Department of Agriculture in noting that the U.S. cattle herd has shrunk for decades and is at its smallest size since 1951, while ranchers have responded with changes in genetics and feeding techniques that yield more meat from each animal. It said ranchers have been reluctant to expand herd sizes because of the costs of feed and labor and the continued dry conditions.
Another driver described in the AP account was the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to livestock imports aimed at slowing the spread of a flesh-eating parasite known as the New World screwworm. The AP reported that closures that began in late 2024 had stopped about 1 million cattle from being hauled from Mexico into the United States.
Beyond the settlement involving Agri Stats, the Justice Department said it is separately investigating potential antitrust violations in the beef processing industry. The AP account said that followed a request from President Donald Trump to open an investigation into whether foreign-owned meat packers were driving up the price of beef in the United States.