Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 2/3/17


A group of broiler growers has filed another lawsuit accusing major U.S. chicken processors of collusion to boost profits, according to court documents filed in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

Similar to lawsuits filed in September last year, the complaint from Haff Poultry Inc. and others charges that Tyson Foods, Sanderson Farms, Pilgrim’s Pride and several other large companies acted as a “cartel,” and in particular shared data in a scheme to cut their pay below competitive prices in order to boost company profits.

The complaint alleges that processors also conspired to not hire broiler farmers who were working for other defendants. The suit seeks treble damages, costs and attorneys’ fees.

Tyson Foods said the lawsuit contains “false claims.”

“We want our contract farmers to succeed and don’t consult competitors about how our farmers are paid,” company spokesman Gary Mickelson said in an emailed statement.

Sanderson Farms, meanwhile, noted the lawsuit in a regulatory filing that the company plans “to defend it vigorously.”

USDA proposed rules late last year partly to help protect chicken farmers from what they deem unfair treatment by processors, but President Donald Trump has frozen the rules while his administration reviews regulations passed at the end of Barack Obama’s last term.

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