Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. government has indicted six more chicken-industry executives over alleged price-fixing, broadening antitrust prosecutions in its probe of the US$65 billion poultry sector. In June, the Justice Department indicted Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Jayson Penn and three others in its first charges in the criminal probe involving broiler birds, which account […] Read more
U.S. indicts six more chicken-industry execs over alleged price fixing
Case alleges executives conspired to inflate prices for broilers
Elanco Animal Health wins U.S. approval to buy Bayer unit
Elanco to shed cattle pour-on brand, others for approval
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — Elanco Animal Health has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy Bayer’s animal health business on condition that it sell assets to treat three ailments, two in dogs and one in cattle, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday. The deal was valued at $7.6 billion when it was announced in August […] Read more
Elanco gets EU’s conditional antitrust OK for Bayer deal
Approval calls for sale of Vecoxan brand, among others
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters/Staff — Elanco Animal Health secured antitrust clearance on Monday from the European Union to buy Bayer’s veterinary drugs unit, after pledging to sell some products to address competition concerns about the US$7.6 billion deal. The European Commission said the companies will sell either Elanco or Bayer’s products or those in the pipeline, including licenses, […] Read more
U.S. indicts Pilgrim’s Pride CEO for alleged chicken price-fixing
Allegations cover period from 2012 to 2017
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington/Chicago | Reuters — The CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., a major U.S. poultry company, was indicted along with three other current and former industry executives on charges of seeking to fix the price of chickens, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday. A grand jury in Denver indicted Jayson Penn, the president and CEO […] Read more
U.S. livestock: June cattle limit up on surging beef prices, meat shortages
Lean hogs down on profit-taking
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures surged by their daily trading limits for a second straight session on Thursday on soaring beef prices and concerns about meat shortages because of recent packing plant closures due to the coronavirus. Shuttered slaughterhouses across North America due to the pandemic have left ranchers nowhere to ship […] Read more
Court orders big ag firms to hand over documents in antitrust probe
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — A Canadian federal court has ordered a group of major agriculture companies to hand over records and communications in an antitrust probe sparked by allegations some businesses tried to block online farm-supply startup Farmers Business Network (FBN). In a series of court orders issued Tuesday, Federal Court Justice Denis Gascon said […] Read more
U.S. launches criminal probe into alleged chicken price fixing by Tyson, rivals
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — The U.S. Department of Justice has begun a criminal probe into allegations that Tyson Foods and other poultry processors including Pilgrim’s Pride and Sanderson Farms colluded to fix poultry prices, court documents show. The DOJ filed a motion to intervene and stay discovery of evidence in an antitrust lawsuit involving the companies and […] Read more
R-CALF suit alleges U.S. packers conspired to suppress fed cattle prices
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Four of the largest U.S. beef-packing companies were accused in a lawsuit on Tuesday of violating federal antitrust law by conspiring to drive down prices they paid ranchers for cattle, even as retail beef prices hovered near record levels. Tyson Foods, Cargill, the JBS USA unit of Brazil’s JBS and National Beef Packing […] Read more
Canada clears Bayer’s Monsanto play, with conditions
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s Competition Bureau says it’s “actively reviewing” BASF’s suitability as a buyer of the crop seed and chemical assets Bayer has to sell to get the bureau’s blessing to buy Monsanto. The Competition Bureau said Wednesday it has an agreement with Bayer to deal with “concerns that the proposed transaction would have significantly harmed competition […] Read more
Bayer wins U.S. nod for Monsanto deal to create ag giant
Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt/Washington | Reuters — Bayer won U.S. approval for its planned takeover of Monsanto after agreeing to sell about US$9 billion in assets, clearing a major hurdle for the US$62.5 billion deal that will create by far the largest seeds and pesticides maker. Makan Delrahim, who heads the U.S. Justice Department’s (DoJ) antitrust division, said […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
