Partial Settlement in Beef Price-Fixing Suit
JBS USA Food Co., Swift Beef Co., JBS Packerland Inc. and JBS S.A. (“JBS”) have reached a tentative settlement in a multi-district federal class action over allegations of limiting fed cattle supplies and fixing prices for beef. Eligible claimants consist of the following groups:
- persons within the United States, directly sold to a Defendant one or more fed cattle for slaughter from June 1, 2015 to February 29, 2020 other than pursuant to a Cost-Plus Agreement and/or a Profit Sharing Agreement (the “Producer Class”)
- persons that held a long position in Live Cattle Futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange prior to June 1, 2015, and subsequently liquidated the long position through an offsetting market transaction at any point prior to November 1, 2016 (the “Exchange Class”)
If the settlement is approved by the U.S. District Court for Minnesota, JBS will contribute $83.5 million to a settlement fund for claimants. Deadlines for opting out of the settlement and submitting a claim have been set for July 7, 2025, and September 15, 2025, respectively.
You can read more about the proposed settlement here.
Robo-Tractor Debuts on Wisconsin Farm
A Wisconsin farm recently acquired the first fully autonomous John Deere 8R tractor in the state according to a recent network news report. The report includes footage of firing up the tractor on John Deere’s cell phone app to till a 110-acre field. Technology on the tractor can detect people who are too close to the equipment and will automatically stop. According to its new owner, the tractor finished working the field while he was at lunch, parked itself, and waited for him to return for its next job. The new equipment must be fairly pricey because neither the farmer nor John Deere wanted to disclose how much it cost.
This is fascinating (and somewhat startling) technology that will dramatically transform how agriculture gets done. You can watch the news report, including video of the tractor in operation here.
