Tyson, Perdue to pay $35M to settle with chicken farmers

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Two of the industry’s biggest poultry companies have agreed to pay nearly $35 million to settle a lawsuit that accused them and several other firms of conspiring to dominate the industry and fix the prices paid to farmers who raise the chickens.

Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms agreed to the settlements last week without admitting any wrongdoing while the lawsuit remains pending against several other industry giants, including Pilgrim’s Pride, Koch Foods and Sanderson Farms.

The lawsuit says the contract grower system the meat companies created pushed them deep into debt to build and maintain chicken barns that met company standards.