Archer Daniels Subsidiary Hit With Peanut Price-Fixing Suit (1)

An Archer Daniels Midland Co. subsidiary and another top U.S. peanut sheller were hit with an antitrust lawsuit accusing them of driving farmers to ruin with a scheme to hold down the cost of raw peanuts.

Birdsong Corp. and ADM-owned Golden Peanut Co., which together control up to 90% of the shelling industry, began conspiring to stabilize unprocessed peanut prices after “drastic weather-related” volatility from 2011 to 2013 made it difficult to manage risk and inventory, according to the proposed class action. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by three peanut farmers. ...