Data on chicken production might save companies and consumers money; critics say it helps corporate collusion

Chicken data is at the heart of the anti-trust suit.
(Graphic by Emil Lendof, The Wall Street Journal)

Versatile, affordable and packed with lean protein, chicken is a popular American meal. And while "winner, winner, chicken dinner" may delight families, a battle is being fought over the meat's data

"When Brian Snyder looks at a bag of chicken nuggets, he doesn't see dinosaurs. He sees numbers — data detailing the nutrition and quantity of the feed the birds ate, and how much it cost for workers to slice each pound, reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "Snyder runs a company that has become a critical player in the meat industry. . ..The company, Agri Stats, gathers and synthesizes reams of data to help meatpackers make decisions based on spreadsheets versus managers' gut instincts.

"The firm's data has been described as the 'Moneyball' of the meat industry, referencing the Michael Lewis bestseller and Oscar-nominated film about data analysis revolutionizing baseball," Thomas explains. "Agri Stats and poultry industry executives say its numbers-crunching service boosts efficiency and helps keep prices low for consumers."

Not everyone believes that Agri Stats exists to benefit consumers. "Others say Agri Stats does the opposite, serving as a vehicle that has allowed meat and poultry companies to coordinate operations and push up prices," Thomas reports. "The Justice Department alleged in a federal antitrust suit filed this fall that meat-industry executives use Agri Stats to glean details about rivals' supplies illicitly and scale back production to keep profits high."

Agri Stats is fighting the suit. "Its executives say its reports don't show clients how much chicken their competitors produce, or prices a company plans to charge," Thomas writes. "Plaintiffs argue that Agri Stats data, such as the number of egg-laying hens a company is placing on its farms, enables savvy readers to gauge rivals' future production, and that companies don't use Agri Stats reports to lower prices."

"The government investigated Agri Stats a decade ago but filed no charges, and Agri Stats executives say its reports haven't changed since then," Thomas reports. "In a separate lawsuit filed by food distributors, supermarkets and consumers accusing chicken companies of conspiring to fix prices, a judge this past summer removed Agri Stats as a defendant. . . . Agri Stats client list has at times included 97% of the roughly $60 billion U.S. chicken industry and 80% of pork processors."