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A farmer is taking on several major companies that produce seeds and crop protection chemicals, such as Bayer, Cargill, and Syngenta, in a class action lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to inflate products’ prices.
Lead plaintiff, Darren Duncan, says that he and his fellow farmers have faced up to 300% price increases over the past two decades in various crop inputs, such as seeds, fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. These price increases did not reflect farmers’ increased yields or increased investment in research and development, but were the result of alleged scheming between the companies that produce crop chemicals and seeds to inflate prices.
“These increases are proving increasingly devastating to farmers, who are now the least profitable level of the American food supply chain and are drowning in hundreds of billions of dollars of operating debt that is forcing them into bankruptcy at a record pace,” claims Duncan in court documents filed in Illinois federal court.
Crop chemical and seed producing companies allegedly resorted to price inflation in the face of emerging technology that threatened their bottom line – electronic Crop Inputs sales platforms, including Farmers Business Network and AgVend, Inc.
Prior to these platforms, farmers had a difficult time navigating the “opaque” and “muddy” process of purchasing crop inputs. These sales platforms allowed farmers to buy crop inputs more cheaply; however, Cargill, Bayer, and other manufacturers boycotted the platforms in order to keep prices high for farmers, claims the class action.
Further, when Farmers Business Network and AgVend, Inc. tried to get around the boycott by obtaining their own crop input producers, these industry giants allegedly cancelled the contracts, starving the platforms into non-existence, along with the farmers who have been forced to pay inflated prices as a result.
“By impairing competition in the retail sales market for Crop Inputs, and by excluding electronic platforms from competing in that market, Defendants have artificially raised the prices paid by farmers for Crop Inputs, and ultimately the prices paid by consumers for farm products, including corn and grain,” alleges the plaintiff.
The class action lawsuit points out that the defendants, including major manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers who sell crop inputs, are under investigation in both Canada and the United States over the alleged antitrust activity.
The plaintiff seeks to represent farmers who purchased crop inputs from the defendant manufacturers, wholesalers, or retail companies since Jan. 1, 2014. The lawsuit makes 55 counts of various violations of state and federal law and is seeking damages on behalf of all Class Members.
Are you a farmer? Have you noticed an increase in the price of crop chemicals? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
The lead plaintiff, Darren Duncan, and proposed Class Members are represented by Richard D. McCune, Derek Y. Brandt, Leigh M. Perica, and Connor P. Lemire of McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP.
The Crop Chemical Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is Duncan v. Bayer CropScience LP, et al., Case No. 3:21-cv-00158, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
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