The Department of Justice and 17 states filed a civil antitrust complaint and also entered proposed consent judgments with three major egg producers, alleging manipulation of egg prices.
Cal-Maine Foods, Versova and Hickman’s Egg Ranch are alleged to have conspired to manipulate egg prices from June 2022 to March 2025. The complaint alleges the companies produced fewer eggs than their retail contracts required and purchased the shortfall on the Egg Clearinghouse Inc. (ECI) platform, where higher bids could raise Urner Barry benchmarks that determined pricing.
Egg price quotations dropped significantly after the companies learned of the DOJ’s investigation in March 2025, the department said.
The companies will settle for the following: Cal-Maine will pay $1.5 million to the state plaintiffs and donate 30 million eggs, Versova will pay $800,000 to the state plaintiffs and donate 20 million eggs, and Hickman’s Egg Ranch will pay $1 million to the state plaintiffs and donate 3.25 million eggs.
Each company must also designate a DOJ-approved antitrust compliance officer, and for five years, conduct annual training and submit certifications and provide written explanations for every deleted ECI bid. None of the companies admitted wrongdoing.
