Monopolies in Minnesota's farm country gaining attention from DOJ, AG Ellison

FARMINGTON - Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison rolled into a meeting of farmers on the Twin Cities' outskirts Thursday, recounting that while he grew up in Detroit, he understands a little bit about farming from his summers visiting family in Louisiana.

"I do know what it means to fix a fence and pull a cow out of a bayou," Ellison said, speaking at a Minnesota Farmers Union event to discuss ways to fight monopolies. "[Farming is] not just a matter of economics. It's also a matter of lifestyle and culture."

As the state's attorney general, Ellison also knows how to sue large agribusinesses. His office has shown a penchant for targeting concentration in the agriculture industry, which is a growing concern in some farming circles.

Ellison has joined federal anti-competitive lawsuits filed against both leading pesticide companies and Agri Stats, a data collection agency accused of helping the nation's largest meat processors artificially fix prices to the detriment of farmers and consumers.

Ellison's visit was just the latest among Democratic officials, including at the federal level, to talk about breaking up monopolies in rural Minnesota.

In November, President Joe Biden visited a Northfield farm and decried trickle-down economics, saying the economic philosophy had "hit rural American especially hard."

Just a few days earlier, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter visited Mary and Danny Lundell's acreage outside Cannon Falls to highlight the Biden administration's DOJ filing suit against Agri Stats in Minnesota federal court.

"They may not use the words of an antitrust lawyer — nor do they need to. But they're experiencing these issues in a very real way," Kanter said. "The concentration is harming their way of life."

The campaign has elevated a key talking point amongst progressive circles in rural America, namely that corporate takeovers have left residents with fewer, often costlier options for everything from groceries to gas to grain buyers.

During Kanter's visit, farmer Mary Lundell said she used to buy fertilizer from a farmers cooperative in Kenyon. But that co-op was purchased by Ag Partners, a member-owned agricultural cooperative based in Goodhue, Minn.

The Lundells also used to purchase diesel from Cenex gas stations in Cannon Falls and Wanamingo. Both those gas stations closed. Now they buy from Ag Partners.

Mary said it's the same story for propane to heat their corn — which they purchase from Ag Partners.

"All these small little co-ops are gone," she said. "It's now one big company."

The Minnesota farming landscape is home to some of the nation — and world's — largest agribusinesses, from meat-processing and grain trading giant Cargill, to Inver Grove Heights-based farmer cooperative CHS, and Austin, Minn.-based Hormel, one of the nation's larger pork companies.

So far, it's been relatively rare for opponents of agricultural concentration to score court victories.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's antitrust division imposed an $84 million fine against poultry companies, including Minnetonka-based Cargill, over allegations the companies conspired to drive down employee pay.

Cargill at the time denied wrongdoing and said the settlement reflected the private company's desire to avoid the costs of litigation.

Still, advocates say Minnesota has borne the negative consequences of concentration. Since 2017, the state has lost about 1,300 dairies. And concerns stretch to all rural residents, who report fewer options for independent pharmacies, hospitals and banks.

On Thursday in Farmington, Ellison called for the Minnesota Legislature to remove a farm equipment exemption for a so-called "Right to Repair" law enacted earlier this year.

He said scrutiny of the nation's biggest agriculture firms was overdue.

"Big, giant corporate entities — because of their power and their position in the world — are saying, 'No, you gotta use me,'" Ellison said. "And I think that's wrong."