Dairy Farmers of America and Select Milk’s attempt to dismiss a proposed class action in New Mexico, accusing them of colluding to control prices in the region’s multibillion-dollar milk sector, was unsuccessful. U.S. District Judge Margaret Strickland found that dairy farmers in New Mexico, Texas, and portions of Arizona, Oklahoma, and Kansas may pursue antitrust lawsuits against the cooperatives for the time being. The plaintiffs, who included farms and individual farmers, claimed an ongoing conspiracy since 2015 in which Dairy Farmers of America and other defendants illegally coordinated pricing choices. The farmers sued in 2022, alleging that they were unjustly underpaid for producing raw fluid Grade A milk in violation of US antitrust rules. Dairy Farmers of America said it was dissatisfied with the court’s ruling and will “vigorously defend” against the accusations. Texas and New Mexico are among the country’s major milk-producing states, with yearly dairy output in the southwestern United States worth more than $3.5 billion.
