The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has dismissed charges filed in May 2021 against Claxton Poultry Farms and Koch Foods Inc. The DOJ noted that the case was dismissed "in an effort to conserve the resources of the Court, the parties and the public". The filing to dismiss the two companies "will permit the United States to promote the Fair Administration of Criminal Justice and allow for the conservation of this Court’s time and resources.
This action by the DOJ follows dismissal of price-fixing charges against some executives previously with Pilgrim's Pride, although two defendants still face charges.
Failure of the DOJ to prove collusion among managers of two companies in three trials suggests the weakness of the DOJ case that was based on discovered memos and the testimony of an employee of one of the companies involved. Notwithstanding the outcome of the trial an unfortunate 
perception exists that some form of either direct communication occurred or that indirect collusion through subscription to AgriStats provided unfair benefits to integrators. The cost of defending criminal charges and the uncertainty of the outcome of a jury trial motivated a number of companies to settle with the DOJ and to reach agreements in concurrent civil cases. It will be some time before reputations are restored and mutual trust is reestablished