Dairy producers will pay $52 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit alleging a National Milk Producers Federation program was used to kill hundreds of thousands of cows to keep dairy prices high.

According to the complaint, dairy producers prematurely killed 500,000 cows between 2003 and 2010 to limit production of raw milk and therefore drive up prices for yogurt, sour cream and other dairy products, Courthouse News Service reported. The killings were allegedly done under the auspices of a herd retirement program administered by NMPF.

Animal rights group Compassion Over Killing spearheaded the lawsuit.

"In all, this dairy industry program was responsible for killing 500,000 young cows and cheating millions of consumers—all to line the pockets of agribusiness giants," the organization said in a statement.

Plaintiffs include NMPF and some of the dairy's industry's largest players, such as Land O' Lakes and Dairy Farmers of America. The $52 million settlement, made public earlier this week, means consumers in 15 states and the District of Columbia will be able to file claims for settlement money if they purchased dairy products since 2003.

In a statement, NMPF CEO Jim Mulhern said the settlement was "the most sensible and responsible course of action" to maintain the herd retirement program and allow the industry to move forward.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 2011, with District Judge Jeffrey White granting primary approval of the settlement Aug. 25. http://bit.ly/2cJuZAE

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