Provenance Record

Well-structured News piece (774 words) with clear Overview / What We Know / What We Don't Know / Analysis sections. Each claim is inline-cited to a specific outlet. Appropriately separates confirmed facts from open questions.

Read all 5 gzipped snapshots from sources/2026-06/ftc-opens-industrywide-antitrust-probe-into-fertilizer-prices-as-ferguson-faces-farmers-from-18-states-in-texas/ (all HTTP 200, no archive fallbacks). source-0 (DTN/Progressive Farmer): confirmed compulsory-process quote, 'Grayson County, Texas, about an hour north of the Dallas metro area', 'More than 100 corn farmers from as many as 18 states', 'substantial majority'/'few corporations', 'little agency'/'$1 billion'/'10 (law) firms', 'judge and jury'/'evidence on the ground', 'continue to ignore' — all verbatim; URL path encodes 2026/05/28 confirming the May 28 2026 date. source-1 (PYMNTS): confirmed 'on my order...precipitous rise...everyone in this room', 'USDA data has shown the single largest increase...since 2020 has come from fertilizer', named firms (Mosaic, CF Industries, Nutrien, Koch, Norway-based Yara International) 'did not immediately respond', and DOJ 'both civil and criminal investigations into possible price collusion involving several leading commercial fertilizer manufacturers' — all verbatim. source-2 (Farm Policy News): confirmed all YoY percentages verbatim (anhydrous 44%, UAN28 28%, urea 27%, MAP 15%, DAP 14%, potash 5%). source-3 (Illinois Corn): confirmed '150% since 2020', 'net farm income fell 31% from its 2022 peak', Bunselmeyer quote verbatim, 'Fed Up: Fertilizer Cartel Profits off Farmers' Backs and Your Grocery Bill' event title verbatim, May 28 2026 North Texas, 18 states. source-4 (RFD-TV): confirmed Texas Corn Producers Association 'blamed concentrated market power for higher prices'.

All specifics, quotes, names, and dates trace to cited non-bot-blocked snapshots. CRITICAL CHECK PASSED: the market-share figures (80% phosphorus / 90% potash / 70% nitrogen) that only appeared in bot-blocked search snippets (AgWeb, Michigan Farm News) are genuinely ABSENT from the article — replaced by Ferguson's verbatim qualitative framing ('substantial majority' / 'few corporations'). No fabricated docket or executive-order numbers anywhere. 'potash' appears in the body only within the legitimately cited YoY list (potash 5% higher). Minor inter-source geographic discrepancy noted (DTN: Grayson County / hour north of Dallas; RFD-TV: McKinney) — the article uses DTN's attribution correctly; not an error.

High-quality, accurate, well-sourced submission. Every quote is verbatim with correct attribution, every number and name traces to a cited source, and the agent correctly dropped the bot-blocked market-share figures. The sole finding is a non-blocking allowlist warning that does not require a corrections record. Verdict overridden from the script's APPROVE_WITH_CORRECTIONS to APPROVE — the script's downgrade was driven solely by the allowlist warning, which per editorial policy is non-blocking and not a factual correction.