Two Dot Ranch – ID. Great Ranches of the West

“Decades ago, James’ dad hired a German immigrant who knew everything about ranching, such as the vanishing art of flood irrigation. He worked for the ranch for 59 years and taught the current generation how to work. He had an old German saying: “Make it easy to do it right.” James and his children make it all look easy, although I know it’s not. On the Two Dot Ranch, they’re doing it just right. ” – Jim Keen, Read More …

Like GM, Food Companies Place Profits Over Safety and Security

Our nation’s food system is at risk! By Mike Callicrate Putting people at risk to save a buck isn’t isolated to the automotive industry. In today’s global economy, where the biggest cheater wins, foreign imports of beef and the recent return of Pink Slime add insult to injury for the few remaining independent producers and meat processors struggling to survive. Food companies from Walmart to Chipotle to the mom and pop restaurants that rely on a Sysco food Read More …

Guideline for AMS Oversight of Commodity Research and Promotion Programs

Conflicts of Interest in Research and Promotion Programs As a general matter of policy, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) guidelines for oversight of all checkoff programs expressly require contracting procedures that “avoid any conflict of interest or a situation that could reasonably be perceived by a third party as a conflict of interest.”1 The Beef Order includes provisions that reflect these principles, as well. Before service on the board or as a Federation representative on the Beef Promotion Read More …

Center of the Road

Driving down the middle of the road is a common practice in rural areas where back roads are marked mostly by two bare tracks. Meeting requires that passing cars yield by splitting the track. I remember once a long time ago when passing neighbors crunched bumpers on a gravel road. The law was called to establish liability for the crash. When a deputy arrived, he surveyed the scene. He determined no one was hurt, no tempers inflamed, no Read More …

Briefing for USDA AMS Administrator Anne Alonzo

Ms. Alonzo, I am Fred Stokes representing The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), a sixteen year old non-profit advocate for a fair marketplace for what farmers and ranchers buy and what they sell.In other words, we want the game to be straight. I thank you for giving us this opportunity to express our concerns regarding the Beef Promotion and Research Program, commonly known as the Beef Checkoff. OCM has associated itself with other like-minded groups, including the Humane Read More …

The NCBA Beef Checkoff Contract: A Blatant, Fundamental and Egregious Conflict of Interest

To my bitter disappointment, the many efforts at reform of the cattle markets over the past 16 years have been frustrated by meatpackers and their minions. Chief minion has been the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). This organization is believed by many to be on the side of beef cattle producers. However, it has opposed every major market reform initiative; most notably the ban on packer ownership of cattle, Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and putting the teeth Read More …