Allies of competitive markets to gather in Kansas City

PRESS RELEASE

Organization for Competitive Markets
P.O. Box 6486
Lincoln, NE 68506
www.competitivemarkets.com

Contact: Fred Stokes
662 476 5568, cell 601 527 2459
tfredstokes@hughes.net

August 6, 2012

KANSAS CITY, MO. — This week’s annual convention of the Organization for Competitive Markets will start out with a bang, as a bold new strategy to combat misuse of commodity check-off programs is unveiled at a pre-convention press conference Thursday afternoon.

“We will be making a very important announcement regarding how we plan to address the corruption of these mandatory programs that are largely funded by family farmers and ranchers and then used to advance programs that run counter to their own best interests,” says OCM Vice President Mike Callicrate. “Everyone who has a stake in the future of agriculture is welcome to attend this announcement.”

The press conference is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., Thursday, August 9, at the Residence Inn near the Kansas City International Airport.

OCM President Fred Stokes will open the group’s annual meeting the following morning. A powerhouse list of featured speakers includes Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the U.S., on building coalitions, Dr. Douglas H. Constance, Department of Sociology, Sam Houston State University, will remind cattlemen where they are headed in his presentation, “First the Chicken”. Former GIPSA administrator Dudley Butler is also scheduled to share his perspective on recent attempts to reform livestock marketing rules.

Two of the country’s most prominent agricultural scholars are also on the day’s agenda. Dr. Robert C. Taylor, a professor of agricultural and resource policy at Auburn University, will address how and where regulatory agencies have failed in their duty to defend the public interest. Dr. William D. Heffernan, retired professor of rural sociology at the University of Missouri, will present the keynote address, “Avoiding the Corporate Plantation,” during Friday evening’s banquet.

Additional presentations will include an update on deceptive food marketing practices and a session on how agribusiness conglomerates are using the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance to co-opt positive images of family farmers and ranchers even as they are putting those same farmers out of business.

The convention will conclude with a business meeting for the membership on Saturday morning. All activities are being held at the Residence Inn, 10300 N. Ambassador Drive, in Kansas City. To view a full itinerary of the meeting, or to register online, visit the OCM website at www.CompetitiveMarkets.com.

OCM is a nonprofit corporation working to restore open, fair and competitive markets for farmers and ranchers.