Join us for the only national conference focused on breaking up corporate consolidation and monopoly power in agriculture.
Marriott Kansas City Airport
775 Brasilia Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153
Reserve your room at the OCM conference rate of $102 per night by booking online or calling (816) 464-2200. Rooms are available at the discounted rate until 7/19/19.
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This year’s conference is a two-day gathering of experts and advocates from across the United States for a rare opportunity to meet in person, exchange expertise and plan for the fights ahead of us to defend farm families against abusive corporate power.
The experience will begin even before the conference, with our exclusive pre-conference packet containing the latest research and thinking from farm and food experts on corporate power, consolidation, and market barriers.
The conference will be split between learning and action planning. For the learning portion, we will have an opportunity to hear about the expertise, experiences and hopes for the fight for farm families of some of the most recognized names within our movement. As for action planning, we will be leading workshops that will allow for in-depth networking and result in concrete, coordinated strategies to win the battle for our better farm and food future.
On August 10th, we will be holding our annual membership meeting. Join us and help steer the future of your organization.
Our Keynote Speakers
Opening Keynote
John Ikerd
Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics at the University of Missouri
John was raised on a small dairy farm in southwest Missouri and received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri. He worked in private industry for a time and spent thirty years in various professorial positions at North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University, University of Georgia, and the University of Missouri before retiring in early 2000. Since retiring, he spends most of his time writing and speaking on issues related to sustainability with an emphasis on economics and agriculture.
He is author of six books which are available via http://johnikerd.com/books. In 2014, Ikerd was commission by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to write the regional report, “Family Farms of North America,” in recognition for the International Year of the Family Farming. He currently resides in Fairfield, IA with his wife, Ellen, two dogs, and two cats. More complete background information and a wide selection of writings are available at http://faculty.missouri.edu/ikerdj/ or http://johnikerd.com.
Thursday Dinner Speaker
Sarah Lloyd
Wisconsin Farmers Union
Sarah Lloyd farms with her husband Nels Nelson on the 350-cow Nelson dairy farm in Wisconsin. She works off-farm as the Director of Special Projects for the Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU). This work includes; support for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers, organizing for fair prices for dairy farmers through the Dairy Together campaign, and research on fair labor issues in agriculture. She is also the Director of Development and the Secretary of the Board for the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative, which aggregates and sells fresh produce into local wholesale markets for its farmer members. Sarah has a PhD in Rural Sociology from UW-Madison and a Masters in Rural Development from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. She has served on the National Dairy Board and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
Friday Luncheon Speaker
Rohit Chopra
Federal Trade Commission
Commissioner Rohit Chopra was nominated by President Trump and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to the Federal Trade Commission, the federal agency responsible for enforcing consumer protection and antitrust laws. He has strongly advocated for vigorous enforcement, particularly for companies that repeatedly break the law.
He previously worked with the Obama Administration to stand up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he served as Assistant Director. During his tenure, he secured hundreds of millions of dollars in relief for student loan borrowers defrauded by bad actors.
Commissioner Chopra has previously written about government agency capture and the need for greater transparency.
Closing Keynote
Pakou Hang
Hmong American Farmers Association
Pakou Hang was born in a refugee camp in northern Thailand and immigrated to the United States when she was 15 days old. Growing up, her family grew and sold fresh vegetables at the local farmers markets. It was that experience that inspired her commitment to economic justice for all workers. Pakou is the Executive Director and a Co-Founder of the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA), a membership-based nonprofit that was created to advance economic prosperity for Minnesota based Hmong farmers and their families. Using a racial equity and community wealth building model, HAFA works with farmers to develop cooperatives that facilitate access to land, new markets, business development, trainings and research opportunities. Pakou completed her Masters in Political Science from the University of Minnesota and her Bachelor of Arts from Yale University. She is a former member of the St. Paul Farmers Market Board of Directors and the Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council. Pakou is also a 2004 recipient of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, a 2011 recipient of the Bush Foundation’s Bush Fellowship and a 2018 German Marshall Memorial Fellow.
Agenda
Thursday, August 8, 2019
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Registration
Session One
1:00 – 1:15 PM
Welcome
Speaker: Don Stull, Organization for Competitive Markets
1:15 – 2:00 PM
Opening Keynote
Speaker: John Ikerd, University of Missouri
2:00 – 2:45 PM
Why the Movement for Independent Family Agriculture?
Speaker: Kevin Fulton, Fulton Farms
2:45 – 3:00 PM
Break
3:00 – 3:45 PM
Finding a Shared Voice
Speaker: Tom Rossmeissl, TNR Campaigns
3:45 – 4:30 PM
Making an Impact in 2019
Speaker: Erik Peterson, Bending the Arc Strategies
5:30 – 6:30 PM
Networking Reception with a Cash Bar
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Dinner
Speaker: Sarah Lloyd, Wisconsin Farmers Union
Friday, August 9, 2019
Session Two
9:00 – 12:30 PM
Campaign Workshop Breakouts:
Checkoff Program Reform
Food and Agriculture Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review
Messaging Corporate Power
12:30 – 1:45 PM
Lunch
Speaker: Rohit Chopra, Federal Trade Commission
Session Three
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Campaign Workshops Debriefing
3:00 – 3:15 PM
Break
3:15 – 4:00 PM
Closing Keynote
Speaker: Pakou Hang, Hmong American Farmers Association
4:00 – 4:30 PM
Final Thoughts and Call to Action
Speaker: Joe Maxwell, Organization for Competitive Markets
Saturday, August 10, 2019
9:00 AM
OCM Membership Meeting
