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 7/25/18.
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Antitrust attorneys from Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll will be available to meet with farmers who have suffered marketplace abuses.
Our Conference Speakers
Dinner Speaker
Rohit Chopra
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.
Opening Keynote
Ricardo Salvador
Ricardo Salvador is the senior scientist and director of the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He is internationally recognized and respected for his dedication to advocating and working for a food system that is healthier and more just.
Prior to joining UCS, Salvador was a program officer for food, health and wellbeing at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and worked as an associate professor of agronomy at Iowa State University, where he collaborated with students to help establish a student-run organic farm, and with other faculty members to develop the first sustainable agriculture graduate program in the U.S., which he chaired. He also worked as an extension agent with Texas A&M University.
Dr. Salvador earned his undergraduate degree in agricultural science from New Mexico State University and holds an M.S. and Ph. D. in crop production and physiology from Iowa State University.
Luncheon Speaker
Kevin Fulton
Kevin operates Fulton Farms, a holistically managed organic farming operation near Litchfield, Nebraska. This diversified farm includes a pasture based multi-species livestock operation along with grain, hay and custom grazing enterprises.
Fulton Farms has drawn visitors from around the world to experience its unique approach to farming which has been featured in numerous publications and documentaries. Kevin has presented at events from New York City to Los Angeles, educating consumers, farmers, animal advocacy groups, and university students and faculty.
In 2014 Kevin and his children received the Farm Family of the Year Award from the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society.
Speakers and Panelists
William Anderson, Handley & Anderson, PLLC
Carrie Balkcom, American Grassfed Association
John Boyd, Jr., Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) and National Black Farmers Association
Ben Burkett, Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Mike Callicrate, OCM and Ranch Foods Direct
Al Davis, OCM
Bruce Drinkman, National Family Farm Coalition
Leah Douglas, Food and Environment Reporting Network
George Farah, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll
Andy Green, Center for American Progress
John Hansen, OCM and Nebraska Farmers Union
Judith Heffernan, OCM
Mary Hendrickson, Ph.D., University of Missouri
Angela Huffman, OCM
Tamara Jones, Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network
Joe Maxwell, OCM
Paul Muegge, OCM
Janie Simms Hipp, Indigenous Food and Agriculture Institute
Joann Lo, Food Chain Workers Alliance
Barry Lynn, Open Markets Institute
Vaughn Meyer, OCM
Dennis Olson, United Food and Commercial Workers
Tom Philpott, Mother Jones
Lorette Picciano, Rural Coalition/Coalicíon Rural
Pam Potthoff, Women Involved in Farm Economics
Marshall Steinbaum, Roosevelt Institute
Fred Stokes, OCM
Don Stull, University of Kansas and OCM
Brett Tolley, Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance
Mike Weaver, OCM and Contract Poultry Growers Association of the Virginias
See some of the PowerPoint presentations from our 2018 conference here.
Agenda
Thursday, August 9, 2018
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Registration
1:00 – 1:15 PM
Invocation and Welcome
Speakers: Judith Heffernan and Mike Weaver, OCM
Session One – Impact of Concentration
1:15 – 1:45 PM
Opening Keynote: A Better World is Possible
Speaker: Ricardo Salvador, Union of Concerned Scientists
1:45 – 2:30 PM
Overview of Today’s Impending Farm Crisis
Speakers: John Hansen, OCM and Nebraska Farmers Union, Al Davis, OCM, Paul Muegge, OCM
2:30 – 2:45 PM
Break
2:45 – 3:45 PM
Voices from Our Communities
Panelists: Janie Simms Hipp, Indigenous Food and Agriculture Institute, Lorette Picciano, Rural Coalition/Coalicíon Rural, Tamara Jones, Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network, Pam Potthoff, Women Involved in Farm Economics
Moderator: John Boyd, Jr., OCM and National Black Farmers Association
3:45 – 4:00 PM
Break
4:00 – 4:45 PM
Round Table Discussion: How to Build Bridges
Facilitator: Joe Maxwell, OCM
5:30 – 6:30 PM
Networking Reception with a Cash Bar
Chicken wings provided by Gunthorp Farms
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Dinner
Short ribs provided by Ranch Foods Direct, pork butt provided by White Oak Pastures, and roasted duck provided by Gunthorp Farms
Presentation: Economic Liberty in an Era of Consolidation
Speaker: Rohit Chopra, Federal Trade Commissioner
Friday, August 10, 2018
Session Two – Today’s Farm and Rural Crisis
8:30 – 9:15 AM
Impact of Concentration in Cattle, Dairy, Poultry and Fisheries
Panelists: Vaughn Meyer, OCM, Bruce Drinkman, National Family Farm Coalition, Mike Weaver, OCM and Contract Poultry Growers Association of the Virginias, Brett Tolley, Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance
Moderator: Tom Philpott, Mother Jones
9:15 – 10:15 AM
Impact of Retail Concentration on Workers and Farmers
Panelists: Dennis Olson, United Food and Commercial Workers, Marshall Steinbaum, Roosevelt Institute, Mike Callicrate, OCM and Ranch Foods Direct, Joann Lo, Food Chain Workers Alliance
Moderator: Leah Douglas, Food and Environment Reporting Network
10:15 – 10:30 AM
Break
10:30 – 11:30 AM
Economic Impact on Rural Communities and Main Streets
Speakers: Mary Hendrickson, PhD, University of Missouri, Ben Burkett, Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Moderator: Don Stull, University of Kansas and OCM
11:30 – 12:30 PM
Concentration in Other Sectors
Panelists: Barry Lynn, Open Markets Institute, Andy Green, Center for American Progress
Facilitator: Joe Maxwell, OCM
12:30 – 1:30 PM
Lunch
Deli turkey provided by Gunthorp Farms
Presentation: Regenerative Agriculture for Rural Economic Development
Speaker: Kevin Fulton, Fulton Farms
Session Three – Taking Action to Restore Family Farm Agriculture
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Ending Agency Capture
Panelists: Fred Stokes, OCM, Carrie Balkcom, American Grassfed Association, Angela Huffman, OCM
Moderator: Rohit Chopra, Federal Trade Commission
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
The State of Antitrust Law and Future Actions
Speakers: George Farah, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, William Anderson, Handley & Anderson, PLLC
3:30 – 3:45 PM
Break
3:45 – 4:30 PM
Round Table Discussion: Taking Action Together
Facilitator: Joe Maxwell, OCM
Saturday, August 11, 2018
8:00 AM
OCM Membership Meeting
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