Drovers Wyatt Bechtel A bill seeking to limit the use of agricultural checkoff funds has been reintroduced in the Senate and it has the backing of several current or former presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle. The Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act of 2019 was reintroduced on March 28, by U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) after the same legislation failed to make its way in to the farm bill during the 2018 mark up. Read More …
Author: OCM Staff
Washington Monthly | Meet the New Trustbusters
Washington Monthly By Eric Cortellessa This much can be said for Democrats heading into 2020: if their candidate manages to defeat Donald Trump, the new president will enter the White House having promised the boldest domestic policy agenda in more than a generation. At least six presidential hopefuls are all in on single-payer; an overlapping set of six cosponsored the Green New Deal legislation; and three have even said they support reparations for slavery. But while these proposals may help curry favor with the Read More …
Bipartisan Demand for Checkoff Reform Renewed with Filing of U.S. Senate Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Common ground was found among unlikely allies again as the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act, S. 935, was reintroduced by U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Elizabeth Warren, (D-MA). The Off Act would put an end to the most egregious abuses committed by the boards and contractors of the federally mandated commodity checkoff programs. Checkoff programs have been instrumental in the history of agricultural advertising. Famous campaigns, Read More …
Four Questions for Dr. Mary Hendrickson About Fair Farm and Food Markets
We are starting 2019 with a one-of-a-kind educational opportunity for OCM members. Dr. Mary Hendrickson of the University of Missouri is kicking off our #AgJustice webinar series on February 26th. Dr. Hendrickson will be speaking about her research on developing a framework for evaluating the fairness of agricultural markets and sharing her expertise on resisting consolidation. In anticipation of our webinar, we hosted a Twitterview (Twitter interview) with Dr. Hendrickson. Read on for a few of her thoughts Read More …
February 26, 2019: #AgJustice Webinar with Dr. Mary Hendrickson
We are starting 2019 with a one-of-a-kind educational opportunity for OCM members. Dr. Mary Hendrickson, University of Missouri, is kicking off our #AgJustice webinar series on February 26th at 11am CDT. Dr. Hendrickson will be speaking about her research on developing a framework for evaluating the fairness of agricultural markets and sharing her expertise on resisting consolidation. How to connect to the webinar An invite was sent by email to OCM members. If you missed it, please contact Read More …
Radio 570 WNAX | OCM Working On Anti Competitive Ag Merger Legislation
Radio 570 WNAX Listen to audio at the link above. The U.S. Justice Department has proposed no changes to the Bayer and Monsanto mega merger. One million public comments were received on the merger and some of those came from a coalition that included the Organization for Competitive Markets. OCM Executive Director Joe Maxwell says they’re disappointed with the DOJ decision and are concerned about what they think is monopolistic control of the seed corn industry. He says Read More …
WATTAgNet | Lawmaker to introduce bill for USDA to prioritize American ag in food purchases
WATTAgNet Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) announced Jan. 17 that she will introduce the Buy American Agriculture Act, new legislation to expand ‘Buy America’ principles to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Purchasing and Distribution Program, a key component of USDA’s $12 billion trade relief program that is meant to assist American farmers and ranchers. Last week, The Washington Post reported that nearly $5 million was awarded to Brazilian-owned meat processor JBS. However, new documents from USDA reveal JBS has received more than $22 Read More …
New Bill Would Require USDA to Buy American First
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) announced today she will file legislation to stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from lining the pockets of global corporations at the expense of U.S. taxpayers and family farmers. Known as the Buy American Agriculture Act, the bill would require that whenever possible, purchases of agricultural commodities made by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must be from domestically owned enterprises. It would also require the secretary to publish the rationale for Read More …