This past week, almost seven million pounds of JBS beef were recalled after 57 people in 16 states were sickened by Salmonella poisoning. No surprise here. Just last year, JBS was caught exporting rotten beef worldwide and trying to cover up the stench using cancer-causing acid products. The latest JBS tainted meat scandal not only continues to ring alarm bells about the safety of JBS beef, but it also shows how few choices consumers actually have in the Read More …
Drovers By Greg Henderson The U.S. Department of Agriculture intends to reopen the rulemaking process known as “Farmer Fair Practices Rules.” That announcement was made by a Department of Justice attorney arguing on behalf of USDA in court last week. During oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by the Organization for Competitive Markets, attorney Weili Shaw said USDA intends to put on its spring 2019 regulatory agenda the rulemaking process for Farmer Fair Practices, formerly known as the Read More …
Meatingplace By Tom Johnston on 9/28/2018 USDA intends to put on its spring 2019 regulatory agenda the unsettled matter of rules governing how meatpackers contract with farmers and ranchers, with a possible notice of proposed rulemaking coming sometime after that — and then another rulemaking process to follow that notice. So said attorney Weili Shaw as he defended USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service Fair Trade Practices Program, formerly known as the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), on Wednesday in Read More …
We had our day in court. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard oral arguments in our lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s unlawful rollback of critical protections designed to safeguard family farms and ranches from predatory and retaliatory practices by big agribusiness corporations. Appearing on behalf of the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) and independent farmers, Democracy Forward argued that USDA acted unlawfully in withdrawing the Farmer Fair Practices Rules, or GIPSA Rules, last Read More …
Family Farmers and Ranchers Sue Secretary Perdue for Illegally Halting Protections from Big Ag Abuses Farmers from Nebraska and Alabama Push Back Against Administration’s Attempt to Dismiss Their Concerns, Call on President Trump to Keep Promise to ‘Stand by America’s Farmers’ St. Louis, Mo. — Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful rollback of critical protections designed to safeguard family farms and ranches from predatory and Read More …
The 2019 beef checkoff budget is out, and global meatpacking corporations and their industry lobbying groups are the winners once again while American family farmers and ranchers continue to be taxed to fund their own demise. Under federal law, farmers of certain commodities (including pork, eggs, beef, and corn) are required to pay a portion of their sales into checkoff programs. These mandatory fees are intended to be used by the U.S. government to research and promote demand Read More …
Columbus, OH – Today, in a joint briefing with Family Farm Action, the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) released a report outlining the dire state of Ohio family farmers and rural communities under pressure from the growth of global agriculture corporate giants. Agribusiness firms that control inputs such as seed and chemicals and meat processing have seen extreme consolidation in recent years, to the point of creating near monopolies. As a result, family farmers, once the economic engine Read More …
Consolidation and globalization in the agriculture sector have serious implications for Ohio’s family farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. Concentration of corporate power in agriculture has risen to levels not seen since the Gilded Age, allowing multinational agribusiness interests to exert growing influence over policy and programs. Corporate concentration has left little competition and fewer opportunities for the state’s next generation of farmers and ranchers, while extracting wealth out of local economies. As the economic backbone of rural communities, Read More …