I am Fred Stokes from Porterville, Mississippi. I am happy and honored to be a participant in this conference. Ralph Nader is one of my heroes and the epitome of unselfish commitment to worthy causes. I was born on a small diversified family farm in Kemper County Mississippi, the home of the late Senator John C. Stennis. After spending some 20 years in the Army, I retired and returned to my home country to get rich in the Read More …
by Barry C. Lynn and Phillip Longman published in the Washington Monthly The National Review recently described Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump as “two populist peas in a pod.” This was not a compliment. Across the political spectrum, people stick the “populist” label on politicians they see as exploiting the worst resentments and envies of some tribe or another. The segregationist George Wallace, by this reckoning, was a populist. So, too, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Yet there is a Read More …
By Mike Callicrate Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a longtime advocate for fair markets, is once again reintroducing a bill that would make it unlawful for meat packers to own livestock more than seven days prior to slaughter. Similar legislation has been introduced before, but the powerful packer lobby has always succeeded in killing it. Aside from whether the bill actually has a chance this time, there’s another question to consider. If Congress bans meat packers from owing livestock, Read More …
The U.S. cattle industry has lost nearly half our cattle ranchers and over 70% of our feeding operations. Is it time to do something about the abusive market power of the meat industry? A self-explanatory table and a chart showing monthly net returns to feeding. Data are through March 2016. A 12-year moving average of returns. Competitive markets adjust over time to big losses and to big profits. Due to the long biological cycle for cattle, such adjustments Read More …
from Tom Giessel The Kansas Union Farmer Thursday, April 15, 1926 A crow sat on an old elm tree, and he was black as black could be I told him it was my belief that he was just an outlawed thief. “O yes, I am a thief.” Said he, “but there are bigger thieves than me; its true, I eat a little corn, and chickens too just newly born; and all the farmers plainly know that I am Read More …
Once upon a time when our politicians did not tend to apologize for our country’s prior actions, here’s a refresher on how some of our former patriots handled negative comments about our great country. JFK’S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60’s when DeGaulle decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible. Rusk responded, “Does that include those who are buried here?” DeGaulle did not Read More …
by Lee Pitts, Livestock Market Digest I don’t get it. Admittedly, there are a lot of things in life I don’t understand, but one of the more puzzling phenomena is rancher’s support of the NCBA while the organization is doing everything possible to hurt American ranchers, including killing COOL. At the same time those ranchers seem to despise R CALF who has had the cattlemen’s back every step of the way. People will flock to an NCBA convention Read More …
Readers keeping up with current vents can gather from the news that a couple of front runners in the US presidential race have something in common; It’s Goldman Sachs. I wasn’t invited, but unless it’s Warren Buffet I don’t know what anyone would talk about that could possibly be worth the $670,000 speakers fees Hillary collected from Goldman Sachs, just as I don’t know how I would justify asking to borrow one million dollars from Goldman Sachs to Read More …