Deputy Assistant Attorney General Phil Weiser’s Speech At OCM Conference

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Phil Weiser spoke to the crowd at OCM’s annual conference in held August 7th in St. Louis, Missouri. Weiser Addressed the need for a competition policy agenda for agricultural markets. Philip J. Weiser Deputy Assistant Attorney General Antitrust Division U.S. Department of Justice Remarks as Prepared for the Organization for Competitive Markets 11th Annual Conference St. Louis, Missouri August 7th, 2009 Download Entire Speech I. Introduction: I am very happy to be here with Read More …

OCM Applauds Joint USDA/DOJ Workshops

Lincoln, Nebraska – The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) expresses its pleasure at the announcement today by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Attorney General Eric Holder that they will hold the first ever joint workshops on agricultural market competition. The announcement states: “The workshops will address the dynamics of competition in agriculture markets including, among other issues, buyer power (also known as monopsony) and vertical integration.” This is the heart of OCM’s mission and we will cooperate Read More …

OCM Annual Conference To Confront Threats To Market Competition

The Organization for Competitive Markets will hold its annual conference and membership meeting, Aug. 7 – 8 in St. Louis, Mo., at the Westin St. Louis Hotel. The conference theme will be the essence of OCM’s mission, “Confronting the Threats to Market Competition”. A single fee of $50 includes registration, luncheon and banquet. “This is going to be a hard-hitting conference in which we will make our case to administration officials who can do something about our situation”, Read More …

OCM Deplores Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Reversal of Unanimous Jury Verdict and U.S. Marshals Posting Notice of Levy on Plaintiff’s Home

Lincoln, NE – The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) deplores the abuse of power that brought us to the circumstance today with Hermann Schumacher standing in jeopardy of losing his house. Mr. Schumacher and his fellow plaintiffs exercised their right to plead for justice by suing Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. and other meatpackers for damages inflicted. A jury of Mr. Schumacher’s peers found that Tyson and the other defendants had violated the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA). Subsequently, Read More …

Butler Assumes Duties As GIPSA Administrator

LINCOLN, Neb. — May 14, 2009. This week, J. Dudley Butler was officially sworn into office and assumes his duties as administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) at the USDA in Washington, D.C. OCM offers its hearty congratulations and full support for his daunting task ahead. Butler’s experience and personal qualities make him well suited to the task of putting this agency with its troubled past, back on the right path. GIPSA is an Read More …

JBS Abandons Bid For Beef Packing Take-Over

R-CALF USA and the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) are pleased with today’s announcement reported by Reuters, Sao Paulo, that Brazilian-owned meatpacker JBS has abandoned its bid to take over National Beef Packing Co. (National Beef), the fourth largest U.S. meatpacker. According to the Reuters article, JBS abandoned the takeover due to a “lack of satisfactory conditions.” R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said this takeover bid was defeated by a combination of aggressive opposition from R-CALF USA and Read More …

David Balto Receives OCM’s John Helmuth Award

Organization for Competitive Markets P.O. Box 6486 Lincoln, NE 68506 www.competitivemarkets.com Contact: Fred Stokes, 662-476-5568 or 601-527-2459 Michael Stumo, 413.854.2580 Lincoln, Nebraska – On August 23, 2008, the Organization for Competitive Markets awarded its highest public interest award, the John Helmuth Award, to attorney David Balto. The award recognizes Balto for his significant work in providing pro-antitrust representation to America’s farmers and ranchers. John Helmuth was a renowned agricultural economist who died in 1999. Helmuth was instrumental in Read More …