Category: Press Releases

Media Contact: Mike Eby meby@competitivemarkets.com 717-799-0057 LINCOLN, NE: Organization for Competitive Markets, OCM very much supports the legislative efforts of Senator Rounds, Tester, and Grassley’s Senate Bill (S.2036) to amend the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921.  This Act also cited as the ‘‘Meat Packing Special Investigator Act’ will establish an office of a special investigator to investigate and prosecute violations of transparent competition within the livestock industry.  OCM applauds this long-overdue legislation to establish an “Office of Read More …

By Deena Shanker, Bloomberg/Newsroom <dshanker@bloomberg.net> Currently, if a farmer wants to sue a company for anti-competitive behavior under the act, the farmer would need to show the company’s actions hurt not only him, but the entire industry. That creates a very high bar that the Obama rules would have lowered. But the Trump administration withdrew the rules, leaving groups like the Organization for Competitive Markets disappointed. Fred Stokes, the founder of OCM, and a cattle rancher in Porterville, Read More …

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), Animal Wellness Action (AWA), Animal Wellness Foundation (AWF), and National Dairy Producers Organization (NDPO) applauded U.S. Reps. Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C. for introducing the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act, designed to reform and bring accountability and transparency to reform the USDA’s Commodity Checkoff Programs that have long been plagued by scandal after scandal for misappropriation of funds, lack of transparency, and misusing farmer and rancher tax dollars Read More …

June 17, 2021 Media Contact: Mike Eby Organization for Competitive Markets meby@competitivemarkets.com 717-799-0057 LINCOLN, NE: Yesterday, OCM’s executive director Mike Eby, testified at the Pennsylvania Senate Majority Policy Committee hearing on the federal prohibition of whole milk in schools. Eby claims, “Dairy farmers have lost a generation of milk drinkers since whole milk was removed from schools in 2010”.  He continues, “In my many interactions with other farmers and consumers, having done many outreach programs through my industry Read More …

June 8, 2021 Media Contact: Mike Eby meby@competitivemarkets.com 717-799-0057 LINCOLN, NE: Recently, Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network in conjunction with KIWA Radio aired an interview with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CEO Collin Woodall who misspoke saying, “R-CALF USA and the Organization for Competitive Markets petitioned USDA to terminate the National Beef Checkoff program last July.”  Vaughn Meyer, president of OCM appreciates Mr. Woodall’s attempt to credit OCM with the noble initiation of requesting a referendum vote for the first time Read More …

Recently, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) published a list of facts on common beef market myths which was sent to Congressional constituents in an attempt to derail ongoing support for the Senators Rounds and Smith letter to Attorney General Garland.  The Rounds/Smith letter directs the government, specifically the Attorney General Office, to investigate the meatpacker stranglehold over our meat processing markets and if any violations of anti-trust laws and fair competition principles are occurring. In their letter Read More …

The Honorable Debra Haaland Secretary of Interior 1849 C Street Northwest Washington, DC 20240                                                                                                                                 Read More …

LINCOLN, NE – Today the Organization for Competitive Markets issued the following statement from Fred Stokes, VP and founder of OCM, after a series of cattlemen’s meetings held in Florida in an attempt to bring industry stakeholders together for the betterment of the industry. This statement follows a campaign of misinformation by NCBA president Marty Smith and CEO Colin Woodall who attacked OCM and it’s board members. “Colin Woodall, speaking on behalf of NCBA has resorted to absurd Read More …